The first Irish - latin Fleadh

Irish Set Dances: Timmy "the Brit" McCarty

Timmy “The Brit” McCarthy, as he is known, spent many years of his life in England.
He returned to Ireland in the mid 1960’s and his interest in Irish Folk Music and in particular, Irish Set dancing brought him in contact with those people who were largely responsible for the revival and continuance of the tradition.
He learned traditional dances from these people and today Timmy is regarded as the most experienced set dance instructor in Ireland.

Along with collecting and teaching the Sets from his native region He spends 50%of the year touring in Europe and North America where the tradition of this dancing is very strong.

Set dances are based on quadrilles which were court dances transformed by the Irish into their own folk dance in rural communities. Promotion of Céilí dance during the 1930's and 1940s, and the rise of Rock and Roll in the 1950s caused the popularity of set dancing to fade.
However, in the 1980s, a revival started and many sets that have not been danced for forty years and more have been recovered and danced again.

In the following video you can see an example of Irish Set Dance: the final Ceili in Miltown Malbay 2008. It is the first figure of Sliabh Lauachra Set.Timmy Mc Carthy plays the button accordion.