Irish Dance: From Ancient Times to the Phenomenon of Riverdance

Luckily, Irish dance is celebrated today as a part of our national heritage which people are proud of. This has a lot to do with the recent success of Riverdance but societies such as Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann also need to be appreciated.

This piece looks at how Irish dance has grown and changed over the years and where a lot of these early traditions are thought to have originated. Like the Irish language and music, dance is another aspect of Irish culture that nationalists have tried to protect over time. The actions taken by the Gaelic League to try and preserve dance are mentioned here. Unlike the Irish language, dance has remained popular and is celebrated today more than ever before.

Earliest Evidence

Little is known about early Irish dance, but it was a part of pagan Celtic rituals during ancient times. These people are said to have danced around inside stone circles while worshipping the sun and these circular patterns have even been compared to later forms of step dancing.

Ancient Celtic communities would often hold a local celebration known as a ‘feis’. These ‘feiseanna’ were set up to celebrate Irish art, music and culture and gave locals a chance to chat. While these events still go on today, they now concentrate almost exclusively on Irish dance.

The Normans are known to have introduced different forms of dance such as ‘carolling’ to Ireland. Although they came to Ireland in 1169, there is no written evidence of dance in the country until the early 15^th century. At the time, a ‘carol’ was not the kind of song associated with Christmas today. It was a performance that consisted of a singer, surrounded by a circle of dancers.

The first written evidence of dance in Ireland dates back to 1413. An account was written by the Mayor of Waterford who describes a Christmas Eve celebration with singing and dancing in the form of carolling, that took place in Dun na Sead Castle in Baltimore, Co. Cork.

Three primary forms of dance had started to emerge by this time:

The Irish Hey: thought to be a round figure dance.
The Rinnce Fada: meaning ‘long dance’, this was danced by two lines of people facing each other.
Trenchmore: peasant dance involving partners.

The British were familiar with forms of Irish dance which they often celebrated and copied themselves.

Royal Support

Although the British may not be celebrated for their effort to retain Irish culture, Queen Elizabeth I is known to have been a big fan of Irish dance and music. From 1590, up until her death in 1603, she paid Irish harper Cormac MacDermot to play for her.

A letter from the Earl of Worcester in 1602, stated:

We frolic here in Court; much dancing in the privy chamber of country dances before the Queen’s Majesty who is exceedingly pleased therewith. Irish dances are at this time most pleasing.[1]

Irish jigs were said to be the Queen’s favourite, in particular the ‘Rinnce Fada’. Some members of the royal family were not so impressed. Queen Victoria kept a diary of her trip to Ireland in 1849, criticising Irish jigs:

It is quite different from the Scotch reel; not so animated, and the steps different, but very droll.[2]

By this time, Irish dance would have been a lot more disciplined, incorporating many of the movements still recognised today. A lot of these changes can be linked to the arrival of Travelling Dance Masters.

Travelling Dance Masters

Up until the early 18^th century, Irish dancing was quite a carefree form of movement. Travelling Dance Masters first appeared in Ireland during this time. They moved around different towns and villages, offering dance classes to local residents and often ended up lodging in the local parish while they gave these classes.

A dance master can be compared to a travelling salesman, providing a pitch to display their teaching talents. While some of them received patronage from the local aristocracy others ended up teaching farmers. It was common practice for local peasants to bring their children to these classes. Popular traditions that these dance masters encouraged include pointed toes, arced feet and the refinement of the neck and carriage. Movements such as high kicks and finger snapping were discouraged.

The presence of these dance masters increased the popularity of group dances. Some of the dancers they taught might be given solo parts in local shows. It was during this time that Irish dancing became a more disciplined form of dance, similar to the style we recognise today.

By the end of the 19^th century Travelling Dance Masters had lost a lot of their popularity. Female dance mistresses became more popular, especially in urban areas of Ulster. Aimed at middle class children, they taught a selection of folk, ballet and Irish dances.

The Gaelic League: Traditional vs Foreign Dance

The Gaelic League was founded in 1893 and although the protection of the Irish language was their top priority, the also had the desire to preserve their national culture, encouraging the practice of traditional Irish dance.

In the 1890s, ‘feis’ was the term still given to the annual cultural festivals they organised. They included competitions in areas such as poetry and song composition, singing, storytelling, solo and group dancing.

Moving to London in 1896, Fionán MacColuim was the first Honorary Secretary of the Gaelic League. After attending some lively Scottish ‘ceilithe’ nights in the city, he felt an urge to create social events to celebrate Irish dance and music in the same way. On 30^th October 1897 the first evercéilí was held in Bloomsbury Hall in London.

The dances in this first céilí were limited to the jig, waltz and quadrille. It was with the help of Patrick D. Reidy, an Irish dancing master teaching in Kerry and West Limerick, that new forms of dance were introduced. He taught Gaelic League Members dances such as the eight-hand reel and others known as the ‘High Caul Cap’ and the ‘Kerry Reel’. With Reidy’s help, the dances set up in London became extremely popular.

While these forms of dance also became popular throughout Ireland, they received some opposition. When 4 and 8 hand reels were performed at the Oireachtas (Annual Conference) of 1901, some spectators referred to these dances as:

Alien and thus unsuitable for nationalists.[3]

Forms of dancing that were classed as foreign, included the highland Schottische, the barn dance and the waltz, even though they had been practiced for a long time around rural ‘Ireland. Laws were passed by the Gaelic League, banning forms of dance such as set dancing (based on French quadrilles) from being practiced in these céilís.

In 1935, the Public Dance Halls Act was passed, insisting that public dances all needed to be licensed, meaning that they could no longer be held in traditional locations such as houses and barns. More formal céilís were now taking place in local halls and schools, being run by members of the clergy.

Well-known fiddle player and folklorist Junior Crehoan stated:

They believed that there was immoral conduct carried out at the country houses and that there were no sanitary arrangements, that was their excuse. You had to pay three pence tax to the shilling going into the hall which meant money to the government. They didn’t care if you made your water down the chimney as long as they collected the money.[4]

Modern-Day Protection and Celebration of Irish Dance

Riverdance (2010). Performed at Sichuan coliseum at Chengdu, China.

Set up in 1951, the Society of the Musicians of Ireland(Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann) remains one of the most successful groups in the preservation of Irish culture. Their main aim was to restore and preserve traditional Irish language, music, and dance. Helen Gannon of CCE North America states that after the effects of World War Two and an increasing interest in American culture:

Our founders realized that with modernization in Ireland the traditions were quickly disappearing.[5]

In the 1970s, a subdivision of CCE set up competitions held around the country where groups of dancers could gather and show off their own style of set dancing to everyone involved. The work of the CCE saw a revival in set-dancing around the country. In the same year, the first World Irish Dancing Championships were held in Dublin.

From 1980 to 1990, there was an increasing popularity in Irish dance but, one event held in 1994 would lead to a newfound sense of pride in this traditional form of dance. When Riverdance was first shown in the Eurovision song contest in 1994, a newspaper article the next day described it as:

Seven minutes that changed the world.[6]

The company decided on short black skirts without traditional embroidery, ringlets, or kilts, which the Gaelic League had always tried to encourage. Before this time, most people saw Irish dancing as a traditional, old-fashioned form of dance.

This seven-minute feature captivated the modern audience on a show with over 300 million viewers. A single of the music involved in this production was put into the Irish charts and remained in the number one position for 18 weeks. Its’ popularity grew and has continued to increase around the entire world, celebrating its 25-year anniversary in 2019.

Conclusion

Unlike the decline of the Irish language, the popularity of Irish dance has continued to grow. This is especially true after the success of Riverdance but the influence of people such as Fionán MacColuim and societies like Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann have also been highlighted in this piece.

Although there have been a lot of changes made to the original style, renowned Irish dance historian Dr. John Cullinane states:

We have allowed Irish dancing to develop and evolve (’tradition is something that changes with time”) and to allow teachers from all over the world to have a say in ‘what is Irish dancing in this present time’.

Other countries have preserved their country or folk dances by strict rigid control but that leaves them in danger of not increasing in popularity and even dying out.[7]

Click here to view Riverdance at the European Song Contest 1994

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References

King, Angeline(2018). Irish Dancing: The Festival Story. Leschenault Press. Kindle Edition.
Brennan, H. (1994). Reinventing Tradition: The Boundaries of Irish Dance. Available at: https://www.historyireland.com/18th-19th-century-history/reinventing-tradition-the-boundaries-of-irish-dance-by-helen-brennan/ (Looked at 3^rd February 2021).
Gavigan, A. (2016). Interview with Dr. John Cullinane. Available at: https://www.antoniopacelli.com/community/article/interview-with-dr-john-cullinane (Looked at 7th February 2021).
Smith, C. (2014). A History: From Dance Master to Lord of the Dance. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-28043307 (Looked at 6th February 2021).
Unknown (2019). The True Behind the Scenes Story of Riverdance. Available at:https://www.theirishworld.com/the-true-behind-the-scenes-story-of-riverdance/ (Looked at 4^th February 2021).
Unknown (2009). A Short History of Irish Dance. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/irish/articles/view/741/english/(Looked at 1^st February 2021).