IRISH MUSIC
Irish music reflects the traditions, hopes,
triumphs and struggles of the people. We have a rich
heritage of folk music, there are songs in Irish and
English, and a huge collection of dance tunes. The
suffering of the Irish people during centuries of
persecution cannot have failed to leave it’s mark.
This fact and the modal nature of much of our music
partly explains the note of tenderness and melancholy
which is so evident.
The first examples of Irish art music were
stimulated by the ritual requirements of religion. Irish
monastic culture was from 500 A.D. onwards very
advanced. Irish missionaries spread over a great part
of Europe, and Irish monasteries were centres for the
cultivation of music. The Benedictine Abbey of St.
Gall in Switzerland offers an outstanding example of
the influence of Ireland on Church music.
Obviously the finest tunes are the work of the
great harpers, who were the professional musicians of
the courts. A lot of folk tunes are really corrupted
versions of art music. Bunting’s
volumes show clearly that the harpers had a highly
elaborate technique of playing.
Traditional Irish music was independent of
written record until recent years. Tunes were
memorised. Without conscious effort the people
learned a number of songs which became part of their
being like the language they spoke. The Irish
musician was not deemed competent unless he knew
his music perfectly. The calamities of the years 18456 ( the famine ) did more to destroy Ireland’s music
than anything else. The people died off in thousands ,
many fled to America.
Edward Bunting published three volumes of
Irish tunes between 1796- 1840. The majority of them
were taken down from the playing of the last sad
remnants of the Irish harpers. Dr. George Petrie
collected songs with Eugene O’ Curry, who wrote
down the Irish words. His collection consists of 2,000
tunes. He also recorded where each tune was
obtained. Nobody knows who composed these
melodies which were sung by many generations,
adapted to poems of various sentiment, they have
been subject to continual change. Melodies were modified to bring out the characteristics of violin,
flute or harp.
Among the ancient Celts the interval of the whole tone was preferred above all others. Irish
tunes exist composed entirely of whole tones. The half tones, when employed, are of secondary
importance, they are often passing notes or used for ornament.
The Pentatonic or 5- note scale (whole tone scale), the 4th and 7th of the scale are omitted.. The
‘Dawning of the Day’ is in this scale.
The Ionian (doh mode), Dorian (ray mode), Mixolydian (soh mode),and Aeolian (lah mode), or
natural minor ,are used in Irish music. The Mixolydian and Aeolian modes both have flattened 7ths.
THE HARP
The Irish harp was a sturdy instrument. The sound box was made from a solid block of sally or
willow. It was frequently decorated. The strings were made of brass and it was played with long
fingernails. Today’s Irish harp has gut instead of wire strings. The Irish harp i s an emblem of the
country and appears on the coinage. The ‘Brian Boru’ harp is the oldest surviving example and can
be seen at Trinity College. It dates from the 14th century. References to the harp go back to Celtic
times, and images of the harp can be seen on many High Crosses.
In Gaelic Ireland the harper was a very important person. He was a professionally trained performer
and was attached to the castles and big houses, where he was held in great esteem. He composed
special pieces of music called planxties in honour of patrons eg ‘Planxty Maguire’.He also composed
tunes for special occasions. He accompanied when ballads or poems were being recited.
Around 1600, when the old order of lords and chiefs broke up the harpers had to travel from house to
house. Now they associated with folk musicians and began playing the music of the people. By the
end of the 18th century the tradition had almost died.
HARPERS
Turlough O Carolan (1670 -1738) born in Co. Meath ,blinded by smallpox at the age of 18.Mrs. Mc.
Dermott Roe, the wife of his father’s employer, seeing that he was musically talented, arranged for
him to have harp lessons. He began his career as a travelling harper at the age of 21, with the help of
an assistant.He was honoured wherever he went and composed hundreds of tunes for his patrons. One
of his most beautiful compositions is called ‘Carolan’s Concerto’.
Denis Hempson (1695 -1807), was the oldest harper at The Belfast Harp Festival and played with
long fingernails. He was born in county Derry and like Carolan, travelled all around Ireland and
Scotland playing the harp. His harp can be seen at Guinness Brewery.
Arthur O’Neill (1737 - 1816), like Hempson and O’ Carolan he was blind, and travelled around the
country playing for hosts. He came from Co. Tyrone and took part in The Belfast Harp Festival.
THE BELFAST HARP FESTIVAL
The Society for the ‘Preservation of Irish Poetry and Harp Music’ was founded in 1792. The
political movement ‘The United Irishmen’ founded in the same year shared some aims and members
with this cultural society. Henry Joy Mc Cracken decided to organise a National Harp Festival to
revive an interest in Irish Music, and to collect the music of the harpers, and note their style of playing
for future generations. The festival attracted the oldest and best harpers in the country. What was
hoped as a revival proved to be a farewell to the bardic tradition. Ten harpers attended and most of
them played O’Carolan’s tunes. Only one was under 45 years of age and the eldest, Denis Hempson
was 97. He was the only one to use the ancient way of playing with the fingernails.
THE COLLECTORS
EDWARD BUNTING (1773- 1843), a Belfast organist, at the age of 18, got the job of writing down
the tunes played at The Belfast Harp Festival. These tunes would otherwise have been lost forever
After the festival he devoted himself to travelling around the north of Ireland collecting songs and
dance tunes from the people. He published these in three volumes in 1796, 1807,and 1840, under the
title ‘General Collection of Ancient Irish Music’.
GEORGE PETRIE (1789- 1866), was born in Dublin of Scottish ancestry. He was a gifted painter.
He worked in the Ordnance Survey Office and became interested in architecture and the preservation
of ancient Irish monuments. He also turned to the preservation of Irish music and began to note down
any tune which he thought was unpublished. He sent many of the tunes to Bunting. In 1851 he
founded ‘The Society for the Preservation and Publication of the Melodies of Ireland. In 1855, the
society published Petrie’s ‘ Ancient Music of Ireland’, containing 147 airs, with extensive historical
and descriptive notes. He was assisted by the Irish scholar Eugene O’Curry who wrote down the
words. His collection is an example of how folk music should be recorded. The ‘Derry Air’, one of
the most beautiful of all melodies, is first seen in this collection. After his death his daughter, MaryAnne gave the entire manuscript collection of 2,148 pieces to Sir Charles Stanford, the Irish
composer, who finally published them in three parts, containing songs, dance tunes, lullabies and
marches.
HENRY HUDSON (1798- 1889), a Dublin doctor, who developed a passion for Irish music, and
collected hundreds of tunes. He began to include some of his own compositions in his collections and
as a result is treated with some suspicion.
WILLIAM FORDE (1795- 1850), a Cork - based musician, Forde was an expert in both classical
music and folk music of many countries. He collected countless Irish airs. His was a new approach,
giving all the available versions of each air together with commentaries. Unfortunately his collection
wasn’t published due to lack of money to finance the project.
JOHN PIGOT(1822- 1871), aroused widespread interest in folk music through articles
published in ‘The Nation’. His collected airs are preserved by the Royal Irish Academy.
JAMES GOODMAN (1828- 1871), born near Dingle, he was rector of a parish in Kerry and
Professor of Irish in Trinity College. A keen piper himself, he collected about 2,000 previously
unknown tunes.
PATRICK WESTON JOYCE ( 1827- 1914), grew up in an area (Co. Limerick), where the Irish
language and music flourished. Just as Petrie had given many tunes to Bunting, the young Joyce gave
his collection to Petrie. After Petrie’s death in 1866, he decided to publish his first volume of
‘Ancient Irish Music’ containing 100 melodies with piano accompaniments and notes on their
sources. Again in 1909 he published 842 airs, ‘Old folk music and songs’ which contained tunes
from his collection and music from the collections of William Forde and John Pigot.
FRANCES O’NEILL (1849- 1936),from Cork, ran away from home at 16, worked on ships, survived
a shipwreck, landed at San Francisco. Later he became a shepherd, teacher and clerk before becoming
a policeman in Chicago in 1873. He played the flute and had a remarkable memory. His friend
Sergeant James O’Neill noted down all the tunes he had memorised. In 1903, he published his
collection ‘The Music of Ireland’, which contained 1,850 pieces, of which 1,100 were dance tunes.
Many of these tunes had never been in print before.
In response to popular demand, O’Neill published ‘ The Dance Music of Ireland ’in 1907, which
became the bible of traditional players. As the Chicago police force was full of Irishmen, and Chicago
itself populated with many Irish emigrants, he had no difficulty collecting more airs and dances. He
continued to publish and in 1913 produced ’ Irish Minstrels and Musicians’ which contained a vast
store of information and knowledge on harpers, pipers, collectors and historians. This has been
invaluable to Irish musicians.
The earliest written Irish song is ‘Cailin O Chois TSuire Me’( I am a girl from beside the
Suir). It was written in a 16th century manuscript called William Ballet’s Lute Book. Shakespeare
mentions it in the play Henry V, and the 16th century English composer,
William Byrd, composed a set of keyboard variations on it.
The first complete book of Irish music was printed by John and William Neale in Dublin in
1726, ‘A Collection of the most Celebrated Irish Tunes’, and it contained many of the first published
versions of O Carolan’s tunes, as well as ‘Thugamar Fein An Samhradh Linn’ and Limerick’s
Lament’.
In the 20th century ,many classically trained composers arranged Irish tunes and used them in
their compositions, e.g. Hamilton Harty’s ‘An Irish Symphony’ , Sean O’ Riada’s
‘Mise Eire’.
The work of collecting went on assisted by the advent of the gramophone in America in the
1920's. This had an enormous influence on Irish music. Many players were recorded, including the
two most famous fiddle players from Sligo, Michael Coleman and James Morrison. Their style of
playing was fast, highly ornamented and extrovert. Musicians in Ireland and America copied this
style.
MORE IRISH INSTRUMENTS
The Uilleann Pipes emerged in the 18th century. Today a full set comprises a bag, bellows, a
chanter, regulators and a drone. The bellows are pressed by the left elbow to fill the bag with
air. The air comes through the chanter, on which the melody is played.. The three regulators
are stopped pipes fitted with keys, they provide simple chords and are played with the wrist.
The three drones provide a single unchanging note to accompany the tune. They have an
outstanding sweetness of tone. Liam O’ Floinn is a virtuoso player.
The fiddle is the most popular and most widely used instrument in Irish music, since the 18th
century. It is the same as the classical violin, having four strings and played with a bow.
Eileen Ivors is a brilliant player.
The flute, is used for Irish music since the 18th century. The traditional flute is made from
wood and is particularly suited for playing Irish music with all it’s ornamentation. Matt
Molloy is an expert player.
The tin whistle goes back a long time, Paddy Maloney from the Chieftain plays it.
The bodhran. Bones and spoons are the main Irish percussion instruments. Mel Mercier
plays all of these.
The Concertina is hexagonal in shape. The keys are extended over both sides of the
instrument so that both hands play the melody.
Accordion. There are 2 types, button, and piano. Sharon Shannon plays the buttonn
accordion.
IRISH DANCE MUSIC
In the past the music was associated with dancing, today the function of the music has
changed, many musicians play the music for it’s own sake, independent of the dance. It has
retained many of the characteristics of the dance.
(A) Structure (form) 8 - bar sections repeated. The most common number of parts is 2 but
there can be as many as 7. The first part of the piece is called the tune, the second part is
called the turn.
(B) Rhythm this is obviously related to the dance, there is an internal swing that makes the
music sound uniquely Irish. The traditional musician will accent the first note of a phrase.
Dynamics are not a feature of Irish Traditional Music.
(C) Dance Tune Types
1.The Reel is the most common
dance tune. It is fast and in 4/4 time.
2, The Double Jig is the next most common
dance type Lively in 6/8 time.
3. The Single Jig or Slide
fast, associated with Kerry.
4. The Slip Jig (hop jig ),9/8 time, fast.
5. Hornpipe 4/4 time, bouncy(dotted rhythm)
slower than reel.
6. Polka used for set dancing, 2/4 time.
Associated with Cork and Kerry.
These dances owe their present form to the dancing masters of the late 18th and 19th centuries,
who travelled from village to village usually with a piper or a fiddler. Irish folk dances are
light, graceful and dignified in contrast with the rough living conditions in the country. Many
dances were held at crossroads. Some of the music for the dance came from the songs already
known, a lot came from the fiddlers and pipers themselves.
Dancing in Ireland can be divided into 2 parts:
1. Solo Dancing. Solo dances can be divided into 2 styles: (a) sean nos, and contemporary
step dance.. Perhaps the most distinctive feature that distinguishes sean nos from
contemporary dance is the body stance. In sean nos this is far more relaxed. The hands are
normally loosely hanging from the sides. In the Connemara style, the hands are sometimes
raised to waist or head level. In contemporary dance the hands are held rigidly by the sides, the
posture too is rigid, the dancer adopting a proud and upright stance, with all the concentration
on the complexity of the footwork, the costume is also an important part of the overall
presentation of the dancer.
Irish dance shows like Riverdance and Lord of the Dance deserve a mention in the context of
Irish dancing. The staging of Riverdance as part of the Eurovision 1994, was possibly the first
time that Irish step dancing had been presented to such a large audience in a new and modern
way and caught the imagination of the Irish people and later the world. The type of dance seen
especially by the soloists, is a mixture of many styles — ballet, jazz, flamenco and Irish dance.
During Michael Flatley’s first performance of Riverdance, he used his arms in a way
associated with the sean nos tradition of Connemara.
Solo Dances require a very skilled performer, they were known as table dances, as the
dancer’s skill could be shown off to it’s best on the kitchen table.’ The Three Sea Captains
‘and’ The King of The Fairies’ are popular examples.
2. Group Dancing : can be divided into (a) set dancing, (b) ceili dancing
Set dancing is the oldest of the two and is a direct descendant of the courtly dances of Europe,
and is also related to the American square dance. A full set is made up of 8 people making 4
couples. They dance around in a circle, performing different movements according to the set.
These were danced at cross roads at the turn of the century.
However the Gaelic League, an organisation whose aim was to promote Irish culture, decided
that this form of dancing was not Irish enough, and instead invented their own dances which
were called ceili dances,. They were seen as an activity suitable for respectable middle classes
and were also thought to have been a suitable manner for people to socialise. Some of the most
popular are ‘The Seige of Ennis’, The Walls of Limerick’, ‘The Haymaker’s Jig’. The Gaelic
League was trying to create a deeper awareness of Irishness in the people as well as a sense of
pride in their own cultural inheritance. Creating these dances was one of the ways they saw as
promoting this awareness and pride.
Set dances survived in certain parts of the country especially in Co. Clare. At a typical ceili
today you will normally see a mixture of set and ceili dancing.
FEATURES OF IRISH FOLK SONG
1. Irish traditional music is a melodic art.
2. Composers are unknown, because the music wasn’t written down until the 18 th century.
3. Many versions of the same song exist, because the music was transmitted aurally and the
players changed the tunes to suit their style of singing.
4.Melodies are frequently in triple time.
5.The words are simple and tell of everyday events of life. They can be divided into several
categories - love songs, work songs, wedding songs, religious songs, carols, lullabies, laments,
children’s songs.
6. They have a wide range.
7. They are in simple forms - binary (AB), or ternary (ABA).
8. Irish songs were based on the rhythms of Gaelic poetry.
9. The songs were modal, The Ionian mode (the same as the major scale),Dorian mode (r - r),
Mixolydian mode (s - s ), and Aeolian mode (l - l ), or natural minor,
and pentatonic scale ( 5 - note scale, with f and t omitted ), were used.
10. The music does not change key.
11. The final note of the song is often repeated - plagal cadence.
12. The tunes usually have a lot of ornamentation, by adding grace notes, slides, turns, filling
in intervals, replacing long notes with short repeated notes.
13. They seldom use expressive effects, speed changes or dynamics.
14. Traditional Irish music has been a solo art form but today a lot of it is performed by groups
who provide harmony.
Three types of melody were recognised by the ancient Irish:
1. Geantrai - love and labour songs, dancing songs, songs for festivities,
2. Goltrai - which included most of the caoine or laments.
3. Suantrai - songs of rest, lullabies.
There were songs for every age, every mood, every state of lif, songs with Irish words,
English words, Latin words, or bi-lingual (macaronic ) songs, where words were partly in each
language.
CATEGORIES OF SONGS.
Love songs: Very expressive and intense in nature, often very sad. The majority of Irish songs
are love songs Tragic love stories are more usual than happy ones. Love of one’s country is
also a common theme.eg Eibhlin a Run, and The Coulin.
Laments: A song for the dead or a song of regret at the loss of a friend by emigration or
eviction. They are sad and slow and often describe a particular personal sorrow, a local
tragedy, or a military defeat.eg. An Mhaighdean Mhara, Fill, Fill a Run O.
Work Songs: They have a good strong beat to match the physical action of the work they were
intended to accompany, and were sometimes fitted with nonsense words.eg.Amhran na
Cuiginne .
Drinking Songs: For a celebration of social gathering, lively rhythm eg. Preab san Ol.
Lullabies: Simple rocking tunes eg. Gartan Mother’s Lullaby, Taimse im Chodladh
Religious Songs and Carols: The Wexford Carol, Deus Meus.
Humorous Songs: Lively and sometimes used nonsence words. Some of these have macaronic
verse. Improvised verses were often added.eg. An Poc ar buile
Ballads: Songs that tell a story eg The Croppy Boy
Festival Music: Cheerful bright tunes, these include our dance tunes, many of which were
originally songs.eg. St. Patricks Day
Patriotic Songs: These include the Aisling where the poet has a dream of a beautiful woman,
who becomes the symbol of Ireland. These songs were intended to give hope and
encouragement to the people. eg. Roisin Dubh, Brian Boru’s March.
SEAN NOS
This means the old style and involves a highly skilled ornamented style of singing in which the
performer may ornament the tune differently for each verse. These songs are unaccompanied
solos and the singers do not have any special voice training. They are often sung with a nasal
tone quality. A song may end with a spoken throw -away phrase. The tempo is treated freely.
Noirin Ni Riain is a famous sean - nos singer.
Ornamentation in sean -nos can be done in three different ways:
1. Embellishment - (a) adding grace notes
(b) filling in intervals
2. Melodic Variation: The performer can vary the tune by changing a note in a group of notes,
keeping only the bare outline of the phrase.
3. Rhythmic Variation: The performer can vary the rhythm in many ways:
(a) by shortening the length of some notes and playing them staccato.
(b) varying the rhythm of a triplet.
4. The roll, a group of three grace notes.
5. Cranning
IRISH PERFORMERS
Since the 1960's, with the formation of many groups of traditional players, Irish music has
been brought to every part of the world.
In 1961 Sean O Riada formed the group Ceoltoiri Cualann from the very best traditional
players that he could find. They gave Irish music a fresh sound and a new image. Along with
fiddles, flute, tin whistle, and uileann pipes, O Riada added the bodhran and harpsichord,
which he chose as a substitute for the old Irish harp. He also introduced the singer Sean O Se
into the group. They played dance tunes, slow airs and many of O’ Carolan’s tunes. When
Sean O’ Riada died in 1971, the group reformed under the name of the Chieftains, with a new
leader Paddy Moloney, a famous uileann pipes player. He introduced Derec Bell into the
group, who plays the harp. They have travelled all over the world being great ambassadors of
Irish Music.
The Dubliners began as a group in the 1960's and sang ballads, work songs , rebel songs and
street songs associated with city life.
The Clancy Brothers they started in the 1960's also and adapted their music for an IrishAmerican audience, using traditional songs for group singing and giving them a lively beat.
They added the banjo.
Clannad a family group from Co. Donegal, they started in the 1970's. They combined their
traditional musical background with electric rock. One of the group Enya left in 1982 to go
solo.
Planxty: one of the most exciting groups of the 1970's. They introduced the guitar, bouzouki
and mandolin. Donal Lunny played the bouzouki, the uileann pipes were played by Liam O
Floinn The other members were Christy Moore and Andy Irvine. They got their music from
old song collections.
The Bothy Band, a group of 6 players, of whom three were traditional. They made new
arrangements of Irish tunes in a contemporary style. Their energetic style of playing won them
many fans. Their players included Paddy Keenan on uileann pipes, Matt Molloy on flute, and
Donal Lunny on bouzuki.
De Danann, this Galway - based group was formed in the 70's. They arranged traditional
dance music for fiddle, cello, flute, button accordion and bouzuki. Among the singers with the
group were Mary Black, Dolores Keane, and Maura O’ Connell. Frankie Gavin was their
fiddle player and Alec Finn played the guitar and bouzuki.
Altan, a Donegal traditional group, they have in their repertoire many previously unheard of
songs, and put their own particular stamp on them. Their fiddles and flute , guitar and bouzuki
provide a full, rich and exciting sound, yet they remain true to their roots. Their main singer is
Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh who also plays the fiddle.
Coolfin, Donal Lunny has been involved in many traditional groups. These bands changed the
way many people thought of Irish music. His new band produces a trad, funk, rock, jazz sound.
Donal Lunny plays bouzuki, guitar and bodhran. Nollaig Casey plays fiddle. The other
instruments are pipes and whistles, keyboard, bass and percussion, with guest appearances
from Sharon Shannon on accordion.
IRISH ROCK GROUPS
Many Irish rock groups were influenced by traditional Irish music and gave a whole new
dimension to it, reaching wider and younger audiences.
Horslips They used a mixture of traditional and modern instruments. In their energetic
performances, they used a clever combination of Irish songs with a rock beat.
Boomtown Rats and Bob Geldof developed an Irish Punk style.
U2 Bono, the lead singer, was influenced by Bob Dylan who in turn was influenced by the
Clancy Brothers. They have moved from Irish to Blues, Gospel and jazz influences. They
continue to experiment and develop.
Thin Lizzy The group’s arrangement of the Irish ballad ‘ Whiskey in a jar’ in 1973 established
them as an Irish rock group on the European and American scene.
Hothouse Flowers The group combine elements of sean-nos with the blues, rock and ballad
form, and have brought this experimental music to European audiences.
SOLO SINGERS AND PERFORMERS
Mary Black, Dolores Keane, Mary Coughlan, Van Morrison, Sinead O’Connor, Sharon
Shannon, Iarla Leonard, and Paul Brady are all enjoying celebrity status.
Mary Black comes from Dublin. She first sang as a member of the Black family group. She
then joined De Danann . Later she went solo.
Liam O’ Floinn comes from Kildare. He played the uilleann pipes with Planxty in the 1970's.
He was the soloist in Shaun Davey’s Brendan Voyage. He enjoys a sucessful career as a
soloist.
COMPOSERS OF IRISH MUSIC
Sean O’ Riada (1931 - 1971) from Co. Limerick, studied music at UCC,and later became
lecturer in Irish music there. He composed music in the European style. He became a national
figure in 1959 when he composed the music for the film ‘Mise Eire’. He formed the group
Ceoltoiri Cualann in 1961, and arranged Irish music for them giving it a new sound.
Shaun Davey has taken subjects of Irish interest and has used a mixture of traditional
instruments and classical ones. In his suite ‘The Brendan Voyage’, (1980),the music follows
the adventures of Brendan the navigator. The uileann pipes represent the boat upon the water.
The part for the uileann pipes, while blending perfectly with the orchestra, leaves the
performer to ornament and decorate in the traditional way’ In his piece ‘ Granuaile’ 1985,
Davey uses uileann pipes, voices and chamber orchestra. He also wrote ‘The Relief of Derry’
symphony in 1988.
Micheal O’ Suilleabhain another graduate from UCC, became lecturer in Irish music there,
later moved to the university of Limerick, where he is head of the music department.. His
compositions link Irish music with European music and jazz. He became famous for his piano
performances, Irish tunes played in a jazzy style. His compositions include ‘Oilean’ , a work
for traditional flute and chamber orchestra. ‘Idir Eatharu’ is a lighthearted piece usi ng a jig and
a hornpipe tune to great effect. His music for string orchestra is bright and colourful, with
bones and bodhran for percussion.
Bill Whelan, from Limerick, played with Planxty. He has composed a lot of film music,
including ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’. He was commissioned to write the orchestral work ‘Seville
Suite’ for Expo 92 in Seville.’ Riverdance’ brought him worldwide fame. It was composed for
the interval act of the 1994 Eurovision song contest. He has won many awards for this music.
RIVERDANCE
It is an exciting piece inspired by the river Liffey. There are 2 acts in the show with movements
which include ‘Reel around the Sun’, Women of Ireland’,’ Thunderstorm’, American
Wake’.Instruments include fiddle, uileann pipes, saxophone, bodhran, tin whistle, accordion ,
keyboards and RTE Concert Orchestra. The singing was performed by the group Anuna, who
mix sean - nos style with a medieval sound. The dances were highly innovative, colourful and
energetic. The storyline deals with themes of exile and creativity and the island of Ireland
finding it’s place in the world. In the final exciting movement, a mixture of traditional Irish,
Eastern European, Classical, folk and jazz elements all come together for a brilliant ending.
It starts with Anuna invoking the spirit of the ‘Riverwoman’ and ushering her onto the land.
This led to ‘Earthrise’, a rhythmic sequence with powerful ethnic patterns on the drums
Jean Butler was one of the main dancers, she travelled all over Europe with the Chieftains and
danced for the Princess of Wales .
Michael Flatley was the other principal dancer, the fastest tap dancer in the world. Won the all
world championship for Irish dancing, a master chess player, champion boxer and brilliant
flute player. He was described as a living treasure by the National Geographic Society Jean and
Michael were joined by 24 Irish traditional dancers for a spectacular finale