According to my old step dancing teacher, Feisianna (Irish dance competitions) in Ireland were traditionally held on Sunday. Girls/women would traditionally have their hair curled for Mass. As a result, dancing judges "of the old school" want to see the dancer's hair in curls, in remembrance of the old way. For years, dancers would curl their hair in preparation for competitions. Then someone got the bright idea of skipping the curling and just wearing a curled hair wig. This has been the practice for the last, oh, 15 years, more or less.

It is possible, of course, that everything I have just said is wrong, wrong, wrong! However, I'm just telling you what my teacher told me. The part about the wigs being in fashion for the last 15 years or so is based on my own memory of attending competitions, and so might be more prone to error.

Don