THE SPIRIT OF IRELAND INCOPENHAGENEdward P. KellyThe Copenhagen International Folk Dance Festival hosted twenty nations in thisnow world-famous event. Groups came from mainland Greece, from Crete, from allover Scandinavia. From Halland, England, France; and even from the CommunistBlock countries. They were for the most part, splendidly clad in exquisite andrichly coloured national costumes as they put the best of their talent on stage. Andhistory was in the.making, because far the first time ever at this festival, Ireland wasrep resen ted, ......Unlike many of the other groupswhich were drawn from the best talentof their countries, the Irish troupe wasthe Tralee Seisiun Group, members ofCCE, all, and as such, twenty·two enthusiasticlovers of Irish traditionalmusic, song and dance.Said Producer lames O'CiJnnor: "Wehave been preparing for this event sincewe accepted the kind invitation to participateeighteen months ago . Ofcourse, we had heard of this festival beforeand we were well aware that thevery highest of standards would be required.As it was a first time for Irelandand <strong>Comhaltas</strong> Ceolt6iri Eireann, wewanted to do our best for the country -and, of course,,for Kerry too. It was areal challenge."And so began long hours of hardwork, including the most importantfund·raising, for the costs of the tripwere high.Mr. O'Connor continued: "But Ihave a wonderful group of young peopleto work with, many of whom I haveknown since they were children. I havetrust and confidence in them. Theythrew themselves into the task withgusto, with rehearsal after rehearsal,until we reached what we hoped wouldbe an acceptable standard.It seemed, and so it turned out, thatthe "acceptable standard" Mr. O'Con--nor mentioned, was the well knownKerry gift of understatement, for everywherehis group performed they sweptall before them.Most of the Danes and the participatingcountries had never seen Irishdancing before and were delighted bythe talents of these gifted young peopleJAMES O'CONNORfrom Tralee and lavish in their praise.In an exhausting programme theGroup performed in several locations,both indoors and outdoors, before thousandsof people and their flashing feet,in a great and colourful exhibition thatwas a very dazzle of music and movement,brought them standing ovations.The Grand Finale was held in a hugeoutdoors amphitheatre, set in a beautifullocation of ancient farm houses -and even an old mill powered by awater-wheel.It was a day of blazing sunshine,(The Irish brought the good weatherwith them, but alas they also took itback), and one after the other thevarious national groups went on stage.Then it was the turn of the Irish ........Handsome in their costumes, (designedand made by Mrs. O'ConnorJ, they followedthe Tricolour, bourne with prideby Mr. lackie Walsh, onto the huge cir-. cular stage.In spite of several injuries - blisters,swollen ankles and sprains, they excelledthemselves. Their bright eyes andsmiling faces made it quite clear thatin spite of the importance of the oc·casion these young people were enjoyingthemselves and the watchingcrowds knew and liked it.Their stunning performance broughtthe audience to its feet in salvo aftersalvo of applause . (One huge beardedDane outdid all with blook-curdling'Yahoos'), and a shout of 'IrelandForever' by an emotional Irishman -of whom there was only a handful - wastaken up by people of several nations.The group danced in perfect unison,the marvellously intricate stepsdelivered at such bewildering speed thatthe eye could not follow the action ofthe feet.And there was another, almost indefinablequality to the dance: a kind ofmagic, which cast its spell over the audience.For nations may boast of theirancient cultures- and more power tothem- but here was a part of the richheritage of Ireland, fresh and vibrant,not musty between the pages of someyellowed volume, nor lifeless in somecarved statue or white pillared temple.For after all the centuries of oppression,14
fleabh facesr",:' \IWexford's PADDY BERRY singing for Corkballadeer DONNCHA 0 LAOIRE.Northern fiddler J1M McKILLOP with hispercllssion ensemble.From ,generation to generation: RUAJRI bCINNEIDE of Dundalk coaching a grandsonof the late and great fiddler JOHN JOEGARDINER.A fiddler's contentment.12
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