In pictures: the glitz and pageantry of the Irish Dancing Championships

In the second week of February, you weren’t able to get a room in the town of Killarney for love nor money. For seven whole days, all hotels and accommodations were completely taken over by Irish Dancing. They were there – 1,400 dancers, their teachers and trainers, parents who had flown in from all over the world – to take part in the annual All Ireland Championships, where dancers compete to gain recognition and scores high enough to progress to the prestigious World Championships next month – the Olympics of Irish Dancing. 

For the audiences who gathered day after day to watch the spectacle, it wasn’t just the dancing that provided the entertainment, but also the rich pageantry of the costumes and beauty looks of the performers. No matter what age, the girls were uniformly dressed in brightly coloured costumes covered in Swarovski crystals, with big curly wigs (to add height and consistency), dark tans (to show muscle definition) and heavy make-up (so features can be seen on big stages with bright lights). The distinctive aesthetic has become a signature of Irish Dancing, and a vital part of the show.

Photographer Eimear Lynch travelled to Killarney to capture the dancers as they waited backstage to perform; full of excitement, nerves and anticipation. Here she describes her experiences.

“This was my first time at a competition of this scale. I had been around Irish dancing a bit growing up, but never at that level. The atmosphere in the arena was fairly tense. Every corridor of the venue was full of people; dancers gearing themselves up to go on, dance teachers running around from room to room to watch their performers. As soon as I arrived at the venue I was fascinated by how everyone looked with their wigs, make-up, and decadent dresses, and then it was so impressive to see their incredible athleticism when they performed while looking so glamorous.

“Everyone seemed very excited to be there, but there was a very tense atmosphere because of the level of the competition. Multiple rooms of the venue were designated to practice and dancers spent hours in them going over and over their routines. After they’d performed, they’d have to wait around for results and wait to hear if they’d been recalled for the next round. They all took the competition very seriously so there were a few tears shed if their performance didn’t go to plan. Each dancer only performed on one day as the days were split into age categories. So at the end of each day, the dancers were able to relax and enjoy themselves. 

“The beauty looks were fairly uniform – it doesn’t seem like there’s much space for originality with the beauty looks as they are supposed to fit in with their fellow dancers – but the girls seemed delighted with their looks. They were enjoying dressing up and playing the part. I found the dance teachers so interesting. A lot of them were so glam and wearing such fab outfits. It was a big deal for them to have dancers do well in the competition so they really showed up. The amount of money that goes into a competition like this is mad. The dresses alone can cost between €1,000-€2,500. That must add a lot of pressure on the dancers to perform well. After they’d perform, the girls would take off their dresses and change into tracksuits but would keep their wigs and make-up done.”