Even though Irish dancing is to have been created for a sense of nationalism, it is said to have roots in the Druids who lived in Ireland and the Celts' folk dancing. Ireland is a land that is connected to its past and this is one way to honor and celebrate the past.
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Irish dancing is a performance. According to Sims and Stephens in Living Folklore: An Introduction to the Study of People and Their Traditions, state that a performance is "Performance is an expressive activity that requires participation, heightens our enjoyment of an experience, and invites response." (Sims and Stephens 2011, 131) Irish dancing performances and competitions would fall into those categories. They also stated that, "in order for a performance to happen, a recognized setting must exist (participants have to know a performance is taking place) and participants (performers and audience) must be present.)" (Sims and Stephens 2011, 131). The setting is the competition or performance, the participants are the performers and the audience.