NILES Step-dancers compete at Irish culture festivals

About 900 dancers from the United States and Canada are expected at a Niles event.
NILES -- Top Irish step-dancing talent will be displayed at Irish cultural festivals this weekend.
The events will be the Pittsburgh Feis on Saturday at Monroeville Expo Mart, and the Youngstown Feis on Sunday at the Eastwood Expo Center in Niles.
The dancers, ages 5 to adult, will perform jigs, slip jigs, treble jigs, reels and hornpipes in competitions that will begin at 9 a.m. at both events.
"Besides being a wonderful social gathering for the young people, it's an opportunity to try out new dance steps that they've learned over the summer," said Susan Trewella of Boardman, who said about 900 dancers from the United States and Canada are expected at Sunday's Niles event.
Local participants
Among the participants in the event are Caitlin Murphy, 14, of Warren and Trewella's son, Brendan, 15, and daughters, Molly, 13, and Ashling, 12, all of whom represented mid-America at the World Championship of Irish Dancing in Glasgow, Scotland, in March.
They will be among about 85 dancers from the Burke School of Irish Dance from the Youngstown-Warren area who will participate in both events. Dancers from the Burke School received rousing applause at the Gathering of the Irish Clans, Aug. 18 in Youngstown, and at the Canfield Fair.
This weekend's events in Monroeville and Niles will also feature fiddle, tin whistle, traditional Irish vocal and soda-bread baking competitions.
The top dancers are preparing for the Oireachtas competition Thanksgiving weekend in Chicago. Those scoring in the top 5 percent in that competition qualify for the international competition next March in Killarney, Ireland.