When did the feis movement start?

A quick check in Fintan Vallely's excellent Companion to Irish Traditional Music (2nd. Ed.) gives:

- in a music context (there are others), the term is a contraction of "feis cheoil" meaning "music festival", often involving both classical and traditional genres.
- arose out of the work of the Gaelic League in the late 19th. C.
- first was in Dublin 1897, followed by Belfast (1898-1900) then Dublin to date, interrupted only by the 1916 Rising and the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak!

He also mentions that "The step dance organisations also use the term "feis" for their competition festivals; the first of these was held at Macroom (Co. Cork, Munster) in 1899." This may well have been the genesis of the Munster Feis we're discussing. I may be in ITMA (Irish Traditional Music Archive) next week and will enquire.

Regards