McGillicuddy Highland Army

The McGillicuddy Highland Army is the fighting wing of New Zealand's Clan McGillicuddy and does battle with enemies of the Clan in accordance with the rules of the pastime of pacifist warfare. Battles have taken place at wide range of locations and events around the country. During the period 1984-1999 it shared many members in common with the Clan's political wing, the better-known McGillicuddy Serious Party.

McGillicuddies at the Battle of Wellington St Beach, Hamilton, New Zealand, October 2002.

The McGillicuddy Highland Army (McGHA) was established in Hamilton, New Zealand, in 1978 as the McGillicuddy Highland Regiment, the battling wing of the Clan McGillicuddy. Its foundation was inspired by a pacifist battle that Clan leader Graeme Cairns, the Laird of Hamilton, had taken part in Dunedin earlier that year involving Alf's Imperial Army (Alf's).

As required by the rules of pacifist warfare, the McGHA fights its battles using strictly non-harmful weapons, such as newspaper swords and cardboard shields for personal duelling. 'Mass effect' weapons such as water bombs, flour bombs, porridge bombs, funnelators (huge slingshots), and meths mortars armed with soft or rotten fruit are also used (though water and flour bombs are the most common). 'Psychological Weapons' such as the Can-Can charge, heavy duty assault poetry, mass singing and vicious taunting are also permissible.

The basic uniform of the McGHA regiments was a white shirt, kilt, and bonnet with a white cockade, with a doublet faced in the regiment's colour. How strongly military the uniform looked varied depending upon the individuals in a regiment; whilst there were very strong variations between the regiments themselves. Appearances ranged from 17th century Scottish Jacobites to 19th century Victorian British Scots, to South American Presidential Guard, to hippies or anarchists, with the only article in common being a kilt. One regiment even wore tartan trousers combined with Russian-style jackets and fur hats.

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