The Dan Furey Dance Group

Description, Listing of Repertoire and Short Film:
 
The Dan Furey group, led by Michael Tubridy and Noel Devery, is a group of like-minded souls who meet to preserve the dances of Dan Furey (1910-1994), a keen dancer and teacher – I have included the full listing of dances below.  Dan and his close friend James Keane brought the dances to the Willie Clancy Summer School, which takes place in Miltown Malby, Co Clare each year in July.  Michael Tubridy notated all the dances and has published them. The dances are taught regularly at workshops and festivals in Ireland and abroad; there are many people around the world now dancing this repertoire, not just in Europe but also Kieran Jordan’s dancers in Boston, dancers on the West Coast, Canada and as far as Comhaltas Japan.  
 
The Irish group normally meets in different locations around Ireland 5 or 6 times a year, we meet to catch up, dance, drink tea and eat cake!  We dance this repertoire in a circle, and towards the end of the session we might dance a couple of figures of a set, the emphasis of these events is to meet and share.  Since Covid, the group has been meeting online, once a month on the 3rd Saturday, a free event and open to all.  Drop me a line if you would like an invitation to join. 
 
Kieran Jordan also created a short film about the group and is available to view below.  
 
Dan Furey Repertoire
Book 1 (no longer in print)
Priest and His Boots                            
4 x Hornpipe Steps                             
Single Time                                         
Easy Reel                                             
Slip Jig                                                 
Job of Journeywork                            
Double Jig I                                         
St Patrick’s Day                                   
Blackbird                                             
 
Book 2 (this book also includes the Book 1 repertoire)
Easy Jig                                                
Gabairín Buí (Little Yellow Goat)            
Little Dutch Dance (Mazurka)             
Mont Phoebus’ Hunt                          
Jockey to the Fair                                
Celine’s Hornpipe - 5 Donegal Steps  
Double Jig II                                        
Paddy Bawn / Paidí Bán 

Book 2 is now available on the ITMA website (Irish Tradition Music Archives)
Click here for access.     

Further background on Dan
​
Dancer and Musician, Dan Furey was born in England in September 1909. His father was from Lackyle, Labasheeda and his mother was English, of Scottish origin. While Dan was still a child the family moved back to the family home in Lackyle, County Clare. Some years later three of Dan’s siblings emigrated to America and the remaining two left for England. Dan remained on the family farm, some two miles from Labasheeda.

Dancing was a very popular social pastime in many parts of rural Ireland at that time, especially at times of emigration or for those returning home on holidays. Both of his parents loved dancing and his mother also played the piano. Dances regularly took place in the Furey household where various types of sets were danced, The Plain Set, The Reel Set and sometimes The Paris Set. Step-dancing, Four-hand Reels and Two-hand dances were also enjoyed. Dan learned to play the fiddle and had his own distinctive style of playing. He also played the melodeon and the concertina.

Dan’s interest in dancing started from about the age of six or seven. His brother George taught him his first steps and he picked up many others in his own locality, and, of course, he learned a lot from his parents. He gradually built up a selection of Sets, Step-dances and Ceili dances. While visiting his brother in England he attended dance classes in Kilburn under the direction of Maurice O’Connor, a dancing master who was originally from Cork. 

When he was in his twenties he was asked to give private step-dancing lessons to the daughter of Garda Vesey and thus began his teaching career. Soon he was teaching in several schools in the vicinity, making the journey by bicycle in all kinds of weather and carrying his fiddle as he went. Eventually, as requests for classes from further afield were made, he bought a car and travelled to Doonbeg, Kilkee, Carrigaholt etc. In some areas he taught for over thirty years.

In the 1980s Dan travelled outside of Clare to teach and he became a regular visitor to Belfast, Galway and London. He also travelled to Chicago several times. Since the death of his father in 1958 Dan lived alone in Lackyle but a steady stream of people from various countries visited him there. Dan, together with his life-long friend, James Keane, contributed to the book Set Dances of Ireland, written by Larry Lynch. In 1990 Dan and James conducted very successful classes at the Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy.

Dan Furey died in August, 1993. He is buried with his parents in Killofin cemetery, approximately one mile from his house. In September 1994 the first “Dan Furey weekend” took place. It was organised by local people as a tribute to Dan, to music, and to dancing.

The Festival has been going strong since then in Labasheeda, Co Clare.