Laois teenager qualifies to take part in World Irish Dance Championships

A LAOIS teenager has qualified to take part in next year’s eight-day World Irish Dance Championships that’s taking place in Dublin from Sunday 13 to Sunday 20 April.

Lauryn Coogan from Arles, who recently competed at the Irish National Irish Dance Championships in Killarney, finished in fourth place and made the cut for the World Irish Dance Championships.

The16-year-old student at St Leo’s College, Carlow trains five to seven days a week and has a list of notable achievements under her belt.

Lauryn dances for the Curley Brennan Irish Dance School in Newbridge, which was part of the original Riverdance performance during the interval at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest at The Point Theatre, Dublin (now the 3Arena) and broadcast to an estimated 300-million viewers worldwide.

A former Leinster champion and ranked 13th in the world in the Montreal World Irish Dance Championships last year, Lauryn has also finished in the top ten of the Britain championships on two occasions.

At the age of six, Lauryn was enthralled when she saw Riverdance performed for the first time. At that time she said her wish was to perform with Riverdance someday. Earlier this year, her dream came through when one of the principal dancers of Riverdance, Anna Mae Fitzpatrick, selected Lauryn to perform with the Riverdance cast show. Lauryn said that she hopes to tour with Riverdance when she turns 18.

To assist in her journey, which comes with major costs for activities such as classes, physio, gym and costumes, Lauryn is on the lookout for a sponsor to continue competing at world class level. 

To find out more about Lauryn, email shellycoogan@gmail.com or phone 086 8474752.