About the Book

In this first detailed history of Irish dance in the diaspora, Flanagan gives a fascinating account of the art form in one of its most important urban centers of practice - Chicago. Beginning with its appearance at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 to the emergence of world-renowned Chicago performers/choreographers such as Michael Flatley and Mark Howard, she describes the teachers, schools and performances that contributed to making the city an international center of Irish dance.

From John McNamara and Pat Roche in the first half of the twentieth century to Marge and Dennis Dennehy in the second, Flanagan takes us on a journey that is distinctly Irish, yet unmistakably American.