International folk dance festivals in Ireland: a comparative analysis of Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne and Damhsafest, Cork International Folk Dance Festival

This chapter examines the notion of festival within the field of traditional dance in Ireland. It explores how the term feis or festival is conceptualised and experienced in Ireland by focusing on two different dance events: Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne (the World Irish Dancing Championships) with its roots in cultural nationalist ideologies from the end of the nineteenth century; and Damhsafest, Cork International Folk Dance Festival established in the 1990s in Cork, Ireland, to promote regional development, tourism, cosmopolitanism and the traditional arts. The chapter looks at the development of these festivals and illustrates differences in concept, mission, resources, social interaction, and strategies relating to festival organisation and management. Keywords: Irish dance; Ireland; festival; feis;