Keeva Corry, 2012 All-Ireland Irish Dancing Champion Girls 11-12
photo courtesy Camelia Rose
Several hundred young Irish dancers from Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom and United States converged in South Dublin today for the 2012 All-Ireland Irish Dancing Championship.  Solo competitions for boys aged 10-11, girls and boys aged 11-12, and the ceili  team event for girls under 11 were the business of the day.  When all was danced and tabulated, and awards were celebrated, two defending boy champions reigned while the girls saw a switch-up from 2011's All-Ireland podium.  The only North American team to compete in the Sub Ceili event, Lavin-Cassidy from Illinois, defeated 17 teams from England/Wales and Ireland for the championship.

Adjudicators for Girls 11-12 were ADCRGs Aaron Crosbie, Kathleen Keady, Chris Ryan, Bill Maple and Justine Ward Mallison.  Karen Petri, ADCRG, judged the solo round and musicians were Paul O'Donnell and Liam O'Sullivan.

Keeva Corry from Croghan/Greene displaced 2011 All-Ireland Irish Dancing Champion Mairead Trainor-Aitken for the top spot on the podium.  Trainor-Aitken took 2nd, and Niamh Neale from Doherty placed 3rd.  Corry is also the 2011 World Irish Dancing Champion for Girls under 11.

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With 162 girls registered to compete, just 30 were North Americans and only 10 recalled to dance the third round.  Of the 10 who did recall, two girls - Julia Marino and Orla Mullane-Godley - had placed at the 2011 All-Ireland Irish Dancing Championships.  The highest placing North American from 2011 at 13th place, Ava-Marie Schroder from Mattierin, did not compete this year.

Julianna and Nicoletta Bremer-Summa
photo courtesy The Bremer School 2010
In the end, North America broke through to the Top 10 with Orla Mullane-Godley placing 8th.  Two dancers from Rince na Tiarna - Julia Marino and Emily McEwen - placed in the Top 20.  Julianna Bremer-Summa, New England's 2011 Regional Champion placed 23rd, her twin Nicoletta placed 29th and fellow New-Englanders Maeve Williams and Brooke Adamson clinched 25th and 48th respectively.  Kerri Betz, the 2011 Mid-Atlantic Regional Champion, placed 33rd.  Jayne Rush, another Mullane-Healy-Godley dancer, tied for 31st place and Grace Metcalfe from Butler-Fearon-O'Connor West U.S. placed 50th.

For more of Sunday's results from the All-Ireland Irish Dancing Championships, stay tuned here on Irish Central's Irish Dance page.  For official results, photos and live commentary register with www.onthefeis.com, the official partner of An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha.


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