A ceilidh or ceilidh is a traditional Irish social gathering, and can involve story telling playing folk music and dancing. Ceilidhs facilitated courting and prospects of marriage for young people and, although discos and nightclubs have displaced ceilidhs to a considerable extent. They can still be an important and popular social outlet in rural parts of Ireland. Ceilidh music may be provided by an assortment of fiddle, flute, tin whistle, accordion, bodhran, and in more recent times also drums, guitar and electric bass guitar. In Ireland the first ceilidh band was put together in 1926 by Seamus Clandillon, Radio reran s director of Music, to have dance music for his studio-based programmes. Dancing at ceilidhs is usually in the form of ceilidh dances, set dances or couple dances. A Set consists of six to eight couples, with each pair of couples facing another in a square or rectangular formation. Each couple exchanges position with the facing couple, and also facing couples exchange partners, while all the time keeping in step with the beat of the music.
