History of Irish Culture in London, Ontario
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Irish culture has prospered in London, Ontario for many years. The following background information was provided by Patrick Fagan, an accomplished traditional musican himself and a person who has left an indelible mark by imparting his knowledge and skill to the children living in London, Ontario.
Ceili Dancing, Music and Language:Brenda Dineen was the first registered Irish dancing instructor to teach ceili dancing and Eileen Buckley offered programs in both Irish music and the Irish language. All of this occurred around 1976. These activities also came under the direction of the first London Feis held at Sir John A. MacDonald Secondary School and the Western Fair Grounds. Later on, Patrick Fagan started the London Traditional Irish Group and all of the above mentioned became part of this new group. The last ceili took place in 1997 and the music and language finished in 1996. During the intervening years, London was represented at seven Fleadh Ceol in Chicago, USA and two Fleadh Ceol na hEireann in Listowel, Co. Kerry, Ireland.
Drama:The Irish Club (present day Emerald Isle Society) had a drama group that featured Sean O Casey's play "Juno and the Peacock" in 1973 or 1974. This play had an excellent running that year, playing to audiences throughout the small towns of southwestern Ontario and culminating in one of the theaters in downtown London. Pauleen Dalton (Ar dheas De go raibh a h-anam), was the producer and the cast of actors included Larry Heffernan, Masie Casey, Pearce Casey, Paddy Wicks, Bob Murphy (Ar dheas De go raibh a h-anam), Sheila McCurtain and Pauline Fagan.
Irish Dancing:A number of people influenced the development of Irish dancing in the City of London. Some of the names that come to mind include Ann Quinn and Pauline Fagan. Later on Masie and Bridget Fagan, who, although did not actually teach dancing, nevertheless, represented Ireland at the Folkdance Festivals in the London area. Prior to this, there was nothing going on in the Irish dancing in an organized way. Brenda Dineen was one of the first registered teachers with An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha (Irish Dancing Commission) to open up a school of Irish dancing. Within a short period of time, approximately thirty pupils were registered and the dancing school prospered. Brenda elevated the art of Irish dancing to new heights and, for the first time, her pupils started to qualify at the Regional Oireachtas subsequently becoming eligible to compete at Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne (World Irish Dancing Championships) in Ireland at Easter, 1980. Around 1982, Rosie Fearon (formerly Rince na Gael) opened a school in the City of London. The Rose Fearon School of Irish Dancing continues to the present time. Yvonne Kelly also opened up a school of Irish dancing and taught for a number of years in the area. Later on, Kim Lancaster commenced teaching in London and is still active at the present time. More recently, Maureen Matthews, a former pupil of the Rose Fearon School of Irish dance, joined the number of dance teachers offering lessons in the London area.
Sports:Research indicates that as far back as the 1960s, hurling and Gaelic football teams participated in the GAA League. Seven a side tournaments were held in the city each year. This was probably the first of the Irish cultural events in the modern day London, and undoubtly led to the formation of Irish dancing. The names of the people involved are too numerous to mention, however, Steve Buckley comes to the fore. It was the children of this group that were the first Irish dancers and who ultimately hosted the First Annual London Feis. |
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