Siamsa Tire’s origins date back to 1957, when Father Pat Ahern was sent to County Kerry in order to form a new choir in Tralee’s St. John’s Church. Because of the success of this new choir, Fr. Ahern decided to stage a Passion Play, called “Golgotha” (meaning Mount Calvary outside Jerusalem) in 1963. As a result of the success of this play, Fr. Ahern then decided to explore other options for this informal group.
The mission of the group was to preserve, through music, song, and dance, the traditions ,of Northern Kerry. This included the “Munnix” style of the traveling dancers [developed by Jeremiah Molyneux (aka “Munnix”) , a master of time and rhythm, in 1883]. Munnix dancing was based on the “work songs” that accompanied many traditional occupations in rural Ireland.
During those early years, the group performed in a variety of venues throughout Ireland. In 1968, Michael Maye, a representative of the National Tourism Board, suggested the group stage a season of productions through the summer months. By 1991, Siamsa Tire was performing its first summer season in the new, custom built, theater and art center (which bears the group’s name) in Tralee’s Town Park . This new venue is considered one of the best arts facilities in the country.
Over the past forty years, Siamsa Tire has built an international reputation around its role of preserving Irish cultural life. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening performance we were able to attend.