I’ve been listening to a radio programme about the centenary of RTÉ, it being a hundred years since the first radio broadcast by Raidió Éireann in 1926 (before television existed). One of the things included was a discussion of the fierce campaign against Jazz in Ireland during the 1930s. On New Year’s Day 1934, a Fr. Conefrey led a march through Mohill, County Leitrim, in which demonstrators shouted “down with jazz” and “out with paganism” and called on the government to close the dance halls and ban all foreign dances in Ireland. Jazz, the campaign argued, was “abominable” music that originated in central Africa and was exported to the West by “a gang of wealthy Bolshevists in the USSR to strike at church civilisation throughout the world.” Jazz was an “engine of hell” deployed to do the devil’s work. The Gaelic League weighed in on the day with an attack on then-Minister of Finance Seán MacEntee, who, in allowing jazz to be broadcast on Radio Eireann, was “selling the musical soul of the nation for the dividends of sponsored jazz programmes”.
It seems absurd nowadays that people could take such tripe seriously but it was a significant movement supported, amongst others, by Éamon de Valera. Here are some extracts of a speech which is both hilarious and sinister, not to mention deeply racist, by Fr. Conefrey, to give you an idea. Honestly. I know some people don’t like jazz, but this is just ridiculous!
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Let me tell you why this campaign is the most important step taken by the Gaelic League for many years.
While the Irish music has died out it is being replaced by a foreign system of music introduced from savage Africa by people out to kill religion and destroy morality. This ‘jazz’ represents the sin of impurity and young people leave their homes every night to go to dances where jazz is practised.
All night jazz dancing is one of the greatest evils Ireland has ever seen. Jazz is an even greater evil than both intemperance and landlordism combined. It is a menace to religion and nationality and its objective is nothing less than to destroy virtue in the human soul.
The reason it has been tolerated and indulged in so far is because the public in Ireland do not understand its meaning and do not see the danger.
Now we still have some people asking what is jazz? Some have asked in good faith if it excludes waltzes and barn dances? My answer to that is that the ‘anti-jazz campaign’ excludes no dance that is in keeping with public Christian decency. But no-one could make anything out of the jazz dancing, and there was no music in the jazz tin squealing.
A professor in Oxford University tells us that the word ‘jazz’ is a Central African word and means the acting in public of something that St Paul says should not be so much as named amongst us.
The dance and the music with its abominable rhythm was borrowed from Central Africa by a gang of wealthy International Bolshevists in America. Their aim is to strike at Christian civilization throughout the world and to steer Roman civilization inro the dust: they employed this jazz – this engine of hell – to do this devil’s work.
They laid their plans carefully. They employed mass suggestion. In the music they knew they had something that would appeal to debased sexual instinct. Its superlative, savagely extreme use of syncopation, allied with the copulative beat, beat, beat of the drum, stirred up forces all over the world.
To counter this abomination, the only answer is to revive Irish dancing and music. I appeal to you to support Irish music and Irish dancing: as far as I’m concerned it is a question of defending Christian religion and faith while we have it.
No other nation has the same music as we have. The Irish nation was famous for its music, but all the old violinists and flautists are gone, and it is only amongst the peasantry of Ireland that the real traditional music and dance is to be found.
When I was at the Royal Dublin Society exhibition we had a great show of our local cottage traditions of spinning and weaving and all sorts of knitted goods. But we also had Irish music and dance at our stand. I was congratulated and told by many that never was such music played on the show grounds, and it was one of the greatest treats of the whole show.
Music and dancing are among the arts of the nation and if the nation is to be rebuilt then we must get all the constituent parts reconstructed. I’ve had an idea in my mind for a long time, that we should have a National Reconstruction League to take charge of the language, music, and dance, and for cottage industries and the arts. If we could organise competitions and concerts to play our old tunes on traditional instruments and bring on new pipe bands, we could stop the spread of immorality and irreligion.
There is great musical-talent in Co. Leitrim and it is undeveloped.
We need to see that Irish music is fostered and not despised. But there are certain classes in this country who consider our Irish music is not genteel enough for them, and they look down on it and are out to destroy its spirit. Those Dublin people need to come down to the country where they’ll learn step dancing and how to distinguish one step from another and get the names of the steps. I would like to know what the Leinster School of Music was doing for Irish music: nothing; they are only teaching classical music. Even at the Sligo Feis Ceoil all the music was from Continental authors, and it was only the poor Irish farmers were left to play the Irish music.
Action is needed to be taken by the church and state. First, the government should compel the closing of dance halls at 11 o‘clock. Young teachers should be trained to teach Irish dancing and music, and they should have Irish dancing taught in the Depot amongst the members of the Guards.
One of the greatest offenders at the present time are the Civic Guards. The Minister for Justice should take action and have good Irish céilidh organised in every barracks every week or month, and not allow the Guards to be carrying on their pagan dances until hours in the morning. It is a well-known fact that in most cases there are bars open at these all-night dances, and people attending them are blinded with drink. This is a disgrace, and President de Valera should be ashamed of his face to stand by and allow this conduct to be carried on. It is time for the Government to open its eyes and see to it that this abuse should end.
I appeal to political parties to give up their disputes and unite on this question and put down this jazz.
While I speak to the Government I also speak to the Church, and say that the priests will want to waken up and see that this terrible and abusive jazz dancing ceases. I know that the majority of the priests know that jazz is wrong, but many of them will not speak out. There are others who don’t understand this monster and their idea is to let the people have what they want, which is the jazz.
I fear that if this is to continue and the generation of old people die out, we will have a different type of people in the future. It is up to the people to rise against this ]azz dance and music as it is necessary to save their traditions and faith. It is unworthy of Catholics to support jazz and no one is associated with jazz but shoneens. If people were worthy of their race and traditions they would blow up every hall, where jazz is practised.
More condemnation of jazz is worse than useless, as Henry Ford realised.
Young folk, will dance, but let them dance to rhythms of beauty and in a manner that will scatter morbidity and make for fun and jollity.
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Coincidentally, it was also in 1926 that Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five recorded “The Irish Black Bottom” which I here present to you in the hope of destroying the virtue in your soul.
In the Dark 