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Once upon a time - way back in the twentieth century - there were three friends living in Jackson, Mississippi. All in their 20s and working hard at their day jobs, they were introduced to Irish dancing pretty much by accident. After a local concert by Cherish the Ladies (one of the all-time great traditional Irish bands), they took a little dance lesson from Mary Ann McGrath Swaim, TCRG (director of The New Orleans School of Irish Dance), and they were hooked!

For a year or two after that, the friends made trips down to New Orleans to learn a little and dance a little ... and then, in the way of such things, they came back to Jackson and forgot most of what they knew. So, they decided that what they really needed was a local group to dance with in Jackson ... so they started one, and they danced happily ever after!

All fairy tales aside: our group got going in 1997, when members of what is now Jackson Irish Dancers started teaching classes under the wing of the Celtic Heritage Society. Our friends at CHS put on the annual CelticFest Mississippi, for which JID is proud to be a sponsor.

Jackson Irish Dancers was formally organized in 1998. It’s a Mississippi non-profit group recognized by the I.R.S. as an I.R.C. § 501(c)(3) non-profit entity. JID is membership-based, with a diverse membership ranging in age from elementary-school students to retirees and every stage in between. You don’t have to be a dancer to join JID – our membership also includes a number of folks who support the group’s activities as musicians, volunteers, friends, and fans.

JID members teach classes in solo and group forms of traditional Irish dance. One of our longtime members, Catherine Sherer Bishop, holds the TCRG certification (for teaching solo and céilí dancing) from the Dublin-based Irish Dance Commission, along with an MFA in dance from SMU and an MA in ethnochoreology (say that five times fast!) from the University of Limerick, in Ireland. Catherine is a fantastic teacher and choreographer, and we’re grateful for her dedication and hard work.

As well, we’re always on the lookout for opportunities to host workshops with visiting instructors. Over the years, we’ve had the chance to share some Mississippi hospitality with visiting instructors such as Máirtín de Cógáin, Colin Dunne, Jan Gunter; Timmy "the Brit" McCarthy; Mary Ann McGrath Swaim, TCRG; Maldon Meehan; Patrick O'Dea; Laureen O'Neill-James, ADCRG; Maxine Olson, TCRG; Ronan Regan; Doriane Rencker; Tony Ryan; Erin Scherer; and Yutaka Usui. We hope you’ll check out an upcoming class or workshop, too! For more information, please check the "classes" link on this website.

JID also has a performance group available for bookings at festivals, school or church events, or on other occasions. We can demonstrate Irish dancing or lead a céilí or workshop to teach your group of four to 400; and we can bring along one of our great local bands for live music if you’d like. JID has performed at Bright Lights, Belhaven Nights; CelticFest Mississippi; the Down from the Hills Roots Music Festival; the Highlands & Islands Celtic Festival; Jubilee Jam!; Memphis in May; Mistletoe Marketplace; the Natchez Trace Pioneer and Indian Festival; the New Orleans Celtic Nations Heritage Festival; the Northeast Louisiana Celtic Festival; the North Texas Irish Festival; the SwampCelts Festival & Highland Games; and at countless school, church and community events, including at weddings, for senior citizens' groups, scout groups, and more.

Members of JID have competed and won various prizes in feiseanna (Irish dance competitions) in the United States and in Ireland; but we’re not primarily competition-oriented. Our main objective is to have a good time and share our enjoyment of Irish dancing with the folks we meet. Catch us on the dance floor whenever there is live Irish dance music, especially by local bands Bounds Street, Greann, Legacy, and Spirits of the House – and come join us!