The origins of Irish art are obscure, dating back to perhaps as early as 3,000 BC in tombs and sanctuaries along the Boyne Valley. This art was abstract and three dimensional, largely expressed through spirals, loops and geometric forms created in gold and silver personal ornaments, and bronze and iron implements such as swords and bridle bits. One form which in particular survived was stone sculpture. The most notable example is the Cross of Cong, a shrine for a fragment of the True Cross which was made early in the 11th Century.

By the 8th and 9th Centuries, Celtic art reached its greatest heights. Illuminated manuscripts such as the Book of Durrow combined abstract panels of interlocking forms and spirals in red, green and yellow, turning at times into highly stylized animal shapes. These forms were developed eventually in the late 8th century in the Book of Kells. Native art seems to have disappeared during the period of English domination, but after the 17th Century, a number of Irish painters and sculptors achieved fame.

It's difficult to know what the music of the ancient Celts really sounded like. What we currently know as Celtic music today is really the traditional music developed recently in several western European Atlantic regions that used to be inhabited by Celtic tribes over 2,000 years ago.

Accordingly, the modern form of Irish dancing dates back to the appearance of Dance Masters about 1750. Forerunners of today's Irish dancing teachers, they typically traveled within a county, teaching their repertoire of dance steps and participating in competitions with other Dance Masters.