Anna, Emma, Kerri and Eilidh Play at a Ceilidh

Background Information

The Gaelic word ceilidh once meant ‘visit’. It came to be used for a gathering of neighbours who enjoyed story-telling, singing, dancing and good conversation.

Ceilidhs were first held in Ireland hundreds of years ago. As Irish people moved to settle in Scotland, the tradition of the ceilidh followed. The stories and songs helped people keep in touch with their roots and remember their past. Songs were often made up to celebrate and remember particular places, events, or people. Work songs, where a caller sings a line and the other workers chorus in reply, began the tradition of a caller who gives instructions to the dancers.

Fiddles, pipes, drums and harps are often played at ceilidhs. The clarsach, or Celtic harp is said to have been developed in the 8th Century AD. The harp is often used as a symbol for Ireland. Stories say that it was invented by a man who wanted to calm his bad-tempered wife! Irish harpers were traditionally supposed to be blind. Tologh O’Carlan is the most famous Irish harper. He composed over 200 songs, which were published in Dublin in 1720.

Poverty, famine and eviction caused Gaelic culture to spread from Ireland and Scotland in the 18th and 19th centuries. People left their homes in huge numbers to seek their fortunes in America, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Today, there are ceilidh bands and clubs all over the UK and in Canada, Australia and the USA.