Not only are traditional music and dance thriving in the south-east, but a number of farsighted communities have begun to harness them to attract tourists. There are plenty of daytime activities in the region for tourists: golfing, fishing, hill walking, visiting heritage features and shopping. And while Waterford City has a well-established evening entertainment in The Waterford Show, rural centres tend to focus on pubs in the evenings for entertainment.
In the west Waterford village of Ballyduff, however, an innovative project aimed at filling the vacuum has achieved striking success and has set a standard for other communities.
The village already had a community centre but recently decided to upgrade it. An extension programme was drawn up and fundraising began.
The community council contacted Waterford Development Partnership, a joint venture company between the Government and the social partners to address the socio-economic problems of the area.
Waterford Development Partnership operates the EU Leader programme in the county and a Leader grant of £40,000 was approved. At a cost of £100,000 - £80,000 of which has now been paid off - the villagers built a spacious L-shaped extension around their existing hall.
For some years now, the community had been developing an initiative based on the resurgence of traditional music generated by the local Comhaltas branch. Drawing on local musicians and on children and young adults who have been attending Irish dance classes in the village, Comhaltas put together a weekly music and dance production for the summer season under the general title of "The Booley House".
Once the existence of the Wednesday evening show became known through information offices in nearby towns, such as Lismore, it became an instant hit, especially with tourists.
The Comhaltas branch chairman, Mr Thomas Hyland, who holds set dancing classes in Ballyduff, says tourists have made up the majority in the packed audiences for the evenings.
They sit informally at tables in the hall and are given tea and abundant home-baked scones and apple tart before the show begins. Accompanied by a traditional group, the youngsters of Ballyduff - some as young as five or six - put on a Riverdance-style ceili.
Indeed, several "graduates" of the Ballyduff dancing classes, run by the Michael Ryan School of Dancing, have already been recruited by the Riverdance troupe.
The Ballyduff show is interspersed with set dances by Thomas Ryan's pupils and also includes stories by the village's very own "seanachie", local farmer Patsy Ahearne.
The final performance of the season was held last Wednesday in the renovated hall, which will be used for many events during the winter - indoor sports, drama, GAA and ICA meetings. The hall now has a a fine exhibition area which will be used to display local arts and crafts.
As they raised money to pay off the debt on the hall, the "Booley House" performances have demonstrated that there is a strong demand by tourists and visitors for an evening of traditional entertainment.
In turn, this creative performance has given purpose and excitement to the work of those taking part in a strong local resurgence of Irish music and dance.