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Ferenka Limited was a steel-cord manufacturing plant located in Annacotty, Limerick. Its managing director, Dr Tiede Herrema, was kidnapped in October 1975 by members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) to secure the release of three republican prisoners.

Emmanuel College, Cambridge was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay (1520/21-1589), Chancellor of the Exchequer to Queen Elizabeth I, for the purpose of educating Protestant preachers. The college was puritan in its outlook, and its early statutes promoted a Spartan and disciplined regimen. Owing to its strong Protestant ethos, the College grew rapidly. By the 1620s, it was the largest in Cambridge. The College did not only expand physically. Over the course of the seventeenth century, it broadened its scope and developed into a centre of humanist and latitudinarian study.

Dublin Youth Dance Company was founded in 2000 by Dance Theatre of Ireland’s artistic directors, Robert Connor and Loretta Yurick to give young people the opportunity to engage in training, creating, and performing dance. The company in its early years was run under the leadership of J. J. Formento. In 2001, the company hosted the first Irish Youth Dance Festival at the Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire, which has since become an annual event. It has also participated in a number of high-profile dance events in Ireland and abroad. In 2003, Mariam Ribón replaced Formento as the company’s artistic director. She continues to lead Dublin Youth Dance Company and to expand the scope and vision of the Irish Youth Dance Festival.

International Dance Festival Ireland was inaugurated in 2002 under the guidance of Catherine Nunes to pioneer the promotion of contemporary dance in Ireland. Originally a biennial event, the Festival was an immediate success, attracting international work from highly respected artists. In September 2007, Laurie Uprichard replaced Nunes as Artistic Director, and the festival name was changed to Dublin Dance Festival. From 2008, the Festival has been an annual event and continues to feature a breadth of international artists while also showcasing the best of Irish contemporary dance. More information about the festival and its history can be found at www.dublindancefestival.ie.

In September 1977, Karen Callaghan and Joan Davis co-founded the Dublin Contemporary Dance Studio in Harold’s Cross, Dublin to pioneer modern dance in Ireland. Two years later, they established the studio’s performing company, the Dublin Contemporary Dance Theatre, which rapidly built up a varied repertoire of both original and guest choreographers’ work. Many of Ireland’s key choreographers and dancers began their professional careers with this company. In spite of its distinguished track record, the Dublin Contemporary Dance Theatre was forced to fold in 1989, when the Arts Council cut its funding. Its spirit lives on in Dance Theatre of Ireland, founded by the company’s former co-Artistic Directors Robert Connor and Loretta Yurick.

Dublin City Ballet, originally named the Oscar Theatre Ballet Company, was founded in 1979 under the directorship of Louis O'Sullivan. The company performed a wide repertoire of classical and jazz ballet productions until 1989, when its funding was withdrawn by the Arts Council and the company was forced to disband.

Dance United Northern Ireland emerged from Dance United, a non-profit organization established in 2000 by choreographers Mags Byrne and Royston Maldoom and independent television producer Andrew Coggins. In April 2007, Byrne as Artistic Director and Maldoom as Consultant Director established Dance United Northern Ireland as an entirely separate and independent entity. This professional dance development company works across the island of Ireland and internationally, advocating dance as a tool to facilitate personal and social development, advance dance as an art form, build community connections, and foster tolerance and respect. Its approach has been formulated into four separate but interconnected programmes of work. Building Bridges aims to connect young people who are at risk of being socially segregated due to their special needs, cultural difference, behavioural difficulties, or disability. Crossing the Divide focuses on cross-community work, bringing communities together using dance as a tool to provide people with a safe environment to let go of fears and prejudices. Closing the Gap focuses on inter-generational work and addresses the breakdown in contact between people of different ages. Opening the Spectrum comprises workshops and performances that have a social or developmental aim but do not naturally fit into the company’s other generic programmes. In April 2012, Dance United Northern Ireland changed its name to DU Dance (NI).

Dance Theatre of Ireland was founded in June 1989 by Robert Connor and Loretta Yurick, former members of Dublin Contemporary Dance Theatre. Since its inception, the company has created and produced some forty dance works for theatre, festivals, and television, and presented and commissioned work of international choreographers to introduce dance in its wider context to the Irish audience. The company has toured most major venues in Ireland and participated in some of the most prestigious festivals and theatres in Europe, Korea, and the USA. In 2000, with the support of the Arts Council, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, and Dunloe Ewart Properties, Dance Theatre of Ireland opened a purpose-built Centre for Dance to provide a permanent home for the company, rehearsal space for new work, and a venue for dance classes and workshops to dance enthusiasts of all ages.

Dance Resource Base is the premier non-profit organization, which supports the dance community in Northern Ireland. It provides facilities and resources and advocates the raising of the profile of dance in the North. Dance Resource Base was incorporated and registered as an independent company in 2006 following a process of consultation with the dance sector. It is a membership organization and is run by a board of governors who are elected annually by company members. It is an annually supported client of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.