Listowel Connection: Dancing and Georgia Salpa

The big day is approaching and we in NKRO are hoping that you will all come along and have a great time at our first St. Patrick's Day Tea Dance.

Read the following account of dancing in 1930's Listowel and you will be delighted to be able to come along to an afternoon dance without any fear of clerical retribution.

1930s in Kerry------The evil that was dancing

This is an article from The Kerryman of 1936 and recently reproduced in the programme of The Listowel Drama Group’s production of Dancing at Lughnasa.

“There is only one way to deal with all night dances, and this is as the soupers were dealt with in olden times – by excommunication.” So said Very Rev. Fr. Browne P.P. Lixnaw at the annual licencing sessions at Listowel District Court, when he made a slashing attack on all-night dances, which, he said, are going to be the curse and ruin of the country. The stopping of the cross roads dances was responsible for the raising of the dancehalls, said Mr. R.D.F. Johnson, D.J. who adjudicated. The ideal hall was run by a parish committee under the supervision of the clergy, he said.

Fr. Browne also strongly denounced people who came in motor cars from Tralee and elsewhere to attend dances. He suggested the imposition of the three mile or parish limit to exclude “ these packs of scoundrels of the lowest type, devils incarnate.”

Ml. Regan Billeragh, Listowel, applied for the renewal of his dance licence for his hall known as “The Six Crosses”. Inspector Flood, Tralee said that there was no objection from the guards.

Fr. Browne objected to the hours applied for and also to all-night dances. He went on to say that there was only one way to deal with the dance-hall craze and that was by excommunication.

When John Horgan, Killocrim applied for a renewal of a dance licence for his hall at Killocrim, Rev. Fr. Browne objected to the hours and said that 10.30 to 11.30 was too late in winter time. He suggested that dancing would only be allowed from 6.00 to 9.00 p.m. He also objected to the allowing of all night dances.

The application was granted. The hours were fixed from 6.30 to 10.00p.m. No one was to be admitted who came from outside the 3 mile radius.

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Have you seen An Post's new vans. I spotted this one on Church St. last week.