ND/SMC Irish Dance Team wins in Ireland

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ND/SMC Irish Dance Team Wins in Ireland

Contact:
Gwen O’Brien
Director of Media Relations
Saint Mary's College
(574) 284-4579 (desk)
(574) 286-4977 (cell)

March 3, 2010—Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, the (University of) Notre Dame/ Saint Mary’s College (ND/SMC) Irish Dance Club brought home the trophy last week from the Ceili Club Championship at the 2010 All-Ireland Dancing Championships held in Killarney, Ireland. The team is made up of Saint Mary's and Notre Dame students who have competed at national and/or international levels in the past. This was the first time the ND/SMC Irish Dance Club has sent a ceili (an eight-member dance team) to compete at the All-Ireland Championships, which was held February 13-21.

The ND/SMC ceili is under the direction of Deirdre Robinett (SMC ’10) and Katie Grennan (ND ’10) who provide organizational direction and coaching for the team. In this particular competition, the ND/SMC ceili was the only American team as well as the only college team to participate. At the ceili competition, held February 21, each team performed two choreographed dances and was judged with a panel of five judges. The team received first place by unanimous decision from the judges.

Though founded by a Catholic congregation from France (the Congregation of the Holy Cross), both the College and the University Notre Dame have strong Irish Catholic heritages, which is how Notre Dame became known as the “Fighting Irish.”  Saint Mary’s senior Caitlin O’Brien says the club, which is made up of about 50 students in all, acknowledges that shared Irish Catholic history. “Attending the All-Irelands Irish Dance Championships as a college team has brought great recognition to our club within the Irish Dancing world. We hope that our success at the competition has laid a strong foundation for future teams to be sent on behalf of Saint Mary’s and Notre Dame,” O’Brien said.

Members of the championship team are Saint Mary’s College students Caitlin O’Brien ’10, Lauren Konopacz ’11, Stephanie LaGruth ’11, Mary Colleen McKevitt ’11, Mary Miller ’11 and University of Notre Dame students Erin Madison ’10, Colleen Gerth ’12, and Caitlin Walsdorf ’12.

About the ND/SMC Irish Dance Club: The Notre Dame/Saint Mary’s Irish Dance Club is one of the largest Irish dance clubs in the country. The club is comprised approximately 50 girls from both Saint Mary’s College and the University of Notre Dame. The club performs at a variety of events between the two campuses including Notre Dame football pep rallies, “The Shirt” unveiling (related to Notre Dame football), Saint Mary’s Dance Marathon, Saint Mary’s Student Diversity Board events, Notre Dame men’s and women’s basketball games, and Relay for Life and the Welsh Family Dance Show, both at Notre Dame. The club sent a ceili to the All-Ireland Dance Championships to further the reputation of the club, which was formed in 2000. http://www.nd.edu/~irishdan/

About Saint Mary’s College: Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, women’s institution offering five bachelor’s degrees and more than 30 major areas of study. Saint Mary’s College has six nationally accredited academic programs: social work, art, music, teacher education, chemistry and nursing. Saint Mary's College ranks among the nation's top 100 liberal arts colleges in U.S. News & World Report's 2010 annual survey. Founded in 1844, Saint Mary’s is a pioneer in the education of women, and is sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Cross.