Since starting his business, John's Traditional Irish Walking Sticks & Shillelaghs, he has sold 394 handmade walking sticks on eBay, plus another 100 more thanks to good word-of-mouth advertising.

It's a "bad idea" to bring a shillelagh as a carry-on on a flight, with TSA recently clarifying that the ancient Irish sticks are "perfect" for checked baggage.

The Blackthorn or sloe tree also is known for the wood from which Irish walking sticks or shillelaghs are made, and its sloe berries produce the Irish export sloe gin. In its signature drink, 'The ...