Pat has produced three books on set dancing, Toss The Feathers, The Flowing Tide and Apples In Winter, and another is being prepared at the moment.

Dancers everywhere regard them as the bibles of set dancing. If a teacher in any country has a question about a set, step or style, Pat is the man they come to for advice.

Pat’s earliest memories of set dancing come from his childhood when the Ballycommon Set, which was called the Plain Set in his local area, and the Cashel Set were the only ones he knew about. He was born and raised in Knockawn, between Drumbane and Upperchurch, Co Tipperary. His father Jack played the accordion and was a well-respected musician at the local house dances.

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“He still continued to play at home when we were little, so it is thanks to him that I saw the sets and got enchanted by them,” Pat says.

“However, at that time all I wanted to do was play the box myself and my greatest joy was playing for a set alongside my father.”

Dancing for many years consisted of social dances in Dublin dance halls and an occasional céili. Pat settled in Dublin and got involved in the local music sessions and also got roped into joining the set dancing team in the area for a Scór competition.

After some gentle persuasion from close friends, Pat started teaching set dancing classes in Rathcoole and Newbridge. He tarted up more classes in the Dublin-Kildare area and soon word went out that Pat Murphy was one of the best teachers on the scene.

He was then asked to teach a week of set dancing workshops at the Joe Mooney Summer School in Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim.

Pat says that’s where it all really started for him. He had about 25 people at the workshop on his first visit and numbers have grown to nearly 240 dancers in attendance ever since. Pat also teaches in Tubbercurry every year for the South Sligo Summer School and the memorial set dancing weekend held in memory of Pat’s great friend and dance teacher, Connie Ryan.

Pat travels all over the world teaching and is currently in America and Canada. He will teach at the newly formed set dancing weekend in the Four Season’s Hotel, Co Monaghan from the 27-29 September.

Anyone looking to get a copy of any of Pat’s books may do so emailing Pat at pmurphydance@mac.com