Loughinisland dancer Anna is runner-up in World Irish dancing event

Loughinisland dancer Anna is runner-up in World Irish dancing event

13 April 2022

AGAINST the odds, Loughisland girl Anna McGlew was crowned runner-up in her age group at last weekend’s World Irish Dancing Championships in Belfast. 

The result came for 11-year-old Anna, her family and her dance school, Scoil Rince an Chroí, at around 1am on Monday morning.

She competed against 150 other dancers and was shortlisted down to the final 50 in the under-12 category where she was judged on her showpiece dance performance.

Anna, the daughter of Diane and Seamus McGlew, has beenh dancing since the age of four, having joined Scoil Rince an Chroí when it first opened in 2015.

She even got the chance to meet her dance hero, Michael Flatley of Riverdance and Lord of the Dance fame, at the event which was held at the Waterfront Hall for the first time in two years.

Dance instructor Chris Owens was full of praise for Anna, who attends St Macartan’s Primary School, Loughinsland, as she initially did not qualify to take part.

He explained that although she came eighth in the Ulster Championship where only the top seven going through to the Worlds, a last-minute decision by the governing body meant that the eighth person could go through.

“Anna went through because the Northern dancers did not have three qualifiers to compete in due to the covid pandemic so the governing body agreed to let the eighth qualifier through,” said Chris.

“It all happened very last minute once Anna knew she was competing in the Worlds, unbeknown to her dance teacher, and even her parents, she was disciplined enough to make herself a spreadsheet of exercises and things she needed to do to get herself ready for the championship.”

Chris, who likened the World Championship as the “Olympics of the Irish dancing world”, added: “Anna has shown such discipline and dedication to win this competition in the same year she got an A in her entrance exam.”

Scoil Rince an Chroí team of dancers were led by dance teachers Chris Owens, Brid McKinney, Bridget Bryne and adjudicator Maura Davidson.