Champs 16&Over (L-R): Jamie Callahan, Megan Murat, Ashleigh Hopkins, Taylor Stephens, Hannah Cass


Champs Special Treble Reel 13&Over (L-R): Cheyenne Stokes, Rebecca Herd, Megan Murat, Bailey Quigley, Sawyer Hicks, Shane McGoldrick, Hannah Cass


Champs Special Trebble Jig or Hornpipe Under 14 (L-R): Heather Noonan, Rebecca Herd, Bridget Kennedy, Sarah Troy, Paige Lanam, Lauren Begnaud


Champs Special Trebble Jig or Hornpipe (L-R): Lisa Noonan, Meredith Slimp, Colin Troy



The fourth annual Texas Coast Feis? Not your average one! Breaking with tradition, the feis was held on a Sunday this year (Sept. 4) at the Omni Bayfront Hotel in Corpus Christi, Texas, giving Labor Day weekenders the chance to leisurely make that drive to the coast. Inishfree School families took advantage of the extra day by arriving Saturday afternoon and enjoying a school-wide shrimp boil!

Skipping and whirling into the ballroom Sunday morning, more than 175 competitors checked out the beach theme that lent a more relaxed feel to the usually sophisticated ballroom. The musician, Brian Glynn of New Jersey, certainly seemed comfortable in bermuda shorts and flip flops perched with a bird’s eye view on an actual lifeguard stand next to the stages.

Hosted by the Corpus Christi Irish Arts Association in collaboration with the Glor na Daire Academy of Irish Dance, the feis had a plentiful supply of fabulous trophies for champs and specials, along with surfboard medals for the lower grades!

So next Labor Day, mark your calendars for the Texas Coast Feis. It’s got just the right competition sizes, a hotel with a view of the ocean, the opportunity to dance barefoot in the sand with friends, as well as the chance to feast on delicious seafood with your family. What a way to bid farewell to summer and, more importantly, a hello to the fall feis season.

Photo Credit: Shelby Miller

Special thanks to Feis America contributor Caitlin Buck for compiling this post!

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