Jackson Irish Dancers was founded in 1998 as a Mississippi non-profit corporation. Its members continue to teach adult classes in Irish céilí and figure dancing and country set dancing. These types of dancing are ancestors to American square or round dancing and clogging, and "kissing cousins" to contra dancing and other traditional English and Scottish country dance forms.
Many Irish céilí and figure dances and country sets are done in a "set" of eight dancers, though some are long dances and some are progressive, so that each line of dancers moves down the room dancing with every other line. Some members of JID are also interested in solo step dancing of the type more familiar to audiences thanks to Riverdance and other choreographed stage shows; however, we find that the group dances are both easier to learn and more of a "social" dance form.
The Jackson Irish Dancers will be accompanied by Bounds Street. Since 1994 they have played regularly at Fenian’s Pub and the Haute Pig in Jackson, Mississippi, as well as getting toes tapping at private parties, weddings, and regional festivals.