Is there a particularly Irish culture of performance? I suggest that there is – the defining feature of which is the role played by alterity - the living presence of an “other" in performance. This “other” is usually a person or persons, the being of whom is felt to be immanent in the material performed. Performance thus has a strong element of animation. Following the lead of Gary Gossen, for whom Chamula oral traditon constituted an “ethical statement”, I argue that Irish tradition also carries an implicit ethics, as can often be seen from performers’ statements about what they do. Scholars such as Silvio, Manning, and Gershon have been re-examining the term “performance” itself, showing its cultural and historical boundedness. I suggest that Irish tradition be likewise re-examined in the light of these theoretical developments.