DANCERS from the McLaughlin School of Irish Dancing put their best foot forward recently to support a Ladies Day fundraiser at the Burnside Hotel.
The event (above) was organised with the aim of raising much-needed funds to help take some 30 dancers over to Dublin for next year’s World Irish Dancing Championships—the 50th anniversary of the competition. The week-long competition will be held in the city’s Convention Centre and is the most prestigious event in the Irish dancing calendar.
The fundraiser—described as a ‘tremendous success,’—featured a wonderful array of stalls selling bespoke jewellery, hand-crafted chocolate, beautiful gifts, health and beauty products, cakes, ladies clothing, handbags and accessories. All of the vendors donated some of their sales proceeds to the school and put up a raffle prize too.
As well as being well supported by family and friends of the school and very generous corporate sponsors, there was a stunning display of dancing on show from some of the very talented dancers, which went down a storm.
Eileen McLaughlin—teacher at the school and daughter of James and Kathleen who founded and still run the school—provided some historical background to the school and outlined its hopes for the upcoming World Championships.
“The McLaughlin School of Irish dancing was founded in 1966 and for the past 53 years has been teaching generations of dancers all over the south side of Glasgow,” she said. “We offer classes from beginner to championship level and as one of the most decorated dancing schools in the world, we have brought over 100 World Championship titles in both solo and team events back to Glasgow.
“The school is rich in Irish heritage and culture. With two generations of teaching staff we support a strong family ethos and sense of community whilst promoting this wonderful art form at the highest level. Dancers travel from afar to attend classes.
“As a school we aim to take over 30 dancers to compete with the very best from all over the world and this fundraiser will go some way to helping us do that. It was a tremendous success and we’d like to thank all those involved for their hard work.”
For more information on the McLaughlin School of Irish Dancing visit their Facebook: McLaughlin School of Irish Dancing or follow them on Twitter: @OfMclaughlin and Instagram: mclaughlinschool
