Irish for All event with dancing and culture fun

Irish for All event with dancing and culture fun

12 February 2025

THE Rowallane and Slieve Croob Community Twinning Group organised another successful evening in the Dan Rice Hall in Drumaness as part of the Irish for All Project, which has been running for the past for years.

The evening of Ceili Dance, Culture and Craic started with an engaging talk on the townlands of Drumaness and the surrounding district. 

Joyce Gibson, who delivers the Irish language classes on Wednesday afternoons in Drumaness and the Irish Language Conversation Circle in Saintfield on the second Friday of the month, outlined the meaning of the townland names, interpreting the original Irish names for the townlands. 

Joyce’s presentation was interspersed with poetry written and performed by local man, Jimmy Quinn. 

His poems and stories were written about the townlands of Drumaness, Drumsnade, Annacloy and the surrounding district and they entertained the crowd, especially the tale of Ned the Dog which was a great hit with the audience and very funny.

In addition, Jimmy also gave a flavour of the area, quoting the poems and stories of another local man, Joe Marks. Jimmy’s work can be found on YouTube, by searching Jimmy Quinn Oriel Traditional Music Archive.

Traditional dance tunes were performed by musicians Tom McGonigle, Davy Graham, Mairead Stewart and Maeve McKibben, with the audience dancing the traditional dances, called by Brian Rafferty. 

The audience participation was impressive and everyone enjoyed a tasty spread of sandwiches provided by On a Roll, Castlewellan, and sweet bites by Kathleen Lyons and the Cake Shop, Ballynahinch.

A great evening was enjoyed by all and £340 was raised at the raffle for the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, taking the twinning group’s total contribution to £933.

The recent Cultural Evening of Ceil Dance, Poetry and Craic was funded by Newry, Mourne and Down Council and by the Ultach Fund.

Irish language classes continue on Wednesday afternoons until April 16 in the Reading Room at the Dan Rice Hall, with the Irish Conversation Circle meeting this Friday, February 14, March 11 and April 11 at the Rowallane Community Hub at Main Street in Saintfield.