Dancing At Lughnasa

In Dancing at Lughnasa, music is closely aligned with both the old Irish pagan traditions and the stirrings of romance, excitement, and pleasure that Kate identifies with “paganism.” With its mysterious start-and-stop quality—seemingly uncontrollable despite efforts to fix the radio—Marconi seems “possessed” by spirits, enchanting the sisters to dance with abandon as though through “voodoo” (2). In keeping with this tension of “possession,” the lyrics and tone of Marconi’s songs often interact with (and sometimes influence) the mood of the scene. For example, “The Mason’s Apron”—a traditional Irish reel that would likely be performed at the Lughnasa Festival—incites the sisters to abandon their chores and dance wildly. When Gerry converses with Christina in the garden, the song “Dancing in the Dark” evokes a romantic mood and inspires them to dance passionately. As both a signifier of pagan tensions and sputtering, irregular music, the radio is notably “linked” (2) to Jack, a stand-in for his fragmented thoughts.

Dancing is a rich and fluid symbol in Dancing at Lughnasa whose associations include fun and abandonment, old pre-Christian tradition and Irish pagan celebration, excitement and pleasure, romance, hope and longing for romantic connection, and—ultimately—the