The revival of Set Dancing

By the 1940´s the Set had begun to disappear so that by the 1950´s sets were hardly danced anywhere in Ireland apart from a few rural villages in the west particularly in Slieve Luachra, West Kerry and West Clare.

Renewal of interest in set dancing began in the late 1960´s with the introduction of dances in the GAA Scor Competitions and later in the Comhaltas Ceolroiri Eireann competitions. These competitions helped to revive the tradition of set dancing and became an important social outlet for dancers.

At the Willy Clancy Summer School in 1982 set dancing was included for the first time as one of the activities, under the guidance of Joe O´Donovan. These classes made such an impression on the participants that, on returning to their homes in the cities, they immediately started their own groups to continue learning and practising the sets. In Dublin, a set dancing club was formed called Brooks Academy while in Cork Timmy McCarthy formed his own group. In Galway Brid and Brendan Fahy formed a group with many others following suit around the country.

While the main aim of these groups was to search for and learn old sets, enjoyment of the dancing and the whole social aspect was also equally important. This socialising aspect thus started something new in the bigger cities – set dancing in pubs and bars – Hughs and O´Shea´s in Dublin, Dick Tobin´s in Cork and the Harbour Bar in Galway being the most popular.

In 1984 the first ever set dancing book was published “The Pipers Set and other Dances”. A number of other set dancing books were also published in the following years. Each of these publications has brought dances that had not been seen or danced for years to the attention of the general public.

The passion and love of a tradition by those who kept the sets alive when it was not popular coupled with the energy and drive of those who brought these dances around the country and even abroad, have made set dancing the most popular form of dance in Ireland today outside of disco dancing. A great deal of gratitude is owed to all those involved in making this tradition strong and healthy again.

Newspaper Critic

2011 Tour