The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
TWO local girls are about to go to the World Irish Dancing Championships.
Holly McKey will be dancing in the U-12 section, while Isabel Ryan will be in the under 16 competition.
Irish dancing has quite a long history in the town, with what is now the Daniel Flanagan Academy of Irish Dance.
It had previously been known as the Hackett Flanagan academy and before that again it was the Hackett School.
Last November it had its first Munster Champion when Alex Carew took first place in the U-7 regional competition.
Olivia Dullaghan is chairperson of the Parent’s Council of the Academy and she said that they are delighted to have children going to the Worlds.
“They qualified pre-Covid, but because of Covid there were no World Championships. They’re going now, Holly is dancing on April 10 and Isabelle Ryan is dancing on April 12.”
The competition is being held in Belfast this year.
Olivia said that young people involved in the dancing are very committed.
“There is huge dedication. For example my daughter and my son are dancing and they’d train Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, sometimes on a Saturday and then a Feis on Sunday. It’d be two hours per class.”
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked for a number of other regional titles in Limerick, Galway and Cork.
