O’Flaherty 2017 – Set Dancing Master Pat Murphy Comes To Texas!

Calling all y’all who love Irish set dancing…

Whatever it takes, you do not  want to miss the 2017 O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat in Midlothian, Texas.

Why?

Drum…

…roll…

…please…

Pat Murphy, Irish set dancing master, is coming to Texas!!!

If you’re not excited yet, you will be.  A brief bio, taken from Joanie Madden’s cruise page:

Pat Murphy is an accordion player and renown Set Dancing Master from Upperchurch, County Tipperary. His first contact with set dancing happened in his own home where his father Jack played the accordion and often the Ballycommon and Castle sets were danced. Upon retirement from his job as a primary school teacher in the early 1980’s, he got actively involved in teaching and reviving sets. With his wonderful demeanor and way of teaching, his reputation soon spread and he was invited to teach set dancing all over the world. He has lead workshops in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Russia and practically every country in Europe! He is the author of four books on Set Dancing; “Toss the Feathers”, “The Flowing Tide”, “Apples in Winter” and “Tabhair Dom Do Lámh”.

Pat is an amazing teacher, and it’s a rare treat that he is actually coming to Texas.  Save the dates!  Save your pennies!  Lie to your boss if you have to, but make sure you’re in Midlothian next October!

Now…who wants to get together for extra dance practice before then?  The more we know, the more we can learn from Pat.  This is going to be awesome!

Keep an eye on the O’Flaherty web site (and here) for more information.  Registration will begin in May. Keep your calendar open for October 19-22!

Final SCMA ceili of 2007/2008

The 2007/2008 season is now over and the final ceili was a bunch o fun.

We had slightly more than three sets worth and ran through the South Galway Half Set,

as well as a back to back hornpipe we learned from Pat Murphy, most of the Cashel Set, Three Tunes and closed with the Siege of Ennis.

Click on the picture for some more.


Technorati : ceili, scma, set dance
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Review – The Pride of Erin

The following is a short review of the DVD Pride of Erin which was filmed and produced by Pat Murphy in 2005 with music played by Heather Breeze.

The DVD is available directly from Pat Murphy.

Overall the DVD is an excellent resource. The dances are explained while being actively demonstrated by the minimum number of people needed (usually two) and the dancing is clear at all times.

Continue reading Review – The Pride of Erin