Falls Irish Dancer Kicks Her Way to World Championships

A child swinging on monkeybars is a pretty common, run-of-the-mill sight to see at a playground, but when Michele O'Rahilly caught her daughter, Erin, climbing on a set at school, her heart skipped a little.

"I just want to wrap her in bubble-wrap for the next couple days," said O'Rahilly.

After spending a year preparing for this week's World Irish Dancing Championships, the last thing Erin needs days away from the competition is a twisted ankle. At 10-years-old, she is the youngest member of the team representing the DeNogla School of Irish Dance in Boston at one of the most prestigious dance tournaments in the world. 

"She qualified last April and has been practicing and rehearsing for it ever since," said Gerry O'Rahilly, Erin's father. "We've traveled up to North Jersey once a week for the past year."

Erin and the other girls in her 11-and-under team kick off the weeklong competition when they take the stage Monday at the Hynes Convention Center. They will perform a ceili (KAY-lee) dance, usually choreographed for mixed pairs. Since boys are tough to entice to Irish dancing at that age, the girls had to step in.

"There are different steps for the boy parts," said Erin. "I usually do the boy dances, but since I'm the smallest on the team, I get to be a girl again."

If they score enough points from an extremely tough, and picky, judging panel, the team will be invited back for a second dance which will decide the final winners.

It's a long way from when Erin started dancing. Her babysitter, who is also a teacher at the Hamilton branch of the DeNogla school, had her dancing around the living room as soon as Erin could walk. At the age of three, she officially joined the school, and her talent quickly shined through.

"We've been all over the tri-state are for competitions," said Gerry. "Boston will be the furthest we've traveled for Irish dance."

It's a major part of her life, but Erin makes sure to balance it out with other interests, including finishing her homework before lacing up the dance shoes. When her twin brother, Aidan, has a travel soccer game, Gerry and Michele take the 'divide and conquer' approach.

The family plans to remain in Boston and sightsee until Thursday. When Erin gets back, all bets are off as far as the monkeybars are concerned.