Some of our dancers have written about their journey from their first day at the school up to the present day. Click on a dancer to see a selection of photos, and their story.

I started Irish dancing when I was 8 years old . I started on a Monday night in the secondary school hall with one of my friends from my school class to see what it was like. I remember Jennifer asking me if I knew any thing and I showed her my attempt at a 1,2,3. We did warm ups for our feet like princess walks and good toes and bad toes. 

A while after my first class I was introduced to the idea of competitions. I liked the idea and I went to my first feis in the local sports club. I really enjoyed it and I won my beginners after a few feiseanna.I wore a black leotard , a white cumberband and a black white with my poodles socks and new pomps to the feis.

Years on , I still go to competitions regularly and have the same determination to do well. I've competed in many majors like the world championships , the dublins , leinsters. We have travelled as a school abroad and down the country. The trips and shows are so fun , we have performed in theatres , stadiums and at birthdays and weddings too. 

This year has also been very exciting as I auditioned for a show to travel to America this summer. I had always known about studio2stage and my teachers encouraged me to audition. They helped me with my auditions and always were there to help with any questions regarding shows. We practiced every Wednesday coming up to it as there was loads of steps I had to learn before going . It was really helpful. I have always loved the idea of professional Irish dancing and would love it to be apart of my future as I love dancing so much. There's so many shows that I have dreamed of being apart of since I began dancing , and hopefully I will learn what it takes to become a professional dancer this summer. I already have good experience from all the shows we have done as a class and I'm so excited to gain more and more  experience.

I've made so many friends from dancing and had so many opportunities; including travelling abroad for shows and competitions. Thanks to my teachers Jennifer and Caroline , I wouldn't of had these opportunities to pursue my dancing career.

 A few months later I went to my first féis in the Oscar Traynor hall in Artane. I did my reel, a light jig and a slip jig and I wore a black leotard a black skirt with a white band and a cumberband with Celtic scroll. I wore a black hair band and my hair was in ringlets. At my second féis for my A reel I got 1st place and in the cup dance I got 1st place. I kept practising and going to class and on the 9th May one month later I got 2nd in the slip jig, 2nd in my ordinary jig and for my two handed reel with Kelly I got 2nd and in the cup dance I got 5th. The féis was scary I did not know where to stand or how to react but now I do.

I have made so many friends and we love doing shows. We have done a lot of fundraising for the class like bag packing, cake sales, raffles. They are fun to do and one of the Mothers did a swimathon. We went to Disneyland in Paris and danced on stage and had a great time there. We were with parents and Grandparents and whole families it was great fun. We have also gone to London for a féis and went sightseeing and shopping while we were there it was great fun. It was Christmas time and all the lights in the city were beautiful.

In 2010 we danced at my dance teachers wedding and we have danced in venues on St. Patricks day. We have danced in GAA clubs and also in Tallaght stadium. We have also danced for the Lord Mayor of Dublin and we danced in RTE studio to celebrate 20 years of Riverdance. It was first danced at Eurovision in 1994 and look at its progress now. It is now being danced all over the world.

As a group we performed in the Civic Theatre, it was a culture night where we came 2nd. When I was 7 I got my first class costume and we danced in teams, that is fun. To date I have won all my A,B and C dances and my pre open dances and I am now an open dancer. I now compete in opens only. In February 2015 I won 2 medals at the world Championship in Killarney and I am practising hard for 2016. I hope to qualify for the worlds in the Leinsters/Dublins in November 2015.

Through my dancing I have met celebrities such as Rylan Clarke, Katie Taylor, Alexander Burke, Joe McEldery and have danced in the George in a show for a fundraiser. I have danced at the opening of the UK/GMB International Union convention in the Citywest Hotel in Dublin.

For the last 3 years I have been a member of the dance troupe that perform in Johnny Foxes pub, the highest pub in Ireland. The customers there come from all over the world to see the show its great, I love it. All this is thanks to my dance teachers Jennifer and Caroline Joyce.