Kildare Irish Figure Dancers bring 80 Years of tradition to Paris

THE KILDARE Irish Figure Dancers are preparing to bring the heart and heritage of County Kildare to the streets of Paris this March as they take centre stage during Ireland Week 2026 celebrations in the French capital.

Running from 10-18 March, Ireland Week will showcase Irish culture across Paris and France, through music, literature, sport, food, cinema, tradition and “the craic” — but it will be Kildare’s own dancers who will provide one of the most vibrant highlights of the programme.

At an open-air pop-up Céilí organised by Tourism Ireland on Saturday, 14 March, the Kildare Irish Figure Dancers will perform at Place de l’Odéon on the city’s iconic Left Bank, leading an event that promises to draw locals and tourists alike into the rhythm of Irish dance.

The France-based Vésinet Irish Céilí Dancers will join the dancers travelling from Kildare, while music will be provided by the O’Champoe Irish Sessions musicians.

The dancing follows a unique Irish-themed “Culture Run” through Paris’s historic 5th and 6th arrondissements, created by Culture Run, in partnership with Tourism Ireland.

The run will explore Irish connections, from literature and music to whiskey, woven through the Latin Quarter, passing iconic monuments such as the newly renovated Notre Dame Cathedral and taking in the “Cultures of Ireland” exhibition created by Tourism Ireland.

The exhibition will showcase multiple facets of Irish culture alongside the historic Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The run through the City of Light’s historic boulevards will conclude at the Céilí gathering.

Once the runners arrive at Place de l’Odéon, it will be the Kildare and Vésinet dancers who will kick up their heels. Following a demonstration of traditional Irish figure dances, passersby will be invited to join a free Céilí lesson in the open air, transforming the square into a lively celebration of shared culture.

The Kildare Irish Figure Dancers, a voluntary-run organisation with five classes across County Kildare, have been preserving and promoting Irish figure dancing for almost eight decades.

The association has built a strong reputation for blending traditional choreography with contemporary energy, regularly performing at exhibitions and cultural events both nationally and internationally.

For Jackie O’Neill-Noonan, founder of the France-based Vésinet Irish Céilí Dancers and a lifelong supporter of Kildare Irish figure dancing, the Paris gathering holds deep personal significance.

A second-generation Kildare dancer, she grew up immersed in the tradition.

“The Kildare Irish Figure Dancers association has been in existence for almost eighty years,” she said. “My mother danced with them, and when she visits me in France she joins in seamlessly with the Vésinet dancers. Dances like the Siege of Carrick work wherever in the world they are danced.” Rather than a formal stage performance, the event is designed as an accessible, joyful experience, inviting French participants to learn a few steps and experience the communal energy that defines a Céilí.

Barbara Wood of Tourism Ireland said the combination of dancers, live music and audience participation offers a natural and engaging way to present Irish culture abroad.

“Irish dancers, the fun, the musicians, the conviviality and the fact that French people will join in and learn a few steps provide a terrific and inclusive way to present Irish culture,” she said. “French people kicking up their heels and embracing a good Céilí swing — they’ll get a real feel of what ‘the craic’ is all about, right there on the spot at Place de l’Odéon.” 

As Ireland Week 2026 unfolds across Paris, Irish culture will spill into cobbled streets and historic squares. And at the heart of it, County Kildare’s dancers will be leading the steps.