Ceol na gCroí play for these monthly ceilis. There's a review of a set in the first hour with live music from 8pm. Contact Maureen Donachie. 
More dancing: 21 June, 20 September, 25 October, 22 November, 27 December 2008
15 May 2008, 7-9.30pmA mini-ceili with live music by Tina Eck and friends. Contact Dixie Baker and Paul O'Donnell.
Future dates: 19 June, 17 July, 21 August, 18 September, 16 October, 14 November 2008
15-25 May 2008Matt Cunningham plays for ceilis in all of the following locations during his USA tour -
15 May 2008 Gaelic League, 2068 Michigan Ave, Detroit, Michigan 16 May 2008 8pm-12am St Clarence Church, 30106 Lorain Road, North Olmsted, Ohio Tim Freeman, Kelly Jones, Anna Costanzo 17 May 2008 East Pittsburgh VFW Post 5008, 401 Draper Street, East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 18 May 2008 4-9pm, $17 Cherry Hill Park Conference Center, 9800 Cherry Hill Road, College Park, Maryland Dixie Baker, Paul O'Donnell 19 May 2008 7.30pm, $15 Knights of Columbus Hall, 230 Limekiln Pike, Glenside, Pennsylvania Marianne MacDonald, Rosemarie Timoney 20 May 2008 7.30pm, $10 Canadian-American Hall, 202 Arlington Street, Watertown, Boston, Massachusetts Barbara Davis 22 May 2008 Boston, Massachusetts 23 May 2008 Irish Cultural Centre, 200 Boston Drive, Canton, Boston, Massachusetts 24 May 2008 Kerry Society Hall, 305 McLean Avenue, Yonkers, New York Tom Keaveney 25 May 2008 Irish American Community Center, 9 Venice Place, East Haven, Connecticut Contact Matt or the contacts listed above for more information.
16 May 2008, 7-9pm, $6The ceili on the second and third Fridays of the month features live music and calling by Anne Daugherty. Contact Mary Moriarty.
More dancing: 13 June, 20 June, 11 July, 18 July, 8 August, 15 August, 12 September, 19 September, 10 October, 17 October, 14 November, 21 November, 12 December, 19 December 2008
16 May 2008 Green Gates Ceili Band 20 June 2008 Pete Kelly Live music ceilis from 8pm to 12am, with calling by Jerry Kennedy. Contact Dan Dennehy.
16 May 2008, 8pmLive music is played by local musicians for ceili dancing at this popular monthly dance. At 8pm there's an hour-long lesson; live music begins at 9pm. Contact Maldon Meehan.
17 May 2008, 7pm, $20Ceol na gCroí play for these monthly ceilis. There's a review of a set in the first hour with live music from 8pm. Contact Maureen Donachie.
More dancing: 21 June, 20 September, 25 October, 22 November, 27 December 2008
17 May 2008, 7-10pm, freeCeili. Contact Noel Reid.
17 May 2008, 8pm-12amThe evening starts with a workshop in the first hour, followed by set dancing with music by local Comhaltas members. Contact Brendan and Mary Tunney.
18 May 2008, 4.30-8.30pmThey dance at the back of the pub to live music provided by J Patrick's All-Stars led by Billy McComiskey. The sets are called by Marilyn Moore. After the ceili live music continues until midnight. Contact J Patrick's.
More dancing: 15 June, 13 July, 10 August, 14 September, 12 October, 9 November, 14 December 2008
18 May 2008, 2-6pm, $13Monthly dances with ceili dancing and two or three sets danced to music by Pancho, Kevin and Jimmy McGillian. Contact Bud Burke.
Also on: 12 October, 16 November, 14 December 2008
18 May 2008, 1.30-5pm, $12Máirtín de Cógáin from Carrigaline, Co Cork, teaches a ninety-minute workshop in the West Kerry Set, followed by the regular monthly ceili. Máirtín also performs in concert that night. Contact Margaret Cupples and Catherine Sherer Bishop.
Future ceilis: 22 June, 3 August 2008
18 May 2008, 4-9pm, $15Sunday afternoon ceili with Matt Cunningham on tour from Ireland. There's a workshop in the first hour, followed by live music dancing. There's a potluck supper in the break so bring food to share. Contact Dixie Baker and Paul O'Donnell.
18 May 2008, 3-8pm, $12Comhaltas ceilis on the third Sunday feature music by Eileen Clune Goodman, John and Gerry Kennedy, Mike Rafferty and guests. There's a dancing lesson by Bridie and John DalPizzol in the first hour. Contact Mike and Terry Rafferty.
18 May 2008, 4-8pmMonthly live music ceili, preceded a slow sesson from 2.30pm. Contact Frank Bane.
22-26 May 2008The Four Provinces Ceili Band and the visiting musicians for this long Irish weekend at Gaelic Park. On Thursday there's a set dancing ceili at 9pm. Contact Brendan Houlihan.
The rest of the weekend from Friday to Monday is the Gaelic Park Irish Fest where the band plays daily on the Marquee Stage for ceili dancing, admission $15 daily. Contact Chicago Gaelic Park.
23 May 2008, 8pm-12am, $15The Green Gates Ceili Band plays for a charity ceili on the fourth Friday of every month, now in a new location. Contact Eileen O'Flaherty.
More dates: 27 June, 25 July, 22 August, 26 September, 28 November, 26 December 2008
23 May 2008 7.30-10.30pm Quad City Ceili Band 15 June 2008 2-5pm recorded music 26 September 2008 8-11pm recorded music 24 October 2008 8-11pm recorded music 29 November 2008 7.30-10.30pm live music Ceili, set and two-hand dancing with calling. Contact Gerry Bade.
23 May 2008, 7pm, $10The monthly fourth Friday ceili begins with a workshop in the first hour then from 8pm there's live music by either John Brennan or Kevin McGillian plus friends. Contact John Shields, Cass Tinney and Tom O'Malley.
More dancing: 27 June 2008
23 May 2008, 8pm-12amLive music ceili in a venue with an authentic dance hall atmosphere. Contact Maureen Mulvey-O'Leary, who calls the dances.
24-26 May 2008There's a bit of Irish in the midst of all the contra dancing at this festival. Sam Keator teaches ceili dancing on Saturday, 4-5pm. Maldon Meehan introduces sean nós dancing from 6 to 7pm on Saturday and performs twice on Sunday. There's also set dancing on Monday, 1-2m, with representatives from the local branch of Comhaltas.
24 May 2008 Áthas 28 June 2008 Maria Terres and friends 26 July 2008 RíRá 27 September 2008 Áthas 25 October 2008 Asher Gray and Randy Gosa 22 November 2008 Maria Terres and friends 27 December 2008 T J Hull and friends The set of the month is taught from 7 to 8pm, which is followed by dancing to live music till 11pm, $8. Contact Pat McElroy-Komppa.
25 May 2008, 3-8pmA lesson is held in the first hour before the live music begins. Contact Jack Regan and Irish American Association Cultural Center.
25 May 2008, 2.30-6.30pmCeili and sets with the Rosclare Ceili Band. Contact Bridgie Higgins.
Next ceili: 22 June 2008
30 May-1 June 2008, $85Mick Mulkerrin takes over the teaching for the first time at Toronto's fourth annual set dancing weekend. The first of the three ceilis is on Friday night, 8.30pm-12am, with the Inishowen Ceili Band. Mick teaches on Saturday from 10am to 4.30pm at Dovercourt House, 805 Dovercourt Road (the only event at this location). Music for the Saturday ceili is by Celtic Ceili Crew who play from 8pm to 12am. Mick shares more of his expertise on Sunday from 1.30 to 2.30pm, and the final ceili continues to 5.30pm with the Cabbagetown Ceili Band. Contact Jennifer Hiett.
1 June 2008, 3-6pmAn open air pavilion beside the Hudson River is the venue for this set dancing ceili and picnic with live music. Contact the Irish Arts Center.
31 May 2008, 9am-5pmAn all day sean nós dancing workshop with Maldon Meehan.
6 June 2008, 8-11pm, $10Ceili dancing with live music plus teaching and calling by Maldon Meehan. Contact Susan Spencer.
6 June 2008, 8pmPride of Moyvane Ceili Band plays for this monthly ceili. Contact Tom Keaveney.
6 June 2008, 8pm-12am, $9A monthly hooley (sets, ceili, waltzes and quicksteps) with music by Pancho, Kevin and Jimmy. Contact Anna Hickman.
7 June 2008, 8pm-12am, $15Dancing in the first Saturday of the month. Contact John Broderick.
8 June 2008, 4-8pmContact Tom Vesey.
13 June 2008, 7-10pm, $5The evening starts with a half-hour of beginners' instruction, followed by live music by local musicians, mostly ceili dancing but a few sets are danced. Contact Kate Akers.
Future dates: 11 July, 8 August, 12 September, 11 October, 14 November, 12 December 2008
13 June 2008, 9pm-12amLive music dance session with music by Áthas. Contact Joanna Dupuis and Jeff Ksiazek.
More dancing: 11 July, 8 August, 12 September, 10 October, 14 November, 12 December 2008
13 June 2008, 8pm-12am, $10A monthly ceili on the second Friday of the month. Turn the Corner provides the music. Contact Kelly Jones and Anna Costanzo.
Future dates: 12 September, 10 October, 14 November, 12 December 2008
14 June 2008, 1.30-3.30pm, $16A monthly ceili dancing workshop with Anne Daughtery. Contact Mary Moriarty.
More dancing: 12 July, 9 August, 13 September, 11 October, 15 November, 13 December 2008
14 June 2008, 7-9pm, $7Monthly workshop-style ceilis with music by Mimi Rogers and friends. Contact Michael and Susan Harrison.
14 June 2008, 8-11pm, freeCeili. Contact Noel Reid.
14 June 2008Dancing from 8pm. Contact Kathleen Collins.
21 June 2008, 7pm, $8Monthly ceili dancing with live music by Gold Ring.The hall is in a parking lot a short walk from the pier where the ferry from Seattle arrives; the crossing takes fifteen minutes. Contact Michael and Shannon Meyer and Lori Malczyk.
13-19 July 2008, $375The Irish Arts Week brings the Irish summer school experience to the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. A mixture of Irish and American teachers offer music classes in traditional instruments and dance classes cover set, sean nós, trad step, modern step and Cape Breton dancing. You can also learn crafts and there's even a workshop to keep children busy while parents attend their own classes.
The summer school is based in the Michael J Quill Irish Cultural and Sports Center situated near the village of East Durham, about 135 miles north of New York City. The 108-acre grounds have sports fields, historic Irish cottages and American houses, a huge map of Ireland paved in brick and a pavilion. Events are also held in various establishments in the surrounding area.
Classes run from Monday to Friday, 14-18 July, morning and afternoon. Set dancing is taught by Patrick O'Dea each morning from 10am to 12.30pm. Timmy McCarthy teaches his unique selection of Cork and Kerry sets afternoons from 1.30 to 3.30pm. Patrick also teaches an afternoon class of trad steps, 2-3pm, while Kieran Jordan from Boston teaches sean nós steps in the morning and Cape Breton steps in the afternoon.
For evening entertainment, there are plenty of sessions organised in the pubs and nightly two-hour concerts. Ceilis operate Monday to Saturday, 9pm to 12am, in Shamrock House, 2388 State Route 145 with music by many of the week's teachers. Weldon House, 2119 State Route 145, also holds a ceili from 7.30 to 10.30pm on Friday night. The week finishes with the Andy McCann Irish Traditional Music Festival on Saturday, 19 July, remembering the fiddler who died at the 2007 Arts Week. Dancing is held in the center's pavilion during the day.
The Catskills is a beautiful area of mountains and forests which has long been a popular wilderness vacation destination. East Durham is adjacent to Catskill Park, a vast state park covering parts of four counties, with 98 mountains over 3,000 feet high.
The registration price shown above is for a full week of morning and afternoon classes. A week of either morning or afternoon classes is $275. Registration can be done via the summer school web site, www.east-durham.org, or by contacting the Michael J Quill Irish Cultural and Sports Center. A list of local accommodation is available on the website. For more information contact Paul Keating.
20-25 July 2008, $440The Augusta Heritage Centre promotes traditional music, dance and other skills at week-long summer schools and other festivals throughout the year. The specialised summer schools include weeks dedicated to Cajun, blues, bluegrass and of course Irish; this is the 27th annual Irish Week. Activities are based on a college campus in the small town of Elkins, which is in a scenic area beside the Appalachian Mountains and the Monongahela National Forest.
The summer school includes tuition in a range of instruments, modern-style and Canadian step dancing, and set dancing. Timmy McCarthy will introduce workshop participants to the delights of Sliabh Luachra music and dance. Classes run from Monday to Friday in morning and afternoon sessions, 10am-12pm and 2.30-4.30pm. The workshops occupy a roofed pavilion which is otherwise open to the fresh air of the wooded setting. Over the lunch break there are performances and demonstrations and for more dancing there are nightly ceilis led by Jim Keenan.
The price shown above is for the week of set dancing classes; accommodation and full board is available on campus for $347. Off-campus accommodation and full details of the week are listed on the Augusta web site, www.augustaheritage.com, or contact the Augusta Heritage Center.
25-27 July 2008, $10 dailyContact John Droney.
30 July-3 August 2008A festival in a town named after the Irish capital located a few miles northwest of Columbus. Among the several stages on the grounds is the tented Ceili Dance Tent which offers set and ceili dancing throughout Friday and Saturday. Dance master Jim Keenan teaches fifty-minute workshops at 1pm, 3.30pm and 8pm on Saturday and 1.30pm on Sunday. There are also fifty-minute ceilis at 4pm and 9pm on Saturday and at 2.30pm and 6pm on Sunday with music by the Cape May Ceili Band and calling by Jim.
The Dublin Festival Academy is an evening summer school on Wednesday and Thursday, 30-31 July. Jim teaches sets from 6.30 to 8.30pm both evenings in the Dublin Community Recreation Center.
Contact Dublin Irish Festival.
Future dates: 31 July-2 August 2009, 6-8 August 2010
1-9 August 2008, $570This long running summer camp offers an international selection of music and dance classes and sessions held in the Mendocino Woodlands, a redwood forest park. Set dancing workshops are included for an hour a day taught by Janis Reynolds. At night there are two set dancing ceilis. Price includes entertainment and on-site accommodation in cabins, tents or vehicles; full board is $250 additional. Advance registration is necessary as the camp sells out early. More details are on the internet at www.larkcamp.com or contact the Mickie and Beth Zeckley.
2 August 2008, 7.30-10pm, $7Live music ceili dancing.
4-10 August 2008, $365This summer school and festival takes place in the town of Goderich which lies on Lake Huron between Detroit and Toronto. The summer school lasts for four days, Monday to Thursday, with four classes per day in a wide range of subjects. Maureen Mulvey-O'Leary teaches three eighty-minute classes each day in the East Gym—set dancing at 9am, ceili dancing at 10.40am and step dancing at 3.10pm. The week opens with a ceili at 8.30pm on Sunday 6 August in the Livery Theatre, 35 South Street. During the week there's ceili dancing each evening in the Gazebo in the Square. The price shown includes tuition and festival admission. Contact Celtic Roots Festival.
8-10 August 2008, freeMinnesota's Irish Fair takes place in a park beside the Mississippi River with the skyscrapers of St Paul in the background beyond. One of many tents on the site is devoted to Irish social dance - sets, ceili and sean nós. Workshops are held throughout the day and ceilis in the evening. Contact the Karen Cieminski, Tim McAndrew and Irish Fair of Minnesota.
10-17 August 2008The largest Irish festival in America is the Irish Fest of Milwaukee, a large city facing Lake Michigan about 90 miles north of Chicago. Over 100,000 visitors attend the four day festival to see a wide variety of entertainment, shop in specialist markets, visit exhibitions and just eat, drink and be merry. Adjacent to the city centre along a half mile of the lake shore is a dedicated fairground site which is home to the Fest. A modest daily entry fee gives full access to all entertainment, from pure trad to hard rock and anything in between, on up to a dozen different stages at once. Some are outdoors in the open air and seat thousands for the top bands; other stages are under cover for more intimate entertainment.
If you're looking for dancing, there's plenty of it to be found here, nearly nonstop during the whole of the Fest opening hours. On Thursday from 5 to 10pm the grounds are only partially open, and dancing is at the Tipperary Stage on an asphalt surface. But for all of the rest of the Fest - 4pm-12am on Friday, 12pm-12am on Saturday and 11am-10pm on Sunday - ceilis are at the Lakefront Dance Pavilion. This has a raised plywood floor for dancing, a roof overhead to keep you dry in a thunderstorm and otherwise little to prevent the lake breezes from cooling you down. One band will play for set dancing for ninety minutes or two hours, and then the next band takes over for ceili dancing. With half a dozen bands alternating between sets and ceili you can dance sets for as many as six hours a day - if you like ceili dancing as well you can double those hours. In practice there's little overlap among set and ceili dancers. When ceili dancing begins, the set dancers drift away to see the rest of the festival, and vice versa. Headlining the music this year is the Kilfenora Ceili Band, and a mixture of Milwaukee groups such as RíRá, Ceol Cairde and Athás fill out most of the schedule.
There's another highly recommended stage with good music and occasional dancing. The Gaeltacht stage is an intimate little tent dedicated to performances by musicians including (for the past few years at least) Johnny Connolly, singers and dancers from Irish-speaking parts of Ireland. It's a genuine slice of home with superb music, song, stories and steps conducted in both Irish and English. There's a tiny wooden platform only big enough for a set whenever the musicians and set dancers are suitably inspired. It's a perfect place to visit during the ceili dancing interludes at the dance pavilion. The only other opportunity to dance takes place in an outdoor basketball court where introductory set and ceili dancing lessons are offered to the public.
All the day's dancing is covered by the general festival admission charge - $5 on the first day, Thursday 16 August, free between 4 and 5pm on Friday and $12 daily after that (last year's prices). Of course admission includes all the other stages and performances on offer throughout the day, so at around a dollar an hour, it's superb value. There are no additional charges for entertainment, though you're never more than a few paces away from opportunities to eat, drink and spend money. You'll find dog shows, tug of war, curragh races, marching bands, theatre, a cable car, market stalls and much more. At the close on Sunday night the dancing finishes in time for a fireworks display on the lake, and then everyone gathers at one of the big stages for a final blast of music and a sentimental singalong.
There's one additional set dancing event during the Fest which is not to be missed, though it's not part of the Fest. The local set dancing club holds a late night ceili on Friday 15 August at the Irish Cultural and Heritage Centre, 2133 West Wisconsin Avenue. It begins around midnight, which leaves enough time to travel here across town after the last set of the night at the Fest, and finishes up in the wee hours of the morning. The musicians are Fest headliners borrowed for the night, and the good music, dancers, floor, food and atmosphere make it special.
As if all of that wasn't enough, the Fest also offers a four-day summer school from Monday to Thursday, 11 to 14 August, with classes in dance, music and other aspects of Irish culture. The Milwaukee School of Engineering, 1085 North Broadway, is the new summer school venue, located in the city centre about six blocks north and west of the festival site, about a mile away. Tony Ryan teaches two set dancing classes daily, afternoon and evening. In another class, Gail McElroy gives an introduction to set, ceili and country dancing, and a class in sean nós dancing by Máire Áine Ní Iarnáin. An opening reception on Sunday evening, 10 August, introduces all the teachers to all the students, and it's followed by a session with dancing. After the evening set dancing classes, everyone usually meets in a restaurant for a session with dancing.
Advance summer school registration is encouraged though you can do it at the opening reception. On campus student housing is available for a full week, covering both the summer school and Fest. If you prefer a hotel be sure to book it early. For more information, visit the Irish Fest web site at www.irishfest.com or contact Jane Anderson regarding the Fest and Jane Walrath for questions about the summer school.
Future festivals: 13-16 August 2009, 19-22 August 2010, 18-21 August 2011
6 September 2008, 6pmA performance of sean nós dancing by Maldon Meehan, Alicia Guinn, Shannon Dunne and Kieran Jordan. Music is provided by Johnny Connolly, Hanz Araki, Cary Novotny and Dave Cory.
27 September 2008, 12-6pm, freeA day of music and dance on three outdoor stages. Contact Kendra Swann, Jesse Winch and Larry Frank.
3-5 October 2008A weekend of dancing in the beautiful, old fashioned seaside resort town of Cape May. Pádraig and Róisín McEneany are visiting from Ireland to teach the workshops and call the sets. East coast musicians play for ceilis on Friday and Saturday nights. Pádraig and Róisín teach on Saturday morning and afternoon and Sunday morning. Contact Linda Fitzpatrick.
4 October 2008, 7.30pm-12am, $13Dancing starts with a lesson by Marilyn Moore, then J Patrick's All Stars led by Peter Fitzgerald begin playing at 8pm for ceili dances and a few sets. Local step dancing schools perform in the break. The admission charge includes beer, soft drinks and snacks; bring dessert to share. Contact Judy Kondner.
Future dates: 1 November, 6 December 2008
31 October-2 November 2008Upstate New York's Catskills Mountains make a beautiful setting for this weekend packed with music and dance. Three ceili bands, Micheál Sexton and Pat Walsh, the Lough Ree Ceili Band and Pete Kelly, play in rotation throughout the weekend. On Saturday morning Gerard Butler teaches a workshop, and in total there are more than twenty hours of dancing from 4pm Friday to 4pm Sunday. The venue is a resort in the Catskill Mountains outside the little town of Ellenville about two hours from New York City. The package includes all entertainment, meals and accommodation. Contact Gertrude Byrne.
31 January-7 February 2009, $1497-2797This popular cruise of the Caribbean offers entertainment by a host of Irish performers, including Micheál Sexton and Pat Walsh and the Lough Ree Ceili Band. Gerard Butler is coming along to teach dance workshops. The itinerary starts and finishes in Fort Lauderdale, making stops on Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands; San Juan, Puerto Rico; St Criox, Virgin Islands; and Half Moon Cay, Bahamas. Per-person price shown varies with room type and includes shared accommodation, meals, entertainment, port charges and taxes; book by 1 June 2008 to save $200. Contact Gertrude Byrne.
| Bill Lynch |
Set Dancing News, Kilfenora, Co Clare, Ireland 065 707 1363 Republic of Ireland 1 410 504 6000 North America 353 65 707 1363 elsewhere BillLynch@eircom.net |