Kildare dancers have very successful world championships in Belgium

Seventeen Irish dancers from the Murphy Gray Academy of Irish Dance travelled to Liège, Belgium to take part in the WIDA World and International Irish Dance Championships 2024.

Their dancers competed  against dancers from all over the globe ranging from Ireland, UK, Isle of Man, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Ukraine, USA, Australia, China, Belarus and Hungary.

It is not only an honour to be able to travel to  many places around the world but to be able to compete and make so many new friends through Irish Dance is so special. 

Murphy Gray Academy of Irish Dance had its most successful World Championships to date bringing home twelve World globes in both solo and team dancing.

Lauren Murphy from Athgarvan was crowned u/15 World Champion. Lauren attends three classes a week, a committed dancer in both solo and team dancing, Lauren’s consistency and work ethic is second to none, her teachers say she is a delight to teach. After a lot of incredibly hard work she has reached her dream goal of winning the World Championship.

Alex Talbot Ryan from Allenwood finished on the podium and came home with that much sought after World globe finishing in 3rd place in the u/16 World Championship while Ellen Gray from Clane also podiumed finishing 4th place in the u/27 World Championship. 

Lauren Beatty from Kill placed 2nd in the u/10 International Premiership, her teachers are so looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this very talented dancer.

The Murphy Gray Academy of Irish Dance has had incredible success throughout the years in team dancing and this year their dancers exceeded themselves. They entered eight competitions and came home with eight first and second place globes. Their teachers said “When the competitions ended we couldn’t have been more proud of our dancers regardless of results. Every dancer gave their all on stage and it was the first time we could say that absolutely everything went right for us on the day, not one dancer put a foot wrong, this is what we are most proud of. Their incredibly amazing results were just a bonus”

These dancers were crowned:

u/12 Four Hand World Champions, u/12 Eight Hand World Champions, u/17 Four Hand World Champions and u/30 4 Hand World Champions.

Podiumed and second place winners in the u/17 Eight Hand Championship, u/30 Four Hand Championship, u/30 Eight Hand Championship and Overall Team Championship.

It is such an honour to compete in these championships with dancers from all over the World, when the dancers got the news they had recalled and were in the final result, they were over the moon but to come out with these results is phenomenal. The hard work these dancers put in is to be admired. Some of their senior dancers Ava Montgomery, Leah Montgomery from Donadea, Emily Varwijk from Ardclough competed only in team competitions. Their teachers commended their dedication and commitment to the school saying “they are true inspirations and great role models for our younger dancers”.

The school also came home with 6 top ten placings with Eimear Deasy, Kildare town finishing 6th place in the u/18  championship, Amelia Grace from Coill Dubh placed 7th in the u/11 championship, Kayla Talbot Ryan from Allenwood placed 7th in the u/12 championship, Claire Varwijk from Ardclough placed 7th in the u/19 championship, Samantha Varwijk from Ardclough finished 10th in the u/16 Championship, Kayleigh Beatty from Kill placed 6th in the u/12 International Premiership. We also saw some fabulous performances from Kourtney Finlay, Coill Dubh, placing 4th & 8th, Alanna Foley, Kill placing 10th, Emma Foley, Kill placing 15th , Ciara Gormley, Coill Dubh placing 19th in their solo competitions.

Their dance school said, “We are delighted and so proud of the girls. Their performances in Liege, Belgium were unforgettable and have left an indelible mark on us as dance teachers as well as all of their families and friends. They deserve every success…we are so lucky to have such a lovely group in our class, they are inspirations and a credit to our dancing school and communities”