7 from area to compete in Ireland

YOUNGSTOWN -- St. Patrick's Day has come and gone, but that's not stopping some area young people from enjoying more traditional Irish festivities.
Seven pupils of the Youngstown Burke School of Irish Dance will be traveling to Ireland on Sunday through April 11 to compete in the 2004 World Championship of Irish Dancing at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.
Organizers expect 12,000 to attend, several thousand will be competitors from around the globe.
Making their first trip to Ireland to compete are Meghan McCarthy, 10, of McDonald; Colleen Kratofil, 11, of Boardman; and Lauren Kepley, 11, of Canfield.
The dancers making a repeat performance at the world championship are Caitlin Murphy, 15, of Warren; and Brendan Trewella, 17, Molly Trewella, 15, and Ashling Trewella, 13, of Boardman.
Placed in age groups
Each of these dancers placed in the top 10 of their age group at the Midwest Oireachtas -- a Gaelic word meaning "championship" -- held over Thanksgiving weekend in Columbus.
The World Championship of Irish Dancing is held each year in a different city in Ireland. To compete in the world competitions, dancers must first place in a national championship in their respective countries. Many winners of the world championships go on to become dance judges or teachers.
Two of the best-known world championship dancers are Michael Flatley and Jean Butler, who performed in the original production of "Riverdance."
Theresa Burke, the teacher who instructed the seven pupils, was one of the first teachers of Irish dance in America. She has been teaching pupils for 42 years, with schools in Cleveland, Youngstown and Pittsburgh. Since 1984, Burke has had winning pupils in the national as well as the world competitions.
Burke's school enrolls more than 90 pupils between the ages of 4 to 17.