SHU Claddagh Dance Team Wins Big at Competition

Instructor says team’s success put Sacred Heart ‘on the map’ in Irish dance community

Sacred Heart University’s Claddagh dance team came home from the recent National Collegiate Irish Dance Championships at Iona University in New Rochelle, NY, with
first-, second- and third-place wins.

“I'm thrilled about how well the dancers did,” said Allison O’Riordan, SHU’s Claddagh team instructor. “It is great to put Sacred Heart on the map in the Irish dance community, and it’s exciting to have our team known as one of the biggest and strongest university Irish dance teams out there.”

The team’s biggest win of the day was their first-place national championship placement for their freestyle group dance number. The freestyle competition has only three parameters, the length of the dance (five minutes), that it is entertaining and that it is based in Irish dance. 

Additionally, students Liz Kennedy ’26 and Bridget Wright ’26 placed first and second, respectively, in the freshman solo competition. Maeve Cahill ’25 took second place and Samantha Cunniff ’25 won third in the sophomore solo competition. In the junior solo competition, Ailie Daley ’24 earned first place, Caroline Onderko ’24 came in second and Kaleigh Schofield ’24 garnered third.

Cunniff said familiarity with the other teams’ dancers from previous events created a sense of camaraderie at the competition. “It was a happy day. There was stress, but it was a good stress,” she said.

SHU’s Claddagh team is highly skilled and competitive. Members perform at University events and intercollegiate competitions. The program focuses on advancing the skills of competitive Irish dancers, enabling them to continue their art in college.

Claddagh team students participate in weekly classes and rehearsals to learn modern and traditional choreography in hard and soft shoe Irish dancing. The team is affiliated with An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha, described as the world’s oldest and largest governing body for competitive Irish step dancing.

“We have a beautiful studio to practice in, grant opportunities, an accredited course and the relationship with SHU’s campus in Dingle, Ireland, all of which make this program incredibly valuable and unique,” said O’Riordan.

Performing well in competitions requires tremendous dedication, she added. “For the best dancers, it must be a passion because mastering the unique style takes a lot of physical dedication and time,” O’Riordan said.

Kari Williams, SHU’s director of dance, expressed her pride in the Claddagh team members. “It is so exciting to see our dancers succeed at such a high level. There is so much time and commitment spent on perfecting their technique, and we couldn’t be prouder to have them represent Sacred Heart,” she said.