‘Gallen Set’ revived in honour of 103-year-old Paddy Claffey!
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Rahan set dancing teacher, Nora Carroll, shares a joke with 103-year old Paddy Claffey from Noggusboy, Ferbane at the revival of the ‘Gallen Set’ in Cloghan Hall last week.Image 2 of 3
The large crowd of set dancers from Rahan and Ballyboy Set Dancing classes who participated in the revival of the ‘Gallen Set’ in Cloghan Hall last week to mark the 103rd birthday of Paddy Claffey from Noggusboy, Ferbane.Image 3 of 3
A rare and treasured picture: Four generations of the Claffey family are pictured at the revival of the ‘Gallen Set’ in Cloghan Hall last week to mark the 103rd birthday of Paddy Claffey. (left to right): Adrian Claffey (grandson); Shay Claffey (great-grandson); Paddy Claffey, who celebrated his 103rd birthday on April 17, and his son, Pat.What can you give a 103 year old for his birthday? That was the dilemma facing the Claffey family from Noggus, between Cloghan and Ferbane, when their beloved Dad reached yet another milestone birthday in his remarkably long life on April 17 last.
Having travelled all across Offaly, from highroads to byroads to boreens, as a champion set dancer all his life, Paddy Claffey's all-time favourite set dance was called the 'Gallen Set' so his family came up with the idea of reviving the complicated dance at a social night in his honour!
Cloghan Hall was the setting for the great revival, according to his youngest son, Pat, who was joined by his wife, Janet, other family members and the set dancers from Rahan and Ballyboy for a rousing night of dancing and fun on Friday night last.
Although he was unable to take part due to now using a wheelchair, the redoubtable Paddy Claffey kept “a very close eye on the dancing” last week and despite being all of 103 years old “he could still remember all the steps and he would be critical if we put a foot wrong” admits his son, Pat “so we put all the good dancers right in front of him and the rest of us hid behind,” he laughs.
It was left to Rahan set dancing teacher, Nora Carroll, to figure out the tricky steps in the 'Gallen Set' and she had to teach them to her willing pupils “in less than three weeks”, according to Pat Claffey.
“We only came up with the idea last month and we probably whipped it into some short of shape in a matter of three weeks or so.”
The Rahan set dancers, who have been dancing every week since early February in Rahan GAA Centre, did their practice of the 'Gallen Set' on Sunday evenings in the kitchen of the famed Dan & Molly's pub in Ballyboy, which is no stranger to rousing traditional music and dance sessions over the years.
One of the last times Paddy Claffey danced the 'Gallen Set' was at the wedding of his only daughter, Bríd (Rooney) 28 years ago, when he was 75 years of age.
The champion set dancer was captured on video, but his son Pat says the 'Gallen Set' was “kind of forgotten about since then.”
The decision to revive it and learn the steps once again gave Paddy “a huge boost” according to his son, who says his father “really enjoyed the night in Cloghan Hall and got a great kick out of seeing the 'Gallen Set' being danced once again.”
Paddy Claffey was born and raised in the Ferbane townsland of Noggusboy, which is in Cloghan parish, and has lived there all his life. “He never went too far only maybe to Dublin to the Horse Show in the RDS and he was never on an plane or a boat any part of his life,” says Pat.
Born in 1921 just as the War of Independence was coming to an end, he was the youngest of a family of ten and is the only surviving member of his family.
He married a Wexford woman, Margaret Wheeler, after she came to Ferbane to work as a housekeeper for the newly-appointed manager of the Bank of Ireland!
The couple settled in Noggus where they reared a family of three, Kieran, Bríd and Pat, and they both enjoyed dancing throughout their lives, and were very accomplished set dancers. Paddy's beloved wife passed away on Christmas Day in 2004 after suffering a stroke.
Blessed with a great sense of humour and one who was “always up for a bit of divilment” the lifelong teetotaller enjoys reasonably good health despite his great age, and his mind is “as sharp as a nut” according to Pat.
“I suppose if he wasn't around we probably wouldn't have bothered to revive the 'Gallen Set',” admits Pat, “but it was a great honour for us to be able to learn the steps and dance the set for him since it was his all-time favourite and a set that he himself had danced hundreds of times.”
Paddy Claffey has four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, one of whom, Shay, who is just two and a half, was “raring to go” at last week's set dancing night and provided much entertainment for his great-grandfather when he also took to the floor in Cloghan Hall to join in with the set dancers for a few steps of the 'Gallen Set.'
It's called 'keeping it in the family'!