The Dancemasters of North Kerry

The National Folk Theatre is famous for its unique style of traditional Irish step dance.  This style known as North Kerry, or Munnix, is found nowhere else in Ireland.  We owe this rich tradition to Jeremiah Molyneaux, a travelling dance master who travelled around North Kerry, teaching young and old, in schools and private houses.


Jeremiah Molneaux dancing with Sheila Bowler (nee Lyons)

Jeremiah Molyneaux, known locally as Gerry Munnix was born in 1883 at Gunsboro in North Kerry. He was the youngest of a family of seven, four boys and three girls.  His mother was Ellen Scanlon, a dressmaker and his father was William Molyneaux, a blacksmith.





Ned Batt Walsh and his wife.

Munnix learned his dancing from Ned Batt Walsh.  Throughout his younger years he perfected his dancing and won the Munster dancing championship at 18 years of age.  He began teaching when he was 20 and held his first ever class in the kitchen of his own house.  From this time on Munnix travelled around North Kerry and West Limerick perfecting and teaching his unique style of dance until he was 70.  He taught many fine dancers in his time, people like Liam Tarrant, Jerry Nolan, John McCarthy, Jack Lyons, to name but a few.

Jack Lyons,  pictured in Teach Siamsa Finuge shortly after the building was completed.

Liam Tarrant dancing at the turning of the sod for Teach Siamsa in Carraig in 1974. Minutes after this photo was taken he suffered a heart attack and sadly passed away.

Jack Lyons and Liam Tarrant on tour with Siamsa in Dublin.

Jerry Nolan, Sean Ahern and John McCarthy outside the Palace Theatre in 1976.

Gerry Munnix died in Listowel when he was 83 years old.  He was buried in Gale cemetery and, as he had asked, his best pair of dancing shoes were buried with him.
In Siamsa Tíre we are very lucky to have access to recordings of many pupils of Munnix.  For the past thirty years we have been studying, perfecting and developing this unique style.  Some of the steps you see today on the stage in Siamsa Tíre date back to the beginning of the last century.



The Churn from Fadó Fadó show!

Many of these pupils formed part of Siamsa Tíre, back when the company was forming.  One of these, Liam Tarrant worked closely with Founding Director Fr. Pat Ahern to create the first ever piece performed in 1965.  Liam found an old butter churn in Galway and brought it to Kerry with him, Fr Pat then put a song and dance to the rhythm of the beating churn, and so was born the first ever scene, Amhrán na Cuiginne, a scene that still forms part of one of our summer shows, Fadó Fadó.