An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha

An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha was established by Conradh na Gaeilge – The Gaelic League – in the late twenties as a commission for the purpose of examining the organisation of Irish dancing as it existed at that time and to make recommendations as to how it might be better organised in the future. The body first met in 1927 as a Commission of Enquiry and in 1930 actually met as an authority with the mandate to implement its own recommendations.

In the world of Irish Dancing in which we live nowadays, it is hard to imagine what it must have been like in the thirties. It was An Coimisiún which first established a standard for teachers, and later for adjudicators, of Irish dancing, published a handbook of Céilí dances, and established Oireachtas an Rince, as it was then known, as a separate event.   So many of the things we take for granted nowadays, like the international dimension of Irish Dancing, with nine Regional Councils overseeing a vibrant Irish dancing scene in Ireland and Britain and organisations such as the I.D.T.A.N.A. in North America, R.T.M.E. in Mainland Europe, A.I.D.A. in Australia and T.I.D.A.N.Z. in New Zealand.

From humble beginnings in the tiny theatre of Coláiste Mhuire in Parnell Square in Dublin, it has grown into an international event of immense proportions with a standing undreamt of way back in the thirties. One has only to look to the huge media interest in Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne to see the influence it has had in placing our magnificent Irish Dancing tradition on the world stage. Belfast 2000 saw another first for An Coimisiún with the addition of Rince TV, which kept the audience entertained and informed of all that was happening that year, no matter where they happened to be in the Waterfront, and the subsequent publication of a video of the Millennium World Championships marked another milestone for An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha.

In 2009 we had another first as the Championships were held in Philadelphia. This was the first time they had been held outside the British Isles

Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne is set to celebrate 40 year anniversary in 2010. The event will return to Glasgow where on its two previous occasions our World Championships were a tremendous success.

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