Angela Feeley highlights a sample of the many local dancehalls and bands in the North Leitrim and West Cavan

In this article we go down Memory Lane where nearly every parish had at least one dancehall and the same could be said about the bands. The halls were owned privately or by the Church and many had fantastic names such as the Blue Haven in Kiltyclogher, The Wonderland in Bawnboy or the Ballroom of Romance in Glenfarne, Co. Leitrim, also the band names stood out like the Golden Eagles, from Glangevlin, The Sunbeam from Swanlinbar, The Starlight Band from Derrylin and the Emerald Valley Band from Rossinver.

Carnival Dancing became very popular in the 1950s and right up to the ‘70s. Dancing also took place on lofts, at crossroads and house dancing was also popular. The mode of transport to and from a dance was walking or cycling, with the car starting to make an appearance in the late 1950s.

Many halls were sheeted down to the ground with corrugated iron – there was no such thing as insulation in those days. There is a story told about a dancehall where a problem arose and it goes like this, “With large crowds, smoky halls and no air conditioning, dancers often took a stroll outside and in the event that a man was taken short, he might do a piddle against the corrugated iron.

“We all know that corrugated iron and urine have a chemical reaction that leads to rust. The manager of one hall had a crisis on his hands and action had to be taken. He located a small battery and attached a wire from the battery to the corrugated iron, a slight tingle and problem solved!”

Continue reading in this week’s Ireland’s Own

Rainbow Ballroom of Romance
Address: Brockagh Lower, Glenfarne, Co. Leitrim
Run by: The Glenfarne Community Development Trust
Contact: 071-9856831
Email: info@glenfarnecommunity.com
Website: www.therainbowballroom.ie
You can also find The Rainbow Ballroom of Romance on Facebook and Instagram

Overleaf – “We met at the Ballroom of Romance!”