[1995] In recent years the revival of interest in country set dancing has inspired one of the most successful social developments for generations. When one considers that less than twenty years ago, very few sets were danced, or even heard of, outside their own locality, it is amazing to think that for many people of all ages, from all walks of life and diverse social backgrounds, set dancing has become almost a way of life. Traditionally, set dancing was confined to the country but the extraordinary phenomenon of today is that it is so well established in urban areas. This is no doubt linked with the fact that many urban dwellers of today have their roots in the country but while that may bring about the participants' initial involvement, I believe that the timeless appeal of the dances, along with the social interaction that accompanies them, is primarily responsible for their popularity. My own introduction to sets began in my home in Tipperary, where I can recall seeing the Ballycommon set and, less clearly, the Cashel set danced to my father's accordion music. He had spent much of his earlier life playing locally at house and at platform or crossroad dances. His many stories, no doubt enriched with the passing of time, spoke of an era that had all but disappeared by then, much to my regret. Learning to play his music brought me closer to the world of which he spoke, and over the years that followed, one of the greatest joys of my life was playing music, particularly for dancers. In my experience, step dancers can be very impressive, particularly the 'hard' dancers who beat out such beautiful rhythm with their feet, but set dancers somehow always seem to get the maximum enjoyment from their dancing. Soon after I first attended Jack Slattery's set dancing classes in Dublin in the mid '80s, I realised that this was the world of which my father had spoken. I found that the easiest way to remember the sets was to record them in note form as I learned them. This practice became particularly useful in later years when I began to teach the sets myself. As time went on, I attended Connie Ryan's classes and workshops and later those of other teachers. Some of my most pleasant memories are of those early days: the classes, sessions, travelling around Ireland and finding the same magic wherever sets were danced. The range of sets in existence seemed to be endless and learning sets from different parts of the country, with their different steps and dancing styles, was both challenging and rewarding. Something that concerned me as I became more familiar with the sets, was that many of them were seen only occasionally. A few favourites were danced everywhere while other, equally attractive sets, seemed to be left aside. When I became involved in teaching the sets, I resolved to teach these less popular ones as well as the better-known ones, even if only occasionally, in order to keep them in my repertoire. Many of the sets in this collection are relatively unknown, but I would ask people to study them and dance them occasionally. Otherwise, they may disappear and this would be a tragedy. Many of them disappeared before; their future is now in our hands. On this point also, I would be delighted to hear from anybody who has a set not mentioned here or a different version of one of these. I would be very pleased to record and teach it.