Learn to Jig: Dramming & Dancing | Belfast Whiskey Week 2023

Name: Belfast Whiskey Week 2026
Start: 2026-07-24
End: 2026-08-01
Location: Belfast

Filed: 15 Jul 2023
By: Belfast Whiskey Week
Read: 5 min
Ref: BWW/23/124

Some events at Belfast Whiskey Week feed the mind. Some feed the palate. And some — the rare and brilliant ones — feed the soul entirely. Learn to Jig: Dramming & Dancing was firmly in that third category: an afternoon at Nancy Mulligans on Saturday 22nd October 2023 where comfy clothes were the dress code, three drams were the reward, and nobody was too old, too stiff, or too far gone from their school days to give Irish dancing a proper go.

About This Event

Do you ever find yourself tapping your toes while the music starts in the bar? Does the sound of every fiddle or drum beat make you want to dance as if you were on tour with River Dance? Only kidding. Truthfully though, if you have thought about Irish Dancing, but don’t know where to start, or what to do, and think that there is no hope because you are no longer a kid and not in an organised setting; then this might just be an option. Sophie has designed an easy, up from the sofa, no strings attached opportunity to learn the basics and have fun; either to progress or to pick up the odd session. It’s used by those who might not have the time to commit to longer classes, or as a way to keep fit, or just for the craic. In any case, it’s an opportunity to meet new people, learn the art of Irish Dance and to have craic. This session will be a snapshot, an “eye opener” as it were, with the chance to meet Sophie, learn some moves and have some well deserved whiskies in the process. Comfy Clothes are a must. Timeslot: 3pm-6pm Start Time: 3pm Duration: 2hrs Venue: Nancy Mulligans Drinks: 3 Drams Type: Dancing Disclaimers Please note that individual dietary requirements are not being catered for with any food at this event. Each Brand/Distillery and Collaborative Partner have agreed to our Min/Max Pour Policy. Please Respect this, and enjoy your festival responsibly. Festival Participants who are deemed to be too inebriated, or are not respecting themselves, will not be permitted into events and venues. ALL Hosts/Ushers/Collaborators and Venue Staff have the right to refuse participants without question and recourse. Please Drink Responsibly. All events are only available to those 18 years old and over. Do not purchase tickets if you are under the age of 18. Be prepared to produce ID if required. Venue staff & ushers may ask you to provide ID when showing your valid tickets. You may be refused enter to events if you can’t prove your age. Some venues may change, if they do, you will be notified. All events are subject to changes out of the control of the festival organisers. Any issues, please contact us @belfastwhiskeyweek on socials, or via email on marketing@belfastwhiskeyweek.com or 07773675179 (8am-8pm) to discuss. NO Refunds will be given. Please only buy tickets if you are prepared to attend the event. Tickets are transferable. If you are going to transfer tickets please email, marketing@belfastwhiskeyweek.com

Looking Back

There's something fitting about pairing uisce beatha with the art of Irish dance. Both carry the weight of duchas — that deep cultural inheritance — and both have a habit of loosening people up in the best possible way. Sophie, who led the session, had designed the class specifically for those who'd spent years watching others take to the floor and quietly wishing they knew how. No recitals, no mirrors, no sequined costumes. Just a room full of willing beginners, a good floor, and the kind of easy guidance that makes the whole thing feel far less daunting than you'd imagined.

The format was a generous two-hour snapshot — an eye-opener, as the event itself put it — and that framing set the tone perfectly. Nobody was under pressure to perform or progress. Some attendees came with vague notions of keeping fit; others came purely for the craic and the company. A few, no doubt, arrived having convinced themselves they had two left feet, and left with a little more faith in themselves. The basics of Irish jig footwork, when broken down with patience and humour, turned out to be well within reach of a Saturday afternoon crowd with three drams warming their bellies.

Those drams deserve their own mention. Three whiskies accompanied the session, poured at intervals that felt earned — a reward for effort, a toast to the tír, a moment to catch your breath and let the music settle. Nancy Mulligans, with its warm, lived-in character, was a natural home for this kind of afternoon: a Belfast bar that understands the relationship between a tune, a pour, and good people gathered together. The sheugh between a proper pub session and a festival event was narrow here, and all the better for it.

What made this event stand out in the 2023 programme was its genuine inclusivity — not as a marketing word, but as a lived reality. The session asked nothing of attendees except a willingness to show up and try. There was laughter, there was mild breathlessness, there was the particular joy of learning something new in a room full of strangers who quickly stopped feeling like strangers. It's worth noting that a second session, Learn to Jig: Dramming & Dancing (Event 34), also ran during the week, suggesting demand was high — and understandably so.

Belfast Whiskey Week has always aimed to be more than a tasting circuit, and evenings like this one prove why that ambition matters. Seanchas — the living tradition of storytelling and cultural knowledge — doesn't only happen in words. Sometimes it happens in footwork, in music, in the way a room full of people chooses to spend a Saturday afternoon together. Sláinte to Sophie, to Nancy Mulligans, and to everyone who laced up their comfy shoes and gave it a go. You can explore the full range of Belfast Whiskey Week experiences to see what else the festival has to offer.