Brendan Burke Helps You Unleash The Wild Rover

By Catherine Wylie

Wild Rover is a clothing company that is a unique fusion of Irish culture and urban wear.

It seeks to unify Irish and Irish American culture through fresh design and modern apparel. The idea was to create a look that wasn't centered on shamrocks and shillelaghs.

Wild Rover digs deeper into the culture of Ireland and Irish America while embracing the urban and street culture of the 21st century.

Speaking to The Irish Examiner, owner Brendan Burke says, "It's time to move beyond the cultural and creative barriers of our past. In exchange we offer a brand that can represent far more than just the 17th of March."

He comes from a large working class Irish and Irish-American family, and has almost 40 first cousins between the tri-state area and Ireland to prove it.

Burke tells us his roots have always inspired him. He has visited the West of Ireland several times to stay with family, and it still leaves him awestruck to think his life in New York City originated from the small coal mining town Arigna, County Roscommon.

He uses this evolution, and Irish music, as the inspiration for Wild Rover.

Speaking about when he came up with the idea, Burke says, "In the fall of 2007, I visualized Wild Rover on a New York City subway ride. In between reading Malcolm Gladwells 'The Tipping Point' and listening to the Pogues cover of the classic tune Wild Rover on my iPod, I had it! I'm a massive Pogues fan, and would love to collaborate with Shane McGowan at some point."

The brand has already collaborated with Irish boxer John Duddy: "We collaborated with Irish Middleweight boxer John Duddy on the Duddy Nation collection back in April, and look forward to continuing the relationship this fall when he returns to the ring."

Burke expressed his wish to continue this trend of collaborations and hopes to build up support from various bands, films, and TV series. "I would also really love to collaborate with Dropkick Murphy, Maser, various independent film makers and a number of other up and coming artists."

Burke went on to confirm that his brand uses only the best quality materials, "Our collection is presented on high quality, lightweight, tag-less shirts that are made from both 100% ring spun cotton and 50% poly/cotton blends. All are shirts are pre shrunk from Royal apparel which has only a 4% shrinkage ration in comparison to other brands in the industry."

In the beginning, only male t-shirts were available, but with continued popularity and a solid fan base, Burke says, "After our first drop presented no love for the ladies it was only fair that we squashed that angry backlash by dealing out some new digs for the sweltering months. Keeping with the spirit of good music we dropped a few new ones for the lads including Lyrics of the Prodigal Son, and Where the Wild Rovers are. While the ladies tees are sexy and tough with pieces such as Love Guns, Rise up Your Kilt, and Gangster Gael."

So where does Burke envisage his brand going in future? Currently available to buy online, Burke hopes Wild Rover clothing will be available to buy in various shops leading up to spring/summer 2010: "It is at that time that we are looking to develop new business with retail stores across the nation, and put out a much larger collection. I really hope, that not too long from now, Wild Rover will be a brand, which has not only t-shirts, but hoodies, jeans and caps among other things. I have been really lucky with all the people I have working on the brand. When a young entrepreneur starts out, they don't have the money to pay for the best people in particular fields. I'm delighted with how everything has went for me so far."

Wild Rover is having an event in September with Murphguide to promote their next collection.

The location has yet to be confirmed and they are still looking for a sponsor. For more information on this and to check out the current collection, go to wildroverclothing.com