Most people would associate the above title phrase with Father Ted, however, this phrase dates back to the 1930s and the Irish anti-jazz movement that griped the country for a period at this time. Dances such as the Rumba, Samba and quickstep were seen as close to close dancing and the importation of ‘negro’ culture. In opposition there was the Irish culture and it’s dancing which was a more open dance: “good wholesome Irish dancing… in place of terrible abusive jazz.”
On new years day in 1934 there was a march against Jazz in Mohill, County Leitrim. Banners such as ‘Down with this sort of thing’ or ‘no foreign culture in this country’ and ‘out with paganism… out with jazz’ were held high. Father Peter Conifrey was the man behind the campaign, a campaign which hit its peak when a radio station in Athlone started to play Jazz music. The government was called on to close dance halls at 2300 and ban all foreign dances from Ireland.
The campaign was discussed during the January 1934 meeting of Dublin Corporation. Among the highlights was Councillor Mahealy comment on the subject: “for centuries this country has stood out for national music and dancing and here we are in 1934 following the music and dancing of the ‘negro (people). It is a desperate state of affairs.” The Waterford Corporation justified the campaign by saying: “you couldn’t call the old time waltzes of course jazz because they are good music.” Why they couldn’t see that waltzes were not part of Irish culture (German) and that they were promoting a ‘foreign culture’ themselves is beyond me.
Meanwhile the Gaelic League was pulling their weight in the campaign against Jazz. Secretary O’Quinn said: “the Gaels of Meath have in a very practical way done more to oust jazz than any form of propaganda…. The failure of jazz is due to the resurgent spirit of young Gaels than the depraved excesses alleged to have been a special feature of recent years.”
Censorship in Ireland is a topic of personal interest to me. I was lucky to be born at the tail end of this censorship and today I can read books like The Catcher in the Rye or watch films like ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ without breaking the law. I came across a Radio One documentary podcast about the Irish anti-jazz campaign and much of the info in this post is taken from this documentary.