Monthly dance session on the third Sunday today. Contact Maggie Daniel. 
Future dates: 15 June 2008
9-11 May 2008, £149This weekend of dancing is based at the traditional English seaside resort of Blackpool, with it's beach, tower, illuminations and amusements appealing to tourists. However, with workshops by Gerard Butler and ceilis with the Lough Ree Ceili Band, you won't need to leave the hotel ballroom this weekend for a good time. Ger teaches during the day on Saturday and Sunday and ceilis are nightly from Friday through Sunday. The package includes entertainment and three nights of shared accommodation, breakfasts and evening meals. Contact Steve Lynch.
17-18 May 2008, £25Timmy McCarthy teaches Cork and Kerry sets at this weekend of workshops. Danny Webster is visiting to play for ceilis on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Contact John and Sharon Holian.
18 May 2008, 1.45-4.45pm, £2Monthly dance session on the third Sunday today. Contact Maggie Daniel.
Future dates: 15 June 2008
18 May 2008, 2.30-5.30pm, £5Sets, ceili and old time with music by Dealga Trad. Contact Moira Dempsey.
18 May 2008, 1-4pm, £4.50Dancing on the third Sunday to recorded music. Contact Pete Maw.
30 May 2007, 8.30pm, £5Dealga Trad plays for this ceili. Contact Moira Dempsey.
Also on: 18 July with Matt Cunningham, 21 November 2008
30 May-1 June 2008, £149After two November set dancing weekends in Halsway Manor, the organisers have moved their third weekend to June for better weather. The venue is a traditional dance centre based in a beautiful Tudor mansion with a lounge bar, library, terraced lawns and scenic views. West country teacher Maggie Daniel leads the workshops and Pendragon led by John Dudley is the resident band. The price includes dancing, on-site B&B and full board. Contact Ken Lamport.
1 June 2008, 12-4.30pmGeoff's First Sunday is a popular afternoon session of ceili, two-hands, waltzes, jive and plenty of sets danced to recorded music. Contact Geoff Holland.
Also on: 3 August, 7 September, 5 October, 2 November, 7 December 2008
1 June 2008, 11am-5.30pm, £6A day of dancing with a morning workshop from 11am to 1pm taught by local teachers, a lunchtime session and an afternoon ceili from 2.30 to 5.30pm with live music by Eight Foot Four. Bring lunch for a picnic in the orchard, weather permitting. Contact Paul Harper.
Future dates: 7 September, 5 October, 2 November, 7 December 2008
8 June 2008, 2pmA charity ceili with Dealga Trad. Contact Pat O'Sullivan.
Also on: 16 November 2008
13 June 2008, 8.30pmA ceili with Dealga Trad. Contact Margaret Morrin.
More dancing: 20 July (2pm) with Matt Cunningham, 10 October, 28 November 2008
15 June 2008, 5-10pm, £5A charity event beginning on an outdoor platform and moving indoors as the evening progresses. Bring a picnic. Contact Tom Kelleher.
21 June 2008, 8pm-12amTony Kearney plays for this ceili as part of Basingstoke Irish Society Festival Weekend. Contact Kevin Monaghan.
27 June 2008, 8.30pmA charity ceili with Dealga Trad. Contact Pat O'Sullivan.
Also on: 21 December 2008, 8pm
3 July 2008, 8.30pm-12amMicheál Sexton and Pat Walsh play for a ceili tonight on their way to London for the weekend. Contact George Hook.
4-6 July 2008Micheál Sexton and Pat Walsh are playing for three ceilis in the London area in connection with the Southwark Irish Festival -
Friday 8pm-12am St Thomas Moore Hall, 116A Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, London SE22 Saturday 8pm-12am Services and Social Club, Springfield Lane, High Street, Weybridge, Surrey Sunday 1.30-6.30pm Peckham Rye Park, Peckham, London SE15 The Sunday ceili takes place outdoors in the Trad Marquee at Southwark Irish Festival with calling by Tomás O'Dea. Contact Anne Mullen.
5 July 2008 Micheál Sexton and Pat Walsh 26 July 2008 end of term party with Tony Kearney Dancing begins at 8.30pm. Contact Rita O'Halloran.
18-21 July 2008, £159An Irish festival of country and traditional music at a holiday park facing the North Sea on the easternmost point of Britain. The lineup of entertainment includes set dancing workshops by Pádraig and Róisín McEneany and ceilis on Saturday and Sunday nights - please confirm band. The price includes entertainment, shared chalet accommodation and full board. Contact Steve Lynch.
18-26 July 2008Matt Cunningham's summer tour of England brings him to venues all over the country -
18 July 2008 8.30pm, £8 Pope John Centre, The Green, Heston Road, Heston, Middlesex Moira Dempsey 19 July 2008 Braintree Community Centre, Victoria Street, Braintree, Essex 20 July 2008 2pm South London Irish Centre, 140 Hartfield Road, Wimbledon, London Margaret Morrin 21 July 2008 Queen Mary's College, Cliddesden Road, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 3HF Kevin Monaghan 22 July 2008 8.30pm St Kentigerns Parochial Hall, Hart Road, Fallowfield, Manchester, M14 7DW Barbara Aherne 23 July 2008 Bolton Irish Centre, Lever Street, Bolton, Lancashire 24 July 2008 Servite Parish Centre, Cavendish Road, Prestwich, Manchester 7 25 July 2008 8pm-12am Goodyear Pavilion, Stafford Road, Wolverhampton Mona Dingley, Bridget Chambers 26 July 2008 Brian Boru Club, 55 Bryn St, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, Lancashire For more information contact the people listed above or Matt himself.
29-31 August 2008Pádraig and Róisín McEneany lead workshops and the Copperplate Ceili Band provide music at this charity weekend. Dancing starts at the ceili on Friday night from 8.30pm to 12.30am. On Saturday workshops are from 10.30am to 4.30pm and the ceili that night is from 8.30pm to 12.30am. The Sunday workshop runs from 11am to 1pm and the final ceili from 2 to 5pm. Contact George Hook.
24 September 2008, 7.30pmA monthly live music and dancing session. In the first hour Val Knight provides instruction for beginners, then the full session begins at 8.30pm.
Also on: 29 October, 26 November, 17 December 2008
4-5 October 2008, £22The fifth annual workshop with Pat Murphy, who holds workshops on Saturday, 10.30am-5pm, and Sunday, 11.30am-1.30pm. The Ivy Leaf Ceili Band plays on Saturday night from 8.30pm, and again on Sunday from 2.30-5.30pm. Contact John and Sharon Holian.
10 October 2008, 8.30pm-12amDancing to Tony Kearney. Contact Tracey Mullen.
24-27 October 2008Manchester's big weekend of competitions and ceilis features music by the Copperplate and Five Counties ceili bands. The ceilis are at 8.30pm each night from Friday through Monday. Saturday's ceili is in the Longfield Suite, Longfield Centre, Rectory Lane, Prestwich, M25, and competitions begin at 10am on Saturday. Contact Colman Murtagh, Anne Cahill and Barbara Aherne.
24 October-2 November 2008Return to Camden Town is a ten-day celebration of Irish music, song and dance in the inner London district of Camden which was once the home of many Irish immigrants. The festival offers a full programme of sessions, concerts and music classes, and also includes ceilis and dance workshops. The festival is based at the London Irish Centre which was the city's first such centre and has been operating for over fifty years.
Gerard Butler visits on the first weekend, 25-26 October, to host workshops on Saturday morning and afternoon and on Sunday morning. The Davey Ceili Band is also here for ceilis on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Playing on Tuesday evening is the McNamara Ceili Band featuring Karen Ryan, Gary Connolly, Kathy Walton and Pete Quinn. More workshops and ceilis are planned for Saturday and Sunday, 1-2 November.
Contact Terry O'Donnell.
25 October 2008, 8.30pm, £5A ceili with music by the Reel Note Ceili Band. Contact Eamonn Murray and John Gallagher.
1 November 2008, 8.30pmDealga Trad play for this ceili. Contact Della Reilly.
| 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 |