The meaning of Ceol Céilí

Ceol is gaelic for music...

And ceili, well, ceili is more of a concept.

There are several Irish terms related to the concept of  “space”. The equivalent concept of space is the term ceili which is derived from the word “gathering” with all its implications of notions of bodily 'being there'. The term denotes specifically the space within which people entertained each other.

The social space is not just for socializing, drinking and talking, but the notion is important in that this social space is where people carry out their own creative activities centered on the body such as set dancing, reading poetry, story-telling and singing. Dancing and playing music together are communal activities and thus the term céilí began to acquire a common meaning as group dancing. By contrast, the session has spatial limits as it caters only for a gathering of musicians.