Séamus Ó Sé Chathaoirleach an Choimisiúin

It is my great honour and pleasure, on behalf of An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha to welcome you to Oireachtas Rince na h-Éireann 2008. Oireachtas Rince na h-Éireann, or the All-Ireland Irish Championships, has been around since the beginning of the Twentieth Century, when it was established as part of the Oireachtas under the auspices of Conradh na Gaeilge. In the nineteen thirties it was re-established as a separate event by the then newly established Coimisiún, and given the title Oireachtas an Rince, a title it retained until the early seventies and the inauguration of Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne, when it became necessary to give the historic event a separate identity as Oireachtas Rince na h-Éireann.

Whatever you like to call it - Oireachtas Rince na h-Éireann or the All-Ireland Championships - this an historic event with a proud history, and one beloved of generations of Irish Dancers. Efforts by members of An Coimisiún to confine it to dancers from the Island of Ireland have, not surprisingly, met with stiff opposition, as the event for many of the Irish Diaspora abroad was their connection with Ireland over the years when it was the pinnacle of achievement in Irish Dancing.

To all our patrons, teachers, parents, dancers, may I wish you all a wonderfully enjoyable and successful week in Killarney for the longest running Irish Dancing event on Planet Earth.