The Harp

Long, long ago in Ireland, the sound of the Irish Harp echoed round the courts of kings and chieftains. No feast or noble gathering was complete without a bard providing entertainment for the guests. In ancient times these wandering minstrels travelled far and wide around the country, playing for anyone who would listen.

Irish harpers carried with them the legends and stories of their native land, keeping their culture alive.

Such was the power of their sweet melodies that strong men might weep or be lulled to sleep. The haunting music of the harp could woo beautiful ladies or persuade their admirers to grant any favour.

Today the Irish Harp still retains its power. It is recognized worldwide as the emblem of Irish national identity and pride. Those who wear it show they still know how to listen between the lines of a soulful melody. The music of the Irish Harp tells the true history of the Irish people.

The Irish Government

In Ireland, the government is a parliamentary democracy. The Head of the Government is the Taoiseach. The Tánaiste is the Deputy Prime Minister. Fifteen Government Departments exist in Ireland. The Taoiseach and the Ministers form together the Government under the Irish constitution, and they hold executive power.

The Oireachtas 

The Oireachtas Éireann is the legislature of Ireland. It is composed of the President of Ireland and of two houses.

The President of Ireland serves as head of state and is directly elected by the people. The current President, elected in 2011, is Michael D Higgins.  Presidents are elected for seven years, and can serve no more than two terms. The President has a largely ceremonial role.

The first house is the Dáil Éireann, the House of Representatives and the second house is the Seanad Éireann, the Senate. The houses of the Oireachtas sit in Leinster House in Dublin, an eighteenth-century ducal palace.

Ø The Dáil Éireann has 166 members. Members are directly elected at least once in every five years by the people of the Republic of Ireland under a system of proportional representation known as the single transferable vote.

Ø The Seanad Eireann has 60 members. Eleven are appointed by the Taoiseach (prime minister). The rest are elected from vocational panels and by national universities (University of Dublin, National University of Ireland…)

  The Seanad can initiate or revise legislation, but the Dáil can reject their amendments and proposed legislation.

Local Government 

Locally, there are 114 local authorities in Ireland.  They provide a large amount of services, such as housing, transport, water supply, waste management, education, health and welfare.

In Ireland, the most beautiful landscapes I have seen was in the sky. The lights are so colourful ! Look at these pictures :

Cloudy and sunny

Sunset

Rainbow 

  I have already made an article about the sports I practiced in Ireland (Zumba, Yoga and Piloxing). But during the Welcome Days, I experimented a very dynamic dance with all the other Erasmus, the Irish dance !

Irish dance is born after a constant shifting of population through migration and invasions. Each of these peoples brought their preferred types of dance and music.

The history of Irish dancing is vague.

There are only a few references to the history of Irish dancing. The only evidence is that the first practitioners were the Druids. They danced in religious rituals honouring the oak tree and the sun. In the ring dances of today we can see traces of their circular dances. The Celts, once arrived in Ireland from central Europe over two thousand years ago, brought with them their own folk dances.

Three principal Irish dances are mentioned often in sixteenth century writing: the Irish Hey, the Rinnce Fada (long dance) and the Trenchmore.

Historians found one of the first references to dance is in a letter written by Sir Henry Sydney to Queen Elizabeth I in 1569 :

-      "They are very beautiful, magnificently dressed and first class dancers,"

During the mid sixteenth century, dances were performed in the great halls of the newly built castles. Some of the dances were adapted by the sixteenth century English invader. Then, tay was brought to the court of Queen Elizabeth. One of these dances was the Trenchmore, which was an adaptation of an old Irish peasant dance.

Irish dancing was often accompanied by music played on the bagpipes and the harp.

        During the eighteenth century, the dancing master appeared in Ireland.  

Group dances were developed by the masters to hold the interest of their less gifted pupils and to give them the chance to enjoy dancing. The standard of these dances was very high. Solo dancers were held in high esteem and often doors were taken off hinges and placed on the ground for the soloists to dance on.

Several versions of the same dance were found in different parts of Ireland. That is why there is a rich heritage of Irish dances which was assembled and modified over the centuries.

The costumes worn by Irish dancers today commemorate the clothing of the past. Each school of dancing has its own distinct dancing costume. Dresses are based on the Irish peasant dress worn two hundred years ago. Most of the dresses are adorned with hand-embroidered Celtic designs, copies of the Tara brooch are often worn on the shoulder.

The men wear a plain kilt and jacket, with a folded cloak draped from the shoulder.

Male and female dancers today wear hornpipe shoes, and for reels and jigs, soft shoes similar to ballet pumps are worn.

Today there are many organisations promoting Irish dance. The Feis has been an important part of rural cultural life. Children, teenagers and adults compete in separate competitions for Feis titles and prizes. There are group and solo competitions where dancers are graded by age from six to seventeen and then into the senior categories.

There are dancing championships in all four provinces, and winners of these provincial competitions qualify for the All Ireland Championships. The World Championships are held in Dublin at Easter where dancers from England, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand compete for the World title.

The Irish word céili originally referred to a gathering of neighbours in a house to have an enjoyable time, dancing, playing music and storytelling. Today it refers to an informal evening of dancing. Céilis are held in large towns and country districts where young and old enjoy together group dances.

Dancing schools in Ireland today are filled with young pupils keen to imitate and learn the dancing styles which brought Jean Butler and Michael Flatley international acclaim.

Anyone can quickly master the first steps and soon share the Irish enthusiasm for Irish dance.

Hi everybody,

My semester in Ireland is now over. 

It was four wonderful month with you,irish, french, brasilians, spanish, german, and also with my international marketing team, the canadians and the australians.

Thank you for all these great moments. 

I will never forget you !

Lisa