There are 30 Set dances, each named after the tune to which they are danced and comprising of a Lead Around and a Set. These tend to be advanced dances as the music is always the same allowing greater degrees of interpretation and skill. The speeds vary and can be chosen by the dancer from within a range.

 

Traditional Sets

These are danced the same, with a slight regional difference dependent on where in Ireland your original teacher came from i.e.: Munster, Leinster, Connaught or Ulster.

 

	St. Patrick's Day	6/8		The Job of Journeywork*	4/4
	The Blackbird	2/4		The Garden of Daisies	4/4
	Jockey to the Fair	6/8		King of the Fairies*	2/4

 * = these dances can also be non-traditional sets (see below)

Non-Traditional Sets

The remaining sets are all open sets usually danced as a recall set piece for the Third and Final round in a Championship, these will be the teachers own choreography.

 

	Bonaparte's Retreat	4/4		The Drunken Gauger	6/8
	Hurry the Jug	6/8		The Downfall of Paris	2/4
	The Ace and Deuce of Pipering	4/4		The Humours of Bandon	6/8
	Madame Bonaparte	4/4		The Hunt	4/4
	Miss Brown's Fancy	6/8		The Hurling Boys	6/8
	Planxty Davis	2/4		The White Blanket	4/4
	Planxty Drury	6/8		The Kilkenny Races	4/4
	Rodney's Glory	2/4		The Blackthorn Stick	6/8
	Rub the Bag	6/8		The Lodge Road	2/4
	The Orange Rogue	6/8		The Rambling Rake	4/4
	The Three Sea Captains	6/8		Youghal Harbour	4/4
	Is the Big Man Within?	6/8 &9/8		The Piper Through the Meadow Straying	4/4

 

More Information

Download Music	Dean Crouch's online store where you can download set dances at a wide variety of speeds. Very convenient but quite expensive at £4 per track
CD Finder	A useful table that shows on which CD dances are available at particular speeds. The shop is in the US but once you know what CD you need you may be able to find it elsewhere
Gaelic Names	Aniar Academy of Irish Dance page with names for most of the set dances in Gaelic with pronunciation guides
Quiz	A quiz with questions about Set dances