Moonaroon played a fun and inclusive ceilidh for St Patrick’s day, held at Tap Social’s brewery site. The band played with energy and verve, the venue staff and beer were great and the vibe was impeccable. It was one of the most friendly and welcoming nights out I’ve had in a long time.

I spoke to the organiser of the night, who told me he’d put on a Burn’s Night ceilidh and it was so popular he felt he had to book another couple in. For people like me (likes folk music, too old for clubbing, still wants to dance) there’s a real joy to a ceilidh that’s rarely found outside a wedding disco. Opportunities for truly social dancing are rare, and it’s a joyful part of being human. In a ceilidh you are directly told what steps to do when (so there’s no fear that you’re doing it wrong somehow or being uncool - everyone is, it’s fine). This particular ceilidh, like many, was not particularly serious. It very much didn’t matter if you got the steps wrong. I was also impressed how many people seemed to have come alone; the caller made sure everyone was included, and led the evening with an extremely warm authority.

The venue was ideal for a ceilidh. If I’m splitting hairs, there wasn’t quite enough space, but honestly I’ve never been to a ceilidh where there was. There was a pizza van (another Proof offshoot) and also a bar stocking all Proof Social’s beer. The balcony, where you could watch the dancing from above of play pool (for free!) was a lovely touch for dancing breaks.

The dancing started a little earlier than advertised and ran for about 2 hours, so if you’re attending a future event, make sure you arrive early. And I recommend you do! There’s another ceilidh from the same organisers on the 1st of April, for Easter.

I really recommend this warm and gleeful night night out. It’s particularly good for the folk-and-real-ale crowd, but even if this isn’t you at all, you might be surprised at the sheer glee you’ll find in tipsily executing a Gay Gordon without falling over - I know I was.