Four girls qualify for Irish dance world championships

YOUNGSTOWN

Four dancers from the Burke School of Irish Dance-Youngstown branch qualified for the 40th annual World Championships of Irish Dance last week in Glasgow, Scotland.

Lauren Kepley of Canfield, Meghan McCarthy of McDonald, Moira Lumsden of Canfield and Mara Wilson of Warren reached the honor because of their performances at the Mid-America championship, which was in Columbus over the Thanksgiving holiday, with dancers from seven Midwestern states.

Three of the dancers — Kepley, Lumsden and Wilson — competed in Scotland last week. McCarthy could not attend because of an injury. None reached the final round.

It was Kepley’s sixth trip to the world championships. The Canfield High School senior has studied dance for 14 years at the Burke School. Kepley will attend St. Mary’s College in South Bend, Ind., this fall, where she will continue her Irish dance career.

McCarthy has qualified for the world championships four times. The McDonald High School sophomore has been dancing for the Burke School for 12 years.

This was the first trip to the world championships for both Lumsden, a sixth-grader at Canfield Village Middle School; and Wilson, a fourth-grader at Blessed Sacrament School in Warren. Both girls have been with Burke for seven years.

Theresa Burke, one of the first teachers of Irish dance in America, has been teaching in Youngstown since 1965. Burke was recently honored with induction into the Irish Dance Hall of Fame. She also maintains dance schools in Cleveland and Pittsburgh. For more information, go to burke-irishdance.com.