Riverdance at Glór – a reel success

AN Ennis world champion dancer realised a lifelong ambition to perform Riverdance with one of the former long-serving female lead dancers in front of his home crowd in Glór last Saturday.
Anthony Sharkey and Eileen Martin, who danced in front of thousands on Broadway, were reunited for The Reel Crusade – an extravaganza of music, song and dance provided by an 18-strong Riverdance troop and local entertainers.
The gala concert was held to raise funds for the Clare Crusaders’ Clinic in Barefield, which provides therapy for 130 children with special needs at annual cost of €250,000, which has to be raised through voluntary donations.
“I never expected to get Riverdance to Ennis. It was a great success and I have been blown away by the reaction to the show. It was one night I will never forget. It was a very special night for a very special charity.
“Five months of hard work came together on the night. One of the Riverdancers told me on Friday night that people had travelled from all over the country to participate in the show for the charity.
“Riverdance executive producer, Julian Erskine, who was in contact with me earlier this week, expressed his delight the show was such a success and had already got great feedback.
“Everything just flowed on the night from the start to the finish. I was just floating on stage when I was dancing with Eileen Martin. The Riverdance troop could not get over the support the charity got on the night from all the other performers and sponsors.
“I really enjoyed the performance and was overwhelmed that everything came so well together,” he said.
Clare Crusaders’ Clinic manager, Ann Norton admitted she was “still on a high” this week following the tremendous reaction she received from patrons who attended the show.
Ms Norton noted the decision to provide a mixture of entertainment with Riverdance worked a treat thanks to great support from a team of people including Glór’s production manager and traditional music specialist, Marie O’Byrne, who she described as “amazing”.
“It was a huge achievement to get Riverdance and the Key Notes to perform in Ennis. Everyone enjoyed a fantastic night of entertainment. The show meant so much more to the American therapists who provided workshops earlier in the week having met Anthony Sharkey on Thursday night.
“It was a massive achievement for a small charity to pull off two major events in the one week,” she said.
While Riverdance and Irish vocal harmony group the Key Notes were the two headline acts, the audience also provided great applause for the Ennis Gospel Choir, members of the Sharkey School of Dancing, singer Ruth Kelly, the Ennis Arch Club, which saw children with special needs perform a Michael Jackson tribute and the Lisscyasey set dancers.
All this was interspersed with side-splitting jokes from Fr Brendan Quinlivan under the watchful yet appreciative eye of Bishop Willie Walsh and Fr Tom Hogan in the audience.