Siamsa, pronounced "shee-am-sah", comes from the Irish language. The word itself expresses mirth and music. In a gaelic-speaking Ireland, in times gone by. It described an evening's impromptu entertainment when farming folk would ramble to a neighbour's cottage, to sit and talk a while, and listen to a storyteller or maybe join in a night of music, song and dance around a flagstone kitchen floor. Rev Fr Pat Ahern A series created by Father Pat Ahern and performed by Siamsoiri na Ríochta in 1968 evoked such a positive public response that he was encouraged to put an entire show together. This was the birth of Siamsa Tire. With the formation of Siamsa Tire Teoranta in 1974 Father Ahern was appointed Artistic Director, a position he held until his retirement in 1998. He prepared a plan to foster the development of Irish folk culture, in 1972. He created a professional company within Siamsa Tire and his own design concepts influenced the shape and style of the new National Folk Theatre in Tralee. The company has performed their unique brand of Folk Theatre at venues all over Ireland – North & South, in Britain, Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Spain, Hungary, America, Canada and Australia. Siamsa Tíre participated in the World Expo’s at Brisbane Australia ’88, Seville Spain ’92 and Hannover Germany 2000. Siamsa Tíre has earned many National and International Awards including the European Folk Art Prize awarded by the Stiftung F.V.S. Germany.