Tomás Ó Faircheallaigh:Tomás Ó Faircheallaigh, who has died in his hundredth year, was a former champion Irish dancer and served for almost 25 years as president of An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (the Irish Dancing Commission).
An Coimisiún was established in 1930 by Conradh na Gaeilge to examine the organisation of Irish dancing and to make recommendations as to how it might be organised.
When it produced a report two years later, Conradh na Gaeilge appointed the same group of people to set about implementing its recommendations. It was An Coimisiún that first established a standard for teachers and adjudicators of Irish dancing, published a handbook of céilí dances, and established Oireachtas an Rince. Tomás Ó Faircheallaigh was the last surviving member of the original commission.
According to the commission's vice-chairman, Dr John P Cullinane, he made a major impact on Irish dancing the world over. He was "extremely active as an adjudicator and examiner and was responsible for introducing and encouraging céilí dance competitions in various parts of the world".
He was born on May 27th, 1904, one of eight children of John Farrelly, a tailor, and his wife, Catherine (née Matthews), of Broughton Street, Dundalk. He was educated locally by the Christian Brothers, completing his secondary education at the De La Salle Preparatory School in Mallow, Co Cork. Awarded a King's Scholarship, he attended teacher-training college in Waterford. He later taught in Ballydesmond, Co Waterford, before returning to Dundalk, where in 1925 he became the first lay teacher on the staff of his alma mater.
He started to learn Irish dancing in Dundalk, where he was taught by Jack Murphy and a dancing master called Falkner. He later travelled to Dublin for weekly lessons with Peg Medlar. He usually took the opportunity to attend a play at the Abbey Theatre and was, for a time, a pupil of the Abbey School of Ballet.
He won the second ever Ulster championship at Feis Muirtheimhne in Dundalk in 1929. Two years later he won the senior all-Ireland title, beating a man named Byrne. Competitors had to dance five dances - a reel, jig, hornpipe and two set dances - and when he and Byrne were recalled they had to repeat the exercise. Tomás Ó Faircheallaigh attributed his victory to the fact that he was in training with a football team and therefore had better stamina than Byrne. He retired from competition in 1932 and was thereafter in great demand as an adjudicator.
At the behest of Conradh na Gaeilge he started a dancing school in Dundalk in the late 1930s, and felt justly proud of his part in establishing the high standard of dancing that became synonymous with his hometown. He was a noted collector of dances, and The Sweets of May, The Three Tunes and The Trip to the Cottage are just three of the popular céilí dances that he helped to save. He contributed many dances to Ár Rincí Fóirne (Our Figure Dances).
In 1939 he made the first of many visits to the US. On that occasion he danced solo on a radio show, and the presenter was fascinated by his ability to bring out the beats without having taps on his shoes. In later years he oversaw the development of structures for Irish dancing in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
He was to the fore in the establishment of Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne - the World Irish Dancing Championships - in 1970. The influence of An Coimisiún has since spread to continental Europe, and in recent years 20 teachers in South Africa have been registered by the organisation.
He also had a deep interest in theatre, and was a mainstay of amateur drama in Dundalk, where he was for many years manager of the Dominican Hall. He was responsible for bringing Frank Fay, a veteran of the Abbey Theatre, to Dundalk as an acting coach. Through his interest in theatre he got to know Lord Dunsaney and Micheál Mac Liammóir.
An Irish speaker, he learnt the language at Coláiste Bhríde in the Omeath Gaeltacht. With the decline of Irish in Omeath, the college was transferred to Rann na Feirste, Co Donegal, and he continued to be associated with its work. During the Emergency, he served as an intelligence officer in the Local Defence Force (later An Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúla). In 1945 he married Freda McGreevy. In the 1940s and 1950s he was director of the St Patrick's Cathedral choir. On his retirement from teaching in 1970, he and his family moved to live in Booterstown, Co. Dublin.
Tomás Ó Faircheallaigh was predeceased by his wife in 1999. His sons, Seán, Fintan and Ciarán, and daughter, Mary, survive him.
Tomás Ó Faircheallaigh: born May 27th, 1904; died January 26th, 2004