114-548: Patrick Walls (1847 – 24 October 1932) was an Irish trade unionist . Walls was born to a Catholic family in the northern part of Ireland during the worst of the Great Famine . He emigrated to Tyneside to work as a labourer, then moved to Middlesbrough , where he worked at Bell's Foundry as a blastfurnaceman for seventeen years. While there, he became active in the Associated Union of Iron Workers, and in 1878 supported
228-415: A broader nationalist movement concerned with Irish culture. Although a rigid torso may be the initial characterization of Irish dance, modern soft shoe Irish dancers commonly gracefully use their arms in flowing movements, abandoning the traditional form. It is not uncommon for hard shoe dancers to use their arms in strict hand formations other than arms at sides, though competition dance continues to require
342-749: A close link with the Icelandic people . In the Icelandic Laxdœla saga , for example, "even slaves are highborn, descended from the kings of Ireland." The first name of Njáll Þorgeirsson , the chief protagonist of Njáls saga , is a variation of the Irish name Neil . According to Eirik the Red's Saga , the first European couple to have a child born in North America was descended from the Viking Queen of Dublin , Aud
456-690: A frequency of 65%. This subclade is also dominant in Scotland, Wales and Brittany and descends from a common ancestor who lived in about 2,500 BC. According to 2009 studies by Bramanti et al. and Malmström et al. on mtDNA , related western European populations appear to be largely from the neolithic and not paleolithic era, as previously thought. There was discontinuity between mesolithic central Europe and modern European populations mainly due to an extremely high frequency of haplogroup U (particularly U5) types in mesolithic central European sites. The existence of an especially strong genetic association between
570-616: A hard heel. Boy's soft-shoe dancing features audible heel clicks and stomps. A new trend includes adding white laces to the soft shoes, and white tape to the straps of the hard shoes to blend in with the sock and give the illusion of elongating the legs. Several generations ago, the appropriate dress for a competition was simply "Sunday best" (clothes one would wear to church). Irish Dance schools generally have school dresses, worn by lower-level competitors, in public performances, and in team competitions. As dancers advance in competition or are given starring roles in public performances, they may get
684-402: A letter to Queen Elizabeth in which he expresses his enthusiasm for the Irish jigs, or fiddle of Galway. A report from 1600 mentions that some forms of Irish dances were similar in form to English country dances , and later references mention the " rinnce fada ", also known as the "long dance" or "fading". This dance, performed to a jig tune though not to any particular piece of music, became
798-518: A limited space. There is an emphasis on making percussive sound with the toes. The Irish dance masters of this period also choreographed particular steps to particular tunes in traditional music creating the solo traditional set dances such as the Blackbird, St. Patrick's Day, and the Job of Journey Work, which also persist in modern Irish stepdancing. In this context, "set dance" signifies a separate tradition from
912-956: A named person. Mac is the Irish for son. Names that begin with "O'" include: Ó Bánion ( O'Banion ), Ó Briain ( O'Brien ), Ó Ceallaigh ( O'Kelly ), Ó Conchobhair ( O'Connor, O'Conor ), Ó Chonaill ( O'Connell ), O'Coiligh ( Cox ), Ó Cuilinn ( Cullen ), Ó Domhnaill ( O'Donnell ), Ó Drisceoil ( O'Driscoll ), Ó hAnnracháin, ( Hanrahan ), Ó Máille ( O'Malley ), Ó Mathghamhna ( O'Mahony ), Ó Néill ( O'Neill ), Ó Sé ( O'Shea ), Ó Súilleabháin ( O'Sullivan ), Ó Caiside/Ó Casaide ( Cassidy ), Ó Brádaigh/Mac Bradaigh ( Brady ) and Ó Tuathail ( O'Toole ). Names that begin with Mac or Mc include: Mac Cárthaigh ( McCarthy ), Mac Diarmada ( McDermott ), Mac Domhnaill ( McDonnell ), and Mac Mathghamhna ( McMahon ) Mac(g) Uidhir ( Maguire ), Mac Dhonnchadha ( McDonagh ), Mac Conmara ( MacNamara ), Mac Craith ( McGrath ), Mac Aodha ( McGee ), Mac Aonghuis ( McGuinness ), Mac Cana ( McCann ), Mac Lochlainn ( McLaughlin ) and Mac Conallaidh ( McNally ). Mac
1026-465: A noun differs from the adjective céilí . A céilí is a social gathering featuring Irish music and dance. Céilí dancing is a specific type of Irish dance. Some céilithe (plural of céilí) will only have céilí dancing, some only have set dancing, and some will have a mixture. Irish set dancing (also referred to as "country set dancing") are dances similar to English country dancing and later French quadrilles ; later adapting and integrating forms of
1140-832: A school in Parnell Square. The "Worlds" outgrew its original location and moved around the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. In 2002, for the first time, the "Worlds" left Ireland for Glasgow . In 2009, for the first time, the World Championships were held in the United States, in Philadelphia . The 2010-2019 championships were held in Glasgow , Dublin , Belfast , Boston , London , Montréal , Glasgow , Dublin , Glasgow , and Greensboro , respectively, always taking place during
1254-400: A short piece of any given dance, in the interests of time and the endurance of the dancers. There are two types of shoes; soft shoes (also known as ghillies or pumps) and hard shoes. Hard shoes are similar to tap shoes, except that the tips and heels are made of fiberglass , instead of metal, and are significantly bulkier. Another aspect of the hard shoe that sets it apart from a tap shoe
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#17328688914691368-485: A social setting, a céilí dance may be " called " – that is, the upcoming steps are announced during the dance for the benefit of newcomers. The céilí dances are typically danced to Irish instruments such as the Irish bodhrán or fiddle in addition to the concertina (and similar instruments), guitar, whistle or flute. The term céilí dance was invented in the late 19th century by the Gaelic League . Céilí as
1482-433: A solo dress of their own design and colours or wear the team dress. In the 1970s and 1980s, ornately embroidered dresses became popular. Today even more ornamentation is used on girls' dresses, including rhinestones, sequins, and other bling. Solo dresses are unique to each dancer. Today most women and girls wear a wig, a bun or hairpiece for a competition, but some still curl their own hair. Costumes are heavily integrated into
1596-454: A style which separated from step dance in the mid-20th century. Irish group dancing has some French influences, and was particularly influenced by the French quadrille in the late 18th century. Ceili dance , practised both competitively and socially, is performed by groups of two to sixteen people, and often uses traditional or codified dances and formations. Its footwork is simple, and emphasis
1710-561: A voyage of exploration to northwestern Europe in about 325 BC, but his account of it, known widely in Antiquity , has not survived and is now known only through the writings of others. On this voyage, he circumnavigated and visited a considerable part of modern-day Great Britain and Ireland . He was the first known scientific visitor to see and describe the Celtic and Germanic tribes. The terms Irish and Ireland are probably derived from
1824-414: A woman in Irish uses the feminine prefix nic (meaning daughter) in place of mac. Thus a boy may be called Mac Domhnaill whereas his sister would be called Nic Dhomhnaill or Ní Dhomhnaill – the insertion of 'h' follows the female prefix in the case of most consonants (bar H, L, N, R, & T). A son has the same surname as his father. A female's surname replaces Ó with Ní (reduced from Iníon Uí – "daughter of
1938-445: Is a presumed invasion of Wales , which according to a Welsh manuscript may have taken place around the 7th century. In the words of Seumas MacManus: If we compare the history of Ireland in the 6th century, after Christianity was received, with that of the 4th century, before the coming of Christianity, the wonderful change and contrast is probably more striking than any other such change in any other nation known to history. Following
2052-515: Is an account of a Mayor of Waterford 's visit to Baltimore , County Cork in 1413, where the attendees "took to the floor" to celebrate Christmas Eve . However, the Norman invasion of Ireland in the twelfth century may have brought with it the round dance tradition, as it was contemporaneously performed in British camps while every now and then being seen in a Norman stronghold. Accounts of dancing in
2166-423: Is believed to have its roots in ancient Celtic dance. In the 17th and 18th centuries, dance was taught by "travelling dance masters" across Ireland, and separate dance forms developed according to regional practice and differing purposes. Irish dance became a significant part of Irish culture , particularly for Irish nationalist movements. From the early 20th century, a number of organisations promoted and codified
2280-615: Is commonly anglicised Mc. However, "Mac" and "Mc" are not mutually exclusive, so, for example, both "MacCarthy" and "McCarthy" are used. Both "Mac" and "Ó'" prefixes are both Irish in origin, Anglicized Prefix Mc is far more common in Ireland than Scotland with 2/3 of all Mc Surnames being Irish in origin However, "Mac" is more common in Scotland and Ulster than in the rest of Ireland; furthermore, "Ó" surnames are less common in Scotland having been brought to Scotland from Ireland. The proper surname for
2394-541: Is from non-literate nature of the Irish cultural tradition. Indeed, the modern Irish words for "dance", rince and damhsa did not develop until the 16th century. The scant evidence available is primarily that of visitors to Ireland, such as a fourteenth-century song written in the South of England , where the poet invites his listeners to "come ant daunce wyt me in Irlaunde". The first native Irish documentary evidence of dancing
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#17328688914692508-461: Is its ability to go "on block" or en pointe . The first hard shoes had wooden or leather taps with metal nails. Later the taps and heels were made of resin or fiberglass to reduce the weight and to make the sounds louder. The soft shoes, which are called ghillies , are black leather lace-up shoes similar to ballet slippers. Ghillies are only worn by girls, while boys wear black leather shoes called "reel shoes", which resemble black jazz shoes with
2622-420: Is no archaeological or placename evidence for a migration or a takeover by a small group of elites. He states that "the Irish migration hypothesis seems to be a classic case of long-held historical beliefs influencing not only the interpretation of documentary sources themselves but the subsequent invasion paradigm being accepted uncritically in the related disciplines of archaeology and linguistics." Dál Riata and
2736-425: Is placed on the figures and formations of the dances. Set dance is primarily a social tradition, for groups of four dancers, and includes elements of the intricate footwork found in step dance. There is very little documentary evidence of dance being practised in Ireland prior to the 7th century; this could be due to the destruction of written records in Ireland during Viking raids. Scholars have hypothesised this
2850-488: Is that they are descendants of Spanish traders or of the few sailors of the Spanish Armada who were shipwrecked on Ireland's west coast, but there is little evidence for this. Irish Travellers are an ethnic people of Ireland . A DNA study found they originally descended from the general Irish population, however, they are now very distinct from it. The emergence of Travellers as a distinct group occurred long before
2964-635: The Abbey of St Gall in Switzerland, and Bobbio Abbey in Italy. Common to both the monastic and the secular bardic schools were Irish and Latin . With Latin, the early Irish scholars "show almost a like familiarity that they do with their own Gaelic". There is evidence also that Hebrew and Greek were studied, the latter probably being taught at Iona. "The knowledge of Greek", says Professor Sandys in his History of Classical Scholarship, "which had almost vanished in
3078-507: The Brehons would hold their courts upon hills to arbitrate the matters of the lordship. Indeed, the Tudor lawyer John Davies described the Irish people with respect to their laws: There is no people under the sun that doth love equal and indifferent (impartial) justice better than the Irish, or will rest better satisfied with the execution thereof, although it be against themselves, as they may have
3192-421: The Great Famine , a genetic analysis shows. The research suggests that Traveller origins may in fact date as far back as 420 years to 1597. The Plantation of Ulster began around that time, with native Irish displaced from the land, perhaps to form a nomadic population. One Roman historian records that the Irish people were divided into "sixteen different nations" or tribes. Traditional histories assert that
3306-663: The Irish diaspora one of the largest of any nation. Historically, emigration from Ireland has been the result of conflict, famine and economic issues. People of Irish descent are found mainly in English-speaking countries, especially Great Britain , the United States , Canada , New Zealand and Australia . There are also significant numbers in Argentina , Mexico , Brazil , Germany , and The United Arab Emirates . The United States has
3420-747: The Labour Party in Middlesbrough , with the support of the ILP and the United Irish League , but was not elected. He also served on the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party for a few years. Walls retired from his trade union posts in 1919, and died in 1932. Irish people The Irish ( Irish : Na Gaeil or Na hÉireannaigh ) are an ethnic group and nation native to
3534-720: The MacGrath . Irish physicians, such as the O'Briens in Munster or the MacCailim Mor in the Western Isles , were renowned in the courts of England, Spain, Portugal and the Low Countries. Learning was not exclusive to the hereditary learned families, however; one such example is Cathal Mac Manus , the 15th century diocesan priest who wrote the Annals of Ulster . Other learned families included
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3648-612: The Mic Aodhagáin and Clann Fhir Bhisigh . It was this latter family which produced Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh , the 17th century genealogist and compiler of the Leabhar na nGenealach . (see also Irish medical families ). The 16th century Age of exploration brought an interest among the English to colonize Ireland with the reign of the Tudors. King Henry IV established surrender and regrants to
3762-764: The Norse-Gaels . Anglo-Normans also conquered parts of Ireland in the 12th century, while England 's 16th/17th century conquest and colonisation of Ireland brought many English and Lowland Scots to parts of the island, especially the north. Today, Ireland is made up of the Republic of Ireland (officially called Ireland ) and Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom ). The people of Northern Ireland hold various national identities including Irish, British or some combination thereof. The Irish have their own unique customs, language , music , dance , sports , cuisine and mythology . Although Irish (Gaeilge)
3876-811: The Penal laws . A knowledge of Latin was common among the poor Irish mountaineers in the 17th century, who spoke it on special occasions, while cattle were bought and sold in Greek in the mountain market-places of County Kerry . For a comparatively small population of about 6 million people, Ireland made an enormous contribution to literature. Irish literature encompasses the Irish and English languages. Notable Irish writers , playwrights and poets include Jonathan Swift , Laurence Sterne , Oscar Wilde , Oliver Goldsmith , James Joyce , George Bernard Shaw , Samuel Beckett , Bram Stoker , W.B. Yeats , Séamus Heaney and Brendan Behan . Known as An Górta Mór ("The Great Hurt") in
3990-457: The West Country Men , were active in Ireland at around this time. The Enterprise of Ulster which pitted Shane O'Neill (Irish chieftain) against Queen Elizabeth I was a total failure This was followed by the somewhat successful first British-English colony the Munster planations which had a population of 4,000 in 1580 and in the 1620s may have grown to 16,000 After the defeat of
4104-426: The reel , slip jig , light jig and 'single jig' (also referred to as 'hop jig'). Reels have a 4 (or sometimes 4 or 2 ) time signature . Slip jigs are in 8 time. Light and single jigs are in 8 time, with different emphasis within the measure distinguishing the music. Hard shoe dances include the hornpipe in syncopated 4 or 4 time,
4218-447: The treble jig (also called the 'heavy jig' or 'double jig') in a slow 8 , the treble reel (a short sixteen bar hard shoe dance done to reel music) and 'traditional sets', which are a group of dances with set music and steps. Many traditional sets have irregular musical phrasing. There are multiple traditional sets, including St. Patrick's Day , Blackbird, Job of Journeywork, Three Sea Captains, Garden of Daisies, and King of
4332-529: The 16th century, in 1569 Sir Henry Sydney sent a letter to Queen Elizabeth in which he expresses his enthusiasm for the Irish jigs, or fiddle of Galway A variety of forms of solo Irish Dance have developed which are described as stepdance. These include the well-known "modern" stepdance performed competitively; old-style stepdance, which is closer in style to the dance practised by 19th-century travelling dance masters; and festival dance, which separated from modern stepdance over stylistic and administrative disputes in
4446-414: The 17th century means that dancing was by that time extremely widespread throughout Ireland. In 1674 Richard Head wrote in reference to Ireland, 'In every field a fiddle, and the lasses footing till they all of a foam,' suggesting some type of Irish step dancing or dance with heavy foot movement. There is ample evidence of Irish jigs or Irish step dancing in the 16th century, in 1569 Sir Henry Sydney sent
4560-631: The Ciannachta, Eóganachta, and possibly the Soghain, a deified ancestor. This practice is paralleled by the Anglo-Saxon dynasties. One legend states that the Irish were descended from the Milesians , who supposedly conquered Ireland around 1000 BC or later. Haplogroup R1b is the dominant haplogroup among Irish males, reaching a frequency of almost 80%. R-L21 is the dominant subclade within Ireland, reaching
4674-657: The Deep-minded , and a Gaelic slave brought to Iceland. The arrival of the Anglo-Normans brought also the Welsh , Flemish , Anglo-Saxons , and Bretons . Most of these were assimilated into Irish culture and polity by the 15th century, with the exception of some of the walled towns and the Pale areas. The Late Middle Ages also saw the settlement of Scottish gallowglass families of mixed Gaelic-Norse and Pict descent, mainly in
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4788-759: The Easter week, with the competition being held in Maastricht in 2018, Eindhoven in 2019, digitally in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic , and in Moers in 2022. Old-style step dancing is a tradition related to, yet distinct from, sean-nós dancing , though it is sometimes called "Munster-style sean-nós". Old-style step dancing evolved in the 17th-18th century from the dancing of travelling Irish dance masters. The dance masters slowly formalized and transformed both solo and social dances. Modern masters of old-style step dancing style can trace
4902-512: The Fairies. While theoretically standardised, different organisations recognize different traditional sets and slight variations exist between teachers. There are also "non-traditional sets" done by advanced dancers. These have set music, but not steps; the steps are choreographed by individual dance schools. Competitive dancers generally dance two or three steps at a time, depending on their dancing level. Each step lasts for sixteen bars of music for
5016-586: The Fianna and the Fenian Cycle were purely fictional, they would still be representative of the character of the Irish people: ...such beautiful fictions of such beautiful ideals, by themselves, presume and prove beautiful-souled people, capable of appreciating lofty ideals. The introduction of Christianity to the Irish people during the 5th century brought a radical change to the Irish people's foreign relations. The only military raid abroad recorded after that century
5130-528: The Irish and other Celtic populations (Welsh, Highland Scots and Cornish) and showing a possible link to the Bretons ; and a 'West Norwegian' component related to the Viking era. As of 2016, 10,100 Irish nationals of African descent referred to themselves as "Black Irish" in the national census. The term "Black Irish" is sometimes used outside Ireland to refer to Irish people with black hair and dark eyes. One theory
5244-578: The Irish and the Basques was first challenged in 2005, and in 2007 scientists began looking at the possibility of a more recent Mesolithic- or even Neolithic-era entrance of R1b into Europe. A new study published in 2010 by Balaresque et al. implies either a Mesolithic- or Neolithic- (not Paleolithic-) era entrance of R1b into Europe. Unlike previous studies, large sections of autosomal DNA were analyzed in addition to paternal Y-DNA markers. They detected an autosomal component present in modern Europeans which
5358-673: The Irish came to be seen as a nation of "saints and scholars". The 6th-century Irish monk and missionary Columbanus is regarded as one of the "fathers of Europe", followed by saints Cillian and Fergal . The scientist Robert Boyle is considered the "father of chemistry ", and Robert Mallet one of the "fathers of seismology ". Irish literature has produced famous writers in both Irish- and English-language traditions, such as Eoghan Rua Ó Súilleabháin , Dáibhí Ó Bruadair , Jonathan Swift , Oscar Wilde , W. B. Yeats , Samuel Beckett , James Joyce , Máirtín Ó Cadhain , Eavan Boland , and Seamus Heaney . Notable Irish explorers include Brendan
5472-431: The Irish dance culture and feature traditional elements of classic peasant wear adorned with Celtic designs. Most men wear a shirt, vest or jacket, and tie paired with black trousers. The vest or jacket of the men's costume is also commonly adorned with crystals, traditional knotwork, and embroidery. Each Irish dance school has its own distinctive full skirted dress, often featuring lace or an embroidered pattern copied from
5586-503: The Irish in Ulster in the Nine Years' War (Ireland) ; which was not exclusively confined to Ulster. The English would try again to colonize Ireland fearing another rebellion in Ulster, using previous colonial Irish endeavours as their influence. King James would succeed Queen Elizabeth the I, because King James I was previously King James VI of Scotland, he would plant both English and Scottish in
5700-458: The Irish language, during the famine millions of Irish people died and emigrated during Ireland's largest famine. The famine lasted from 1845 - 1849, and it was worst in the year 1847, which became known as Black '47. The famine occurred due to the extremely impoverished Irish population's staple food the potato being infected with Blight , and the British administration appropriating all other crops and livestock to feed her armies abroad. This meant
5814-423: The Irish shows that there is fine-scale population structure between different regional populations of the island, with the largest difference between native 'Gaelic' Irish populations and those of Ulster Protestants known to have recent, partial British ancestry. They were also found to have most similarity to two main ancestral sources: a 'French' component (mostly northwestern French) which reached highest levels in
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#17328688914695928-482: The Irish, but it was not until the Catholic queen Mary I of England who started the first plantations in Ireland in 1550, this would become the model for English colonization moving forward in Ireland and would later form the British imperial model The 1550 plantation counties were known as Philipstown (now Daingean) and Maryborough (now Portlaoise) named by the English planters at the time. A group of explorers, known as
6042-470: The Navigator , Sir Robert McClure , Sir Alexander Armstrong , Sir Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean . By some accounts, the first European child born in North America had Irish descent on both sides. Many presidents of the United States have had some Irish ancestry. The population of Ireland is about 6.9 million, but it is estimated that 50 to 80 million people around the world have Irish forebears, making
6156-742: The North Kerry Set, the Clare Set, the Corofin Plain Set, the South Galway Set and the Clare Lancers Set . There are many solo set dances which can be performed in competition. These include both traditional sets and non-traditional sets. Some traditional sets include Blackbird (hornpipe), Job of the Journeywork (hornpipe), Garden of Daises (hornpipe), St. Patrick's Day (treble jig), King of
6270-664: The Romans never attempted to conquer Ireland, although it may have been considered. The Irish were not, however, cut off from Europe; they frequently raided the Roman territories, and also maintained trade links. Among the most famous people of ancient Irish history are the High Kings of Ireland , such as Cormac mac Airt and Niall of the Nine Hostages , and the semi-legendary Fianna . The 20th-century writer Seumas MacManus wrote that even if
6384-469: The arms be kept by the dancer's sides. In 1929, the League formed An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG, The Irish Dancing Commission) in order to codify and standardise stepdancing competition and education. Over the following decades, CLRG expanded globally, and promoted this particular form of stepdance by developing examinations and qualifications for teachers and competition adjudicators. Today, stepdance in
6498-429: The body and around the dance area. Accounts of dancing in the 17th century suggest that dancing was by that time extremely widespread throughout Ireland. In 1674 Richard Head wrote in reference to Ireland, 'In every field a fiddle, and the lasses footing till they all of a foam,' suggesting some type of Irish step dancing or dance with heavy foot movement. There is ample evidence of Irish jigs or Irish step dancing in
6612-531: The conversion of the Irish to Christianity, Irish secular laws and social institutions remained in place. The 'traditional' view is that, in the 4th or 5th century, Goidelic language and Gaelic culture was brought to Scotland by settlers from Ireland, who founded the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata on Scotland's west coast. This is based mostly on medieval writings from the 9th and 10th centuries. The archaeologist Ewan Campbell argues against this view, saying that there
6726-418: The crew list of 1492, no Irish or English sailors were involved in the voyage. An English report of 1515 states that the Irish people were divided into over sixty Gaelic lordships and thirty Anglo-Irish lordships. The English term for these lordships was "nation" or "country". The Irish term " oireacht " referred to both the territory and the people ruled by the lord. Literally, it meant an "assembly", where
6840-663: The crop failed and turned black. Starving people who tried to eat them would only vomit it back up soon afterwards. Soup kitchens were set up but made little difference. The British government produced little aid, only sending raw corn known as 'Peel's Brimstone' to Ireland. It was known by this name after the British Prime Minister at the time, Robert Peel , and the fact that many Irish weren't aware of how to cook corn. This led to little or no improvement. The British government set up workhouses which were disease-ridden (with cholera, TB and others) but they also failed as little food
6954-613: The cultural unity of Europe", and it was the 6th-century Irish monk Columbanus who is regarded as "one of the fathers of Europe". Another Irish saint, Aidan of Lindisfarne , has been proposed as a possible patron saint of the United Kingdom, while Saints Kilian and Vergilius became the patron saints of Würzburg in Germany and Salzburg in Austria, respectively. Irish missionaries founded monasteries outside Ireland, such as Iona Abbey ,
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#17328688914697068-520: The customary conclusion to balls held in Ireland towards the end of the seventeenth century. At this time, dancing was commonly accompanied by musicians playing bagpipes or the Jew's harp . By the 1760s, the distinctive hornpipe rhythm of the Irish dance tradition had developed, and with the introduction of the fiddle to Ireland from the European continent, a new class of "dancing master" began to emerge. despite
7182-510: The dance with the Irish sean-nós steps and Irish music. Distinguishing characteristics of Irish set dancing include that it is danced in square sets of four couples (eight people), and consist of several "figures," each of which has a number of parts, frequently repeated throughout the set. Each part of the set dance (figure) is danced to a music tempo, mostly reels , jigs , polkas and hornpipes . The sets come from various parts of Ireland and are often named for their place of origin; examples are
7296-528: The defeat of the Irish rebels would also plant New English in Ireland, known as the Protestant ascendency. There have been notable Irish scientists. The Anglo-Irish scientist Robert Boyle (1627–1691) is considered the father of chemistry for his book The Sceptical Chymist , written in 1661. Boyle was an atomist , and is best known for Boyle's Law . The hydrographer Rear Admiral Francis Beaufort (1774–1857), an Irish naval officer of Huguenot descent,
7410-680: The fact that In 1674 Richard Head wrote in reference to Ireland ‘In every field a fiddle, and the girls footing until they foam up’. Reference to the Irish fiddle can also be found in John Dunton's Teague Land: or A Merry Ramble to the Wild Irish (1698) he says “on Sundays and Holydays, all the people resorted with the piper and fiddler to the village green, suggesting the fiddle was introduced to Ireland much earlier then 1760. The dancing traditions of Ireland probably grew in association with traditional Irish music . Although its origins are unclear, it
7524-618: The families who bear them appear to have had Gaelic origins. "Fitz" is an old Norman French variant of the Old French word fils (variant spellings filz , fiuz , fiz , etc.), used by the Normans, meaning son . The Normans themselves were descendants of Vikings , who had settled in Normandy and thoroughly adopted the French language and culture. With the exception of the Gaelic-Irish Fitzpatrick ( Mac Giolla Phádraig ) surname, all names that begin with Fitz – including FitzGerald (Mac Gearailt), Fitzsimons (Mac Síomóin/Mac an Ridire) and FitzHenry (Mac Anraí) – are descended from
7638-600: The famine. The Great Famine is one of the biggest events in Irish history and is ingrained in the identity on the nation to this day. It was a major factor in Irish nationalism and Ireland's fight for independence during subsequent rebellions, as many Irish people felt a stronger need to regain independence from British rule after the famine. Irish dance Irish dance refers to the traditional dance forms that originate in Ireland , including both solo and group dance forms, for social , competitive , and performance purposes. Irish dance has evolved over centuries and
7752-415: The founding of many of Ireland's most important towns, including Cork , Dublin, Limerick , and Waterford (earlier Gaelic settlements on these sites did not approach the urban nature of the subsequent Norse trading ports). The Vikings left little impact on Ireland other than towns and certain words added to the Irish language, but many Irish taken as slaves inter-married with the Scandinavians, hence forming
7866-400: The goddess Ériu . A variety of tribal groups and dynasties have inhabited the island, including the Airgialla , Fir Ol nEchmacht , Delbhna , the mythical Fir Bolg , Érainn , Eóganachta , Mairtine , Conmaicne , Soghain , and Ulaid . In the cases of the Conmaicne, Delbhna, and perhaps Érainn, it can be demonstrated that the tribe took their name from their chief deity, or in the case of
7980-416: The grandson of") and Mac with Nic (reduced from Iníon Mhic – "daughter of the son of"); in both cases the following name undergoes lenition. However, if the second part of the surname begins with the letter C or G, it is not lenited after Nic. Thus the daughter of a man named Ó Maolagáin has the surname Ní Mhaolagáin and the daughter of a man named Mac Gearailt has the surname Nic Gearailt . When anglicised,
8094-428: The heritage of modern stepdance but have departed from its codification, festival dance emphasises individuality and practises more relaxed style and posture. Sean-nós , or "old style" dance is a form of Irish dancing which originated from western regions of Ireland. It has been described variously as a regional style of stepdancing, and as an entirely separate style that was virtually unknown outside small areas until
8208-699: The initial Norman settlers. A small number of Irish families of Goidelic origin came to use a Norman form of their original surname—so that Mac Giolla Phádraig became Fitzpatrick—while some assimilated so well that the Irish name was dropped in favour of a new, Hiberno-Norman form. Another common Irish surname of Norman Irish origin is the 'de' habitational prefix, meaning 'of' and originally signifying prestige and land ownership. Examples include de Búrca (Burke), de Brún, de Barra (Barry), de Stac (Stack), de Tiúit, de Faoite (White), de Londras (Landers), de Paor (Power). The Irish surname "Walsh" (in Irish Breathnach )
8322-420: The island of Ireland , who share a common ancestry, history and culture . There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been continually inhabited for more than 10,000 years (see Prehistoric Ireland ). For most of Ireland's recorded history , the Irish have been primarily a Gaelic people (see Gaelic Ireland ). From the 9th century, small numbers of Vikings settled in Ireland, becoming
8436-693: The largest of all Irish step dance organisations, with over 6,000 dancers competing from over 30 countries worldwide. The Aisling Award (pronounced 'Ashling', Gaelic for dream) is awarded to the highest placing dancer in each solo dancing category from outside of Ireland, the United Kingdom, the US and Canada to encourage them to continue their dream of dancing. Other smaller Irish step dance organisations host their own premier championship. Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne , or "The World Championships" (for An Coimisiún dancers), first took place in Dublin in 1970 at Coláiste Mhuire ,
8550-472: The late 20th century. It is distinguished by footwork which is percussive but low to the ground in comparison to step dancing, and by its more freeform nature. Performers use a more relaxed posture, and improvise steps to fit with music. Typically, sean-nós dances are performed in small spaces, traditionally doors laid flat and table tops. Irish social, or céilí ( / ˈ k eɪ l i / , Irish: [ˈceːlʲiː] ) dances vary widely throughout Ireland and
8664-427: The length of the first part of the music that is repeated (often eight bars, though this varies depending on the specific set dance), and is then repeated, resembling the steps of other dances. Then the dancer usually dances a "set" which is not repeated. It is a highly sought after and competitive feat to recall to dance this "third round" — at regional, national, and world competitions, only a small percentage (typically
8778-661: The levels and other organising rules vary between countries and regions. Dancers are scored based on technique (placement of the feet, turn out, off of their heels, etc.), style (grace, power, etc.) and other items such as timing, rhythm, carriage, choreography and sounds in their hard shoe dances. An Coimisiún dancers take part in their annual regional Championship competition, which is known as an oireachtas ( IPA: [ˈɛɾʲaxt̪ˠəsˠ] ). An Coimisiún also holds various "national" championship competitions. These are qualifying events for Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne , or "The World Championships". An Coimisiún's World Championships are
8892-404: The lineage of their steps directly back to 18th century dancers. The Irish Dance masters refined and codified indigenous Irish dance traditions. Rules emerged about proper upper body, arm, and foot placement. Also, dancers were instructed to dance a step twice—first with the right foot then with the left. Old-style step dancers dance with arms loosely (but not rigidly) at their sides. They dance in
9006-535: The majority of Irish emigrants to Australia were in fact prisoners. A substantial proportion of these committed crimes in hopes of being extradited to Australia, favouring it to the persecution and hardships they endured in their homeland. Emigrants travelled on ' Coffin Ships' , which got their name from the often high mortality rates on board. Many died of disease or starved. Conditions on board were abysmal - tickets were expensive so stowaways were common, and little food stuff
9120-446: The medieval Irish Book of Kells . An organised dance competition is referred to as a feis (plural feiseanna ). The word feis means "festival" in Irish , and strictly speaking would also have competitions in music and crafts. Féile ( IPA: [ˈfʲeːlʲə] ) is a more correct term for the dance competition, but the terms may be used interchangeably. Dance competitions are divided by age and level of expertise. The names of
9234-462: The mid-20th century. The most predominant form of Irish stepdance is that popularised by the Broadway show Riverdance , and other Irish dancing stage shows since the late 20th century. Characterised by a rigid torso and dances performed high on the balls of the feet, this style became distinct from the late 19th century when the Gaelic League began efforts to preserve and promote Irish dance as part of
9348-530: The most people of Irish descent, while in Australia those of Irish descent are a higher percentage of the population than in any other country outside Ireland. Many Icelanders have Irish and Scottish Gaelic ancestors due to transportation there as slaves by the Vikings during their settlement of Iceland . During the past 33,000 years, Ireland has witnessed different peoples arrive on its shores. Pytheas made
9462-577: The name can remain O' or Mac, regardless of gender. There are a number of Irish surnames derived from Norse personal names, including Mac Suibhne (Sweeney) from Swein and McAuliffe from "Olaf". The name Cotter , local to County Cork , derives from the Norse personal name Ottir. The name Reynolds is an Anglicization of the Irish Mac Raghnaill, itself originating from the Norse names Randal or Reginald. Though these names were of Viking derivation some of
9576-504: The north; due to similarities of language and culture they too were assimilated. The Irish were among the first people in Europe to use surnames as we know them today. It is very common for people of Gaelic origin to have the English versions of their surnames beginning with 'Ó' or 'Mac' (Over time however many have been shortened to 'O' or Mc). 'O' comes from the Irish Ó which in turn came from Ua, which means " grandson ", or " descendant " of
9690-620: The original Neolithic farming population was most similar to present-day Sardinians , while the three Bronze Age remains had a large genetic component from the Pontic-Caspian steppe . Modern Irish are the population most genetically similar to the Bronze Age remains, followed by Scottish and Welsh, and share more DNA with the three Bronze Age men from Rathlin Island than with the earlier Ballynahatty Neolithic woman. A 2017 genetic study done on
9804-515: The plantations and went into decline. Among the last of the true bardic poets were Brian Mac Giolla Phádraig (c. 1580–1652) and Dáibhí Ó Bruadair (1625–1698). The Irish poets of the late 17th and 18th centuries moved toward more modern dialects. Among the most prominent of this period were Séamas Dall Mac Cuarta , Peadar Ó Doirnín , Art Mac Cumhaigh , Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Ghunna , and Seán Clárach Mac Domhnaill . Irish Catholics continued to receive an education in secret "hedgeschools", in spite of
9918-574: The plantations of Ulster drawing upon the Munster Plantations, this proved to be the most successful they were settled in what's mostly Now Northern Ireland. The Plantations of Ireland introduced Tudor English settlers to Ireland, while The Plantation of Ulster in the 17th century introduced a great number of Scottish and to a lesser extent English as well as French Huguenots as colonists. All previous endeavours were solely an English venture. The Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell (1653–1658) after
10032-562: The price of iron would quickly recover, and recommended that trade unionists accept a deal where they would receive a 5% reduction in pay if it did not recover, but no reduction if it did. As he hoped, the price rebounded within a week, and wages were restored to their earlier level. Following this success, the Cumberland blastfurnacemen joined with those of Cleveland to form a new National Union of Blastfurnacemen , and Walls led negotiations which agreed an eight-hour working day in 1890. In 1892, he
10146-493: The protection and benefit of the law upon which just cause they do desire it. Another English commentator records that the assemblies were attended by "all the scum of the country"—the labouring population as well as the landowners. While the distinction between "free" and "unfree" elements of the Irish people was unreal in legal terms, it was a social and economic reality. Social mobility was usually downwards, due to social and economic pressures. The ruling clan's "expansion from
10260-424: The rest of the world. A céilí dance may be performed with as few as two people and as many as sixteen. Céilí dances may also be danced with an unlimited number of couples in a long line or proceeding around in a circle (such as in "The Walls of Limerick", "The Waves of Tory", "Haymakers Jig", "An Rince Mor" or "Bonfire Dance"). Céilí dances are often fast and some are quite complex ("Antrim Reel", "Morris Reel"). In
10374-418: The social dance tradition also called set dance . Following criticism of CLRG for its emphasis on certain regional forms of stepdance to the detriment of others, dance teacher Patricia Mulholland developed a new style of stepdance, beginning in the 1950s. It was described as a form of "folk ballet" which appealed to dancers of both Catholic and Protestant religious persuasions. Like other forms which share
10488-563: The split which formed the Cleveland Blastfurnacemen's Association, serving as its president. In 1887, Walls was president of Middlesbrough Trades Council . In 1887, William Snow, secretary of the blastfurnacemen's union in Cumberland , was incapacitated through illness, and Walls travelled to Workington in an attempt to resolve a dispute there. Following a fall in the price of iron, local employers had cut wages. Walls believed that
10602-463: The style codified by the Gaelic League is performed competitively in a number of countries, and under the auspices of a number of organisations which have at various times broken away from CLRG. Irish solo stepdances fall into two broad categories based on the shoes worn: 'hard shoe' (also known as jig shoe or heavy shoe) and 'soft shoe' (or light shoe) dances. There are four soft shoe dance styles:
10716-616: The territory of the neighbouring Picts merged to form the Kingdom of Alba , and Goidelic language and Gaelic culture became dominant there. The country came to be called Scotland , after the Roman name for the Gaels: Scoti . The Isle of Man and the Manx people also came under massive Gaelic influence in their history. Irish missionaries such as Saint Columba brought Christianity to Pictish Scotland . The Irishmen of this time were also "aware of
10830-474: The top downwards" was constantly displacing commoners and forcing them into the margins of society. As a clan-based society, genealogy was all important. Ireland 'was justly styled a "Nation of Annalists"'. The various branches of Irish learning—including law, poetry, history and genealogy, and medicine—were associated with hereditary learned families. The poetic families included the Uí Dhálaigh (Daly) and
10944-534: The top half of dancers graded after the first two rounds) of dancers are invited back to perform. The Céilí dances used in competitions are more precise versions of those danced in less formal settings. There is a list of 30 Céilí dances which have been standardised and published in An Coimisiún's Ar Rinncidhe Foirne as examples of typical Irish folk dances; these are called the "book" dances by competitive stepdancers. Most Irish dancing competitions only ask for
11058-408: The treble jig and the reel. Dances such as the hornpipe and slip jig instead have eight bars of music for their third steps. The dances are each danced starting with the right foot for eight bars, then repeated with the left foot for the last eight bars, doing the same movements with the opposite feet. Set dances, however, have a different format. The dancer usually dances one step, which is limited to
11172-469: The use of a common language and mass Irish migration to Scotland in the late 19th and early to mid-20th centuries. The Irish people of the Late Middle Ages were active as traders on the European continent. They were distinguished from the English (who only used their own language or French) in that they only used Latin abroad—a language "spoken by all educated people throughout Gaeldom". According to
11286-418: The various forms of dance, creating competitive structures and standardised styles. Irish dancers who compete for competitive reasons dance in a dance style that is more modern than traditional Irish dance. It is mainly done solo, but there is some team dancing in groups of 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 16 and even numbers onwards. Solo Irish dance includes the most well-known form of Irish dance, Irish stepdance , which
11400-450: The week leading up to Easter Sunday , when the championships end. The BBC documentary film Jig provided an insight into championship level dancers competing in the 2010 World Championships held in Glasgow . Oireachtas Rince Na Cruinne planned return to Dublin in 2020 for the 50 year anniversary of the championships was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the competition
11514-510: The west was so widely dispersed in the schools of Ireland that if anyone knew Greek it was assumed he must have come from that country."' Since the time of Charlemagne , Irish scholars had a considerable presence in the Frankish court , where they were renowned for their learning. The most significant Irish intellectual of the early monastic period was the 9th century Johannes Scotus Eriugena , an outstanding philosopher in terms of originality. He
11628-464: The writer Seumas MacManus , the explorer Christopher Columbus visited Ireland to gather information about the lands to the west, a number of Irish names are recorded on Columbus' crew roster preserved in the archives of Madrid and it was an Irishman named Patrick Maguire who was the first to set foot in the Americas in 1492; however, according to Morison and Miss Gould , who made a detailed study of
11742-489: Was available and many died on arrival as they were overworked. Some British political figures at the time saw the famine as a purge from God to exterminate the majority of the native Irish population. Irish people emigrated to escape the famine journeying predominantly to the east coast of the United States , especially Boston and New York , as well as Liverpool in England, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Many records show
11856-592: Was elected as general secretary of the union. Walls relocated to Workington to take up his position. Long an opponent of the Liberal Party , he formed a Cumberland Labour Electoral Association in 1891, and was a founder member of the Independent Labour Party in 1893. He was elected to Workington Town Council in 1893, and to Cumberland County Council in 1901. At the January 1910 general election , he stood for
11970-634: Was given to passengers who were simply viewed as cargo in the eyes of the ship workers. Notable coffin ships include the Jeanie Johnston and the Dunbrody . There are statues and memorials in Dublin, New York and other cities in memory of the famine. The Fields of Athenry is a late-20th century song about the Great Famine and is often sung at national team sporting events in memory and homage to those affected by
12084-663: Was held in Belfast. An Coimsiún also holds Oireachtas Rince na hÉireann, or "The All Irelands" which took place in Killarney in February 2019. It is the oldest Irish dancing competition in the world. An Comhdhail's World championships also take place each Easter week, with the competition being held in Dublin in 2018 and Killarney in 2019. WIDA (World Irish Dance Association), which mainly consists of dancers from European countries, also hold their own World and International Championships over
12198-439: Was in question, something that has been diminished with the loss of prefixes such as Ó and Mac. Different branches of a family with the same surname sometimes used distinguishing epithets, which sometimes became surnames in their own right. Hence the chief of the clan Ó Cearnaigh (Kearney) was referred to as An Sionnach (Fox), which his descendants use to this day. Similar surnames are often found in Scotland for many reasons, such as
12312-609: Was not present in Neolithic or Mesolithic Europeans, and which would have been introduced into Europe with paternal lineages R1b and R1a, as well as the Indo-European languages. This genetic component, labelled as " Yamnaya " in the studies, then mixed to varying degrees with earlier Mesolithic hunter-gatherer and Neolithic farmer populations already existing in western Europe. A more recent whole genome analysis of Neolithic and Bronze Age skeletal remains from Ireland suggested that
12426-432: Was popularised from 1994 onwards by shows such as Riverdance , and which is practised competitively across not only the Irish diaspora but by many people of disparate cultural backgrounds. Stepdance is characterised by the rigid upper body and intricate footwork of its performers. Other forms of solo Irish dance include sean-nós dance , a relaxed and social dance style involving improvised steps, and festival Irish dance ,
12540-605: Was possibly later influenced by dance forms from the Continent, such as the Quadrille . Travelling dancing masters taught across Ireland as late as the 18th and early 19th centuries. Because local venues were usually small, dances were often demonstrated on tabletops, or even the tops of barrels. As a result, these early styles are characterized by the arms held rigidly at the sides, and a lack of lateral movement. As larger dance venues became available, styles grew to include more movement of
12654-449: Was routinely given to settlers of Welsh origin, who had come during and after the Norman invasion. The Joyce and Griffin/Griffith (Gruffydd) families are also of Welsh origin. The Mac Lochlainn, Ó Maol Seachlainn, Ó Maol Seachnaill, Ó Conchobhair, Mac Loughlin and Mac Diarmada families, all distinct, are now all subsumed together as MacLoughlin. The full surname usually indicated which family
12768-590: Was the creator of the Beaufort scale for indicating wind force. George Boole (1815–1864), the mathematician who invented Boolean algebra , spent the latter part of his life in Cork . The 19th century physicist George Stoney introduced the idea and the name of the electron . He was the uncle of another notable physicist, George FitzGerald . The Irish bardic system, along with the Gaelic culture and learned classes, were upset by
12882-574: Was the earliest of the founders of scholasticism , the dominant school of medieval philosophy . He had considerable familiarity with the Greek language, and translated many works into Latin, affording access to the Cappadocian Fathers and the Greek theological tradition , previously almost unknown in the Latin West. The influx of Viking raiders and traders in the 9th and 10th centuries resulted in
12996-450: Was their main language in the past, today most Irish people speak English as their first language. Historically, the Irish nation was made up of kin groups or clans , and the Irish also had their own religion , law code , alphabet and style of dress . There have been many notable Irish people throughout history. After Ireland's conversion to Christianity , Irish missionaries and scholars exerted great influence on Western Europe, and
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