Maureen Culleton

 Ganet e oa Maureen Culleton e miz Here 1946 e Ballyfin, e kontelezh Laois. Chrissie ha Jack Drennan a oa he zud. Soner ar c'hornad e oa he zad ha mont a re da seniñ ar melodeon en tier ma veze set dancing ken e oa gleb ar roched war e gein. Alies, kerkent ha distroet er gêr e oa poent cheñch dilhad ha mont d'ar menez adarre da labourat. He mamm a oa un dañserez a degouezhet e oant an eil gant egile en un "house dance" eus ar vro.

Kerkent ha ma oa gouest da strakt he zaouarn e oa broudet da respont d'ar sonerezh a veze sonet gant melodeon he zad.

Da 4 bloaz ez eas d'ar skol kentañ derez. Bep Gwener e teue ar mestr-dañs Mícheál Ó Duinn d'ar skol ha kelenn a rae e bazioù d'an holl skolidi. Emsav e oa bezañ en ur skol vihan war ar maez rak paotred ha merc'hed koshoc'h a oa er c'hlas dañs a veze karget da embreger ar vugale yaouankoc'h a-raok ar gentel ofisiel hag a  gouste c'hwec'h pence. Ar reul (real en iwerzhoneg) a oa ur pezhig arc'hantaet a veze gronnet en un tamm kazetenn ha klenket gant evezh er voest kreionoù prenn bep Gwener.  En tu all d'an dañsoù step evel an jig, ar reel, hag an hornpipe e kelenne ar mestr-dañs dañsoù céilí evel Siamsa Beirte (the Blue bells polka), Cór na Síóg (the fairy reel), Fallaí Luimní (walls of Limerick) ha Rogha na Laoighiseach, savet gantañ e-unan. Gouest e oa da zañsal ha da seniñ ar violoñs war un dro.  

Maureen a gemeras perzh er feiseanna step a veze dalc'het e-pad an hañv kerkent ha ma oa arru kozh a-walc'h. Mícheál Ó Duinn a veze soner ar feiseanna betek e 70 vloaz. D'an oad-se e paouezas da vont di rak falle oa arru e zaoulagad. Kent ar mare-se he devoe Maureen ar chañs da zeskiñ digantañ set dances evel Jockey to the Fair, Garden of Daisies, Three Sea Captains ha King of the Fairies.

Maureen he doa gwelet set dancing er skinwel ha divizet he doa deskiñ ar seurt dañs-se kerkent ha ma kavfe he zu. Echuet e oa siwazh oad an house dances kent dezhi bezañ arru en oad da gemer perzh enne.  E sal ar barrez e lec'h ma oa o chom e veze dañset céilí dances, valsoù, quick steps ha tout... Kemer a reas perzh en he staj set dancing kentañ e Tullamore,e  kontelezh Offaly gant Connie Ryan. Eno e  teskas ar C'honnemara set hag ar West Kerry set. Ken souezhet e oa, ha leun a startijenn hag a virvilh, goude ar staj kentañ-se ma tivizas kemer perzh en niver brasañ a stajoù a c'halle. Evel ma oa adsav ar set dancing just o paouez kregiñ e kreiz Iwerzhon, ne oa ket tu da bleustriñ ar pevarigeier desket er stajoù. M. Culleton a roas lañs d'an house dances en-dro er gêr, gant un abaden dañs sizhuniek en he c'hegin gant tiegezhioù all. Pa veze brav an amzer e-pad an hañv ez aent da zañsal war ul leurenn brenn savet gant he fried a-dreñv d'an ti. Kreskiñ a reas tamm-ha-tamm niver ar setoù a anaveze. Bep un tammig e krogas ceilithe da vezañ dalc'het e lec'hioù evel Nenagh ha Thurles. Kalz a blijadur a denne eus an dañsoù-se. 

Kregiñ a reas neuze da gelenn set dancing ha step dancing d'an dud deuet. Kendalc'het he deus e-pad ugent vloaz gant kalz plijadur. Bet eo e meur a vro da gelenn set, step ha sean nos, evel Florida, Bro-Suis, Bro-Japan, Hungaria, Bro-Alamagn hag ar Frañs.

I was born in October 1946 in Ballyfin Co. Laois to my parents Chrissie and Jack Drennan. Jack was the local musician who cycled to houses in the locality where sets were danced and he played until "the shirt was wet on his back". He often told me that as soon as he arrived home it was time to change into clothes for work and "head for the hills" once again.

My mother was a dancer and they met while attending a local house dance. As soon as I was able to clap my hands I was encouraged to respond to the music played on the melodeon by my father. As a toddler I danced "free style" around the kitchen either to the sound of my mother lilting or my father playing. Unfortunately the melodeon suffered a sudden death when a cousin who came to visit performed an operation on the bellows to establish where the music came from! My mother reared turkeys for the Christmas market and when they were sold a deposit was placed on an accordion and thankfully the music could continue

At the age of four I entered junior infants in the local two teacher primary school. Each Friday the local dance master Mícheál Ó Duinn came to the school and taught his steps to all the students. It was an advantage to be in a small country school because there were older boys and girls in the dance class who were given the task of practicing with the younger children before the official lesson. This lesson cost six-

pence. The reul – one small silver coin- was

wrapped in newspaper and placed carefully in my wooden pencil case each Friday. Apart from step dances like jig, reel and hornpipe, our dance master taught us céilí dances e.g. Siamsa Beirte, Cór na Síóg, Fallaí Luimní and Rogha na Laoighiseach which he composed himself. To our amazement he danced and played the fiddle simultaneously!

Feiseanna were held during the summer months. By the time I was old enough to attend these outdoor events my father had graduated to owning a motor bike. We could travel to places such as Abbeyleix, Ballyroan and Rathdowney, journeys which seemed to take a very long time! Many Sunday afternoons were spent competing for medals, observing the dancers, eating homemade bread and jam, drinking milk and spending a few pennies on the wheel-of-fortune. My costume was made from green gabardine material woven in the Worsted Mills in Portlaoise. It was designed and sewn by a local dress maker. My mother embroidered celtic designs onto it, one on the front and two on the bottom of the shawl. The stage was a wooden platform attached to a lorry which was used to collect milk from the farmers during the week. Mícheál Ó Duinn was usually the musician for these Feiseanna. He was in his seventies when failing sight caused him to retire. He could no longer cycle safely to the various venues or see his students dance. I was very lucky to have learned set dances including Jockey to the Fair, Garden of Daisies, Three Sea Captains and King of the Fairies before he retired

Connie Ryan from Clonoulty in Tipperary taught me set dancing. I had seen sets being danced on television and had resolved to take part in this type of dance if the opportunity came my way. Unfortunately the era of house dances had passed before I was old enough to take part. In my locality the parochial hall was now the venue for classes which consisted of céilí dances, waltzes, quick steps etc. My first set dancing workshop was in Tullamore, Co. Offaly where Connie Ryan spent a day teaching sets. As far as I can remember he taught the Connemara and West Kerry sets that day. I was so excited, energised and amazed after this workshop that I promised myself I would attend as many of these workshops as possible. The bug had truly bitten! The revival of set dancing in the midlands had only just begun so it was not possible to practice sets learned at the workshops. To counteract this I revived the house dance idea by having weekly dance sessions in our kitchen. We invited other families who were as interested as ourselves and together we practiced sets learned at the various workshops. The rest, as they say, is history! During the long summer evenings we danced outdoors on a dance board which my husband Chris constructed in our back yard. The pleasure we derived from this is indescribable. My repertoire of sets increased as I attended as many workshops as possible and gradually ceilithe were organised in places like Nenagh and Thurles where we could have super fun dancing sets together, sharing knowledge and experiences and planning future events.

To ensure that the joy I experienced from taking part in set dancing was shared I commenced teaching and have enjoyed the experience for the last twenty years. Each week I teach set and step dancing to adults. Workshops have taken me to many parts of the world including Florida, Switzerland, Japan, Hungary, Germany and various parts of France, where I have taught many types of dance; set, step, céilí, sean-nós and two-hand. I model my style of teaching on that of my dance master who while giving instructions and modelling foot work, stood with his back to the class. At the appropriate moment he joined with his students and checked each one’s individual progress