Michael Dillon School of Irish Dancing

Don’t forget to join Maire for story time Number 2. Children of all ages welcome

So proud to know Amy Mae. Such an amazing young lady. Happy Internationals Women's day everyone

Another great day for Arianna in Denver Moved al the way from beginner to Prizewinner. So proud of you Arianna

Such a great photo https://www.facebook.com/photo.php

Look at all those 1st places in Denver today. #Houndstoothalltheway. #MDSjigginit

The International Saint Patrick's Day Celebration!

We need each other more than ever right now! Join us for #FriendlyFebruary and take action to boost your relationships and be a good friend to others https://www.actionforhappiness.org/february

Tickets available paintthebridge.eventbrite.com

Sarah VanMiddlesworth

Girls keep up the great work Enjoy all great events we have planned. stay tuned

Get your dance shoes and/or musical instruments out! Seeking dancers and musicians, who are not yet in the professional network, to enter this contest. Open to... ages 4 thru Adult with multiple age groups and levels. MANY titles and prizes are available to win. Check it out at www.goirishdance.com! Results announced on St. Patrick's Day. Entries open Monday, Feb 1 2021. ENTER EARLY to ensure a slot! See more

‘Where are they now’? Hazel Park and her Mom Elaine Elaine danced with me growing up and Hazel was a student of mine for many years in Shannon and is now studying ‘Musical Theatre’ in London. Congrats to you both. So proud of you Hazel. Keep us posted. ... https://www.facebook.com/hazel.e.park/videos/3524335984282445/?

Give us a shout and join in if you can. Would be nice to see some of the older faces

Maith a fear, MDS past pupil Ethan Quinton (red hair)

Right at the end we get the very best news. Congratulations to Makenzie Huguet TCRG here at MDS, who got engaged to be married today. Wishing Makenzie and Thomas a lifetime of happiness together. xxxxx

https://forms.gle/mHRDQURpCfpc8gQm9 If anyone want to order the latest MDS tee shirt please complete the link above. Text for design

So proud of this school !!!!!!!!

Thank you to the MDS dancers who performed at a moments notice last night. $1150 was raised by CCE for Project Night NightThank you to the MDS dancers who performed at a moments notice last night. $1150 was raised by CCE for Project Night Night

and the funniest MDS parent of the year 2020 award goes to spud glazer.

Roll up Roll up get your tickets here ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls

FEIS SOCK presents... ‘The Practice Sock’ www.feissock.com We are delighted to finally be able to share details of a product that’s been in the works f...or the last couple of years. ‘Feis Sock’ directors, Kelly Hendry & Danielle Fegan, decided to team up to work on an idea that had been brewing for a long time. Feis Sock is finally ready to launch it’s first ever product, ‘The Practice Sock’. For years, Kelly had been drawing ‘spots’ on her dancers’ socks with a sharpie pen to encourage turn out. The reason behind this is that your teacher should always be able to see your ‘spots’ or you should be able to see them in the mirror, meaning you’re turning your feet out. This really worked for Kelly’s dancers & she found they focused so much harder when they had their ‘spots’ on. However, dancers would then turn up to class with odd socks, washed out spots or one plain & one drawn on sock This motivated her to think of a way of producing a sock without the need for drawing all over her dancers’ socks with a sharpie! Kelly & Danielle have been working with teams of people to design a comfortable, soft & high-quality poodle sock, along with various fun logos to replace the good old sharpie pen! The idea is that dancers of all ages & abilities can focus more on turnout whilst wearing these fun (& comfy) socks. The product has been ready for some time, but as with everything in life this year, COVID had other ideas. However, Feis Sock are now finally ready to launch & the team are so proud that their vision has finally become a reality. On behalf of the Feis Sock team, we’d like to thank everyone for their support & encouragement. In such difficult times it’s nice to be able to share some nice news. We’d also like to give MASSIVE thanks to the amazing FEIS App team for our wonderful track, ‘Socks’... you’re the best! Keep an eye out for the track being released on FEIS App. Thanks also to Oli Martin Media for all your work, you did a fabulous job! Whether you’re at class, at home or on zoom, we hope you find these socks useful for your practice & here’s to having lots of fun & lovely turned out feet! Love, The Feis Sock Team

Wishing all our friends and family a very Merry and safe Christmas Stephen Michael and Maisey

This of course is one of the reasons we are doing the ‘the late late ‘. performing in front of a camera takes a certain skill.

The new 007 film is delayed so I made my own. You can't limit our imagination. Save The Arts.

Up the Banner. Nowhere like Co Clare

MDS families, check your email for details on the toy / project you will be making. Also don't forget you need a talent. YES IT'S MANDATORY. (I'VE SAVED THAT WORD ALL YEAR)

What a great weekend seeing old friends and meeting some new ones I’d like to thank all those students who took the time to support the school and the Irish community. Thank you UICC for the invitation. How great to get to practice on stage and to see so many Irish dancers from so many SF school’s supporting each other

Happy birthday Maddy

Some unusual Irish placenames explained! Most place names in Ireland come from the Irish language but today most have been transliterated into English. Meaning ...that they are written using English orthography to help foreigners pronounce Irish words more correctly. An example would be the name Kilkenny which is very close to the original Irish language pronunciation Cill Chainnigh (kill cain-ey). The letter ‘h’ in Irish is called a Séimhiú p. shay-vu, it is not a letter as such but indicates that the previous consonant has to be softened. This is why the ‘igh’ at the end of the word is rendered in to English as ‘ey’ rather than ‘ig’. This process of anglicising Irish placenames has not only been controversial since it began in the 19th century, it has left Ireland with many names which are meaningless in the English language and others which are faux ami or simply bad and mistaken transliterations and translations. Faux ami or false friend is the term linguists use to describe words from different languages which are pronounced or are written the same but have totally different meanings. An example of this would be the French ‘pain’ meaning bread which bears no relation to the identical English word ‘pain’. Unusual or not so unusual Irish placenames. Kill - Not an invitation to murder, but a church (Chill) or wood (Coill). Ovens - Though it may well be home to many cooks, the name comes from Uamhanna (mh is pronouced v in Irish) meaning caves. Nobber - Quiet at the back of the class! It’s an English pronunciation of An Obair, meaning the work, a reference to a moat around a Norman castle. Muff - Not a furry hand warmer nor indeed a . well, never mind, it is in fact a mispronunciation of the Irish magh, meaning a plain (flat area of land). And yes, the Irish sense of humour has caused them to set up diving club there. Knock - Not an invitation to announce your presence but meaning hill, from the Irish cnoc. It shows that the now silent ‘k’ was not always silent in English. Swords - Nothing at all to do with duelling at dawn, the name is from ‘sord’ meaning a well. Known in the Irish sources as Sord Cholumcille, the holy well of St Colmcille. Bóthar is the modern Irish word for road. It literally means the track made by a cow. Its found in many placenames but sometimes its transliteration to English has been murdered as in this next name. Stonybatter - This is part phonetic pronunciation of and part translation from the Irish, An Bóthar Clochach, the stony road. Stillorgan Now a suburb of Dublin, it is jokingly said to mean a ‘dead mickey’. However, it is a phonetic rendition of Stigh Lorcan or Lorcan’s House. Hackballscross - It sounds awful and it was. This was the location where a group of men variously described as rebels or thieves were hung and gibbeted following an attack on a local landowners house. That this happened is not disputed, but the name may in fact derive from someone’s name. Vinegar Hill - A phonetic rendering of Cnoc Fiodh na gCaor, which actually means Hill of the wood of the berries. Roundstone in Connemara the original Irish is Cloch na Ron, which means Stone of the Seals, but they got the translation wrong and it should be called Sealstone. Ireland also has placenames which are of English and Norse origin. Waterford is a name that would be at home in England and you would expect to find a shallow point on a river, which would enable it to be easily crossed. However, the water is deep in Waterford and no fording point exists there. The name is from Old Norse Veðrafjrðr, meaning "ram (wether) fjord". It’s a fjord not a ford. Horseleap - Hugh de Lacy, a landowner in this area, when fleeing from his enemies by horseback made what seemed like an impossible leap over the moat surrounding his castle. His feat gave the name to the place but the castle and the de Lacy family are long gone. The Irish name for Horsleap is Baile Átha an Urchair which could translate as the town of the ford of the bullets. Urchair is mostly translated from modern Irish as bullets or shots. However, it could also mean a small narrow ford being a stones throw wide. Image: a map of Éireland.

This is one of the more difficult ones so heavy experience necessary . PM me if want to join and do not have the link

The 1,2,3 of an examination candidate as explained by Lilyana Taylor, Walnut Creek 1. Get your dances ready, don a bow and walk in all smiles 2.Stand with perfect feet, mask on of course 3. Celebrate your success with Sushi... Thank you again Nicole and well done Lilyana

Love the line up, number six looking very guilty. Thank you to the Mckeever school for hosting grade exams Kids had a great day. Even found the witch in the maze

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=646401342439036 John McSweeney RIP For all you kids in the class that think it's tricky getting new shoes and breaking them in, watch this. Makenzie Huguet TCRG here at MDS always said getting her costume in the mail from Gavin was better than Santa coming Christmas morning. For me it was paying a visit to see this lovely man John McSweeney under the railway bridge on Talbot Street, just down from the GPO in Dublin. ...Continue reading

So today was the first day driving across the bridge for class in months. Traffic was as bad as ever and 80 mins later got to the outdoor location to find this sign. Not to be deterred we went to our blvd way location and the parents and kids were amazingly helpful and understanding. We put a one in, one out, rotation in place and class was fabulous. So great to actually be playing real music, seeing smiling faces and kids having fun. Thanks Reneé for the slurpies. Pina colada flavor pretty good actually In the end great day had by all.

Making the San Francisco Herald . Well done lads for performing at the United Irish Cultura Cantre's 'Half way to St. Patrick's Day celebrations.

'Where are they now?' Kate Anoufrieva After graduating from high school, I attended UCLA, where I studied economics. As a Bruin, I was also a member of the D1 rowing team for about a year and a half (before realizing the 5am wakeup calls were not for me). After graduation, I returned to the Bay Area and have since been working as a cybersecurity analyst at LiveRamp in SF.

Who's coming on the 'ran'? 6.30pm Dec 26th, zoom with Cooley Keegan CCE in aid of Project Night Night https://youtu.be/xF8EmYeSgKE

Can we import him please ?

The UICC and Cooley Keegan branch of Comhaltas Ceoltoiírí Eireann have kindly given me permission to post their virtual concert we held last Saturday . Some amazing talent on here ENJOY AND HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE Please feel free to share with you class, family and friends if enjoy https://youtu.be/h2aJiltfLCM

Give a gift of one month's class and bring a friend for free $40

You might not feel like spreading joy this year. You might even feel that Christmas has been stolen from us. But it's December and there is magic in the air. Let's spread love and the festive spirit. We all deserve it.

Any artists who want to join us please let me know All in aid of ‘Project Night Night’

All the way from PeachTree City, Atlanta, we have Cian and Jack Porter of Kavanagh Porter Warren Academy USA with their holiday showcase, featuring Betty the Christmas Beetle

Did the trial run today and the sum of the already brilliant parts is fantastic Some said "this is better than the late, late". A truly authentic evening

Class on zoom at usual times todayClass on zoom at usual times today

God how I miss all this. 'New You' Martinez we miss you. Love to our 'hip hop' friends. Stay safe Anyone looking for Hip Hop classes in East Bay AJ is a grand Master. LOOK NO FURTHER

Thanks to the families who came out to support and participate in our MDS jigginit team today at the ‘Santa in Skivvies’ virtual run. Always good to finish with a sthep Santaskivvieschallenge.org/donate

MDS parents / over 18 dancers. it’s not too lateMDS parents / over 18 dancers. it’s not too late

As most of you probably know, this is our weekend when we at MDS, teachers and a very cool parent contingent, strip to our skivvies and Santa hats and run arou...nd San Francisco in aid of the San Francisco AIDS foundation who do such an amazing job leading the way in Community health, especially during a pandemic. We had decided not to this year, then Sarah VanMiddlesworth put us all to shame by signing up for the virtual event, so we have decided to do a little dance routine tomorrow in Dolores park (in the vain hope of becoming a viral sensation and outshining LOTD in Taiwan). Stay tuned and thank you should you decide to donate . xx

Family in red, AMAZING. One for the album. LOVE!!!!

Day 2 in the MDS house Sarah the Reinaffe avec Chapeau Santa

https://www.instagram.com/p/CITm2k2AFim/

very festive jameys

Ok class. don’t forget we have all to do this. yes at least one parent per household. Rudolf

Give the gift of Irish Dance 4 Beginner classes for $40 and a friend comes for free Just $40

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/129124313297 I'm delighted to invite you all to tune in and join us for an amazing Online Christmas Concert, with friends from aro...und the globe, Saturday December 19th, noon PST . 8pm in Ireland. In association with the United Irish Cultural Centre and Cooley Keegan branch of Comhaltas Ceoltórí Éireann SF, following a Christmas message from Labhrás Ó Murchú we kick off with CCE Melbourne, Australia and work our way around the world, back to the the city by the bay. We are honored to have such amazing performers as 'Out the gap' Members of 2019 All Ireland winning Ceili Band, Oliver O'Connell on the box and Mickey Dunne the pipes form Oliver's famous kitchen in the Burren, Lillis Ó Laoire, St. Louis Irish Arts to name but a few. Tickets available on Eventbrite at the link below. See more

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAYS TO JULIA AND ELIZABETH DINEEN.

While I will never understand the traditional fayre served on this day of giving thanks, ironically thanks to Covid 19 I finally appreciate the sentiment of this holiday. On behalf of Alyssa, Jennifer and myself we would very much like to thank all of our MDS families and dancers for bearing with us over this past year. You have been encouraging, patient, understanding and good humored. In many ways this has been the most satisfying year of my teaching career. Really, i...t is the year that Irish Dance has won through. It has survived and found new ways to be performed and taught. We have watched you in your homes go to extraordinary lengths to make Irish Dance work. We have watched you cooking, sitting as a family to have dinner, we have watched you fix your hair in the cameras, we know your goofy dogs, we know who is OCD about the housework, what music you listen to, who are the gardeners. You have allowed us into your homes because Irish Dance makes us all who we are and that is why we do what we do and why we love it so very much Thank you all and we wish you all a very happy, safe and peaceful Thanksgiving. Please spare a thought for those we have lost over the past year and raise a glass to them on this very special day. Michael, Jennifer and Alyssa See more

The best gift is a click away. See why dancers love IDM! Black Friday starts NOW. Use coupon; FREENOW to trigger 10% off, a FREE STARTER ISSUE + Christmas Subs...cription card to wrap up and put under the tree! Valid with any 6, 12, or 24 month purchase!! WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!! Your dancer will leap with joy on Christmas morning to find Irish Dancing Magazine. The perfect gift for ALL Irish Dancers, ages 7+. ORDER NOW https://www.irishdancing.com/index.php/subscription-packages . . . . . #irishdance #irishdancing #irishdancingmagazine Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America IDTANA Mid-Atlantic TEACHERS ONLY CLRG Irish Dancing Commission An Chomhdháil CRDM Cumann Rince deaMheasa #clrg #openplatform #anchomhdhail #crn #crdm #wida #irishdancer See more

Need help getting an Irish dancer a holiday gift? Check out IDM’s November and December issues or head over to our website www.irishdancing.com for our full gift guide! Gifts galore! #idm #idmvideo #irishdancingmagazine #christmas #presents #irishdance #idmfeisfun #allinittogether

Thank you to Celtic Steps, Cleary, Scariff and BFOC for hosting the feis this weekend. We certainly had a ball. Great prizes !! Stay safe and enjoy your thanksgiving. Well done to all the MDS dancers who did so well M

Fun in the sun. Great couple of days in Las Vegas

Following CLRG's decision to permit Digital feising, we have applied to move our feis online. We would very much like this to happen as soon as possible, allow...ing us to release the sizable funds raised so far, to the homeless children who so desperately need it as soon as possible, especially with the triple whammy of Covid 19, the increase in domestic violence and the onset of winter. As we missed the feis by just 4 days back in March, we have been very aware of your patience and are extremely grateful to you all. All entries we have received thus far will of course be honored, with necessary amendments made at time of registering for the video feis. We will have a helpline to assist. Those of you who are unable to participate can choose to receive a refund either full or partial, but we ask that, if it is at all possible you consider the charity. Please wait until we get all details in order, before contacting us. Thank you again

Hilarious . Whats the world coming to at all

Attention all teachers and dancers ....’tis the season to, showcase some Irish Dancing! The CLRG International Workgroup are delighted to present our ne...xt online project: ‘Holiday Season Showcase’ All details and information are in the letter below, we can’t wait to see your performances! Here is the link to our Dropbox for the music . https://www.dropbox.com//qcd9a4/AABG1B_Hc3lhyPoNz-ABpZcBa

Amy and Gearóid McNamara MDS past pupils Fabulous

We are delighted to share the schedule for the Las Vegas Championships

So easy to watch

You know you want to

Let them eat cake Loving the East bay thursday outdoor party each week thanks Jestin

Stepping it out at the United Irish Cultural Centre last weekend

https://www.youtube.com/watch Blast from the past. This just popped up on my feed. The grueling two day, two recall championship.... Will never forget the relief and excitement getting our first world medals that day. Can we rewind please?

Sorry I'm a little late with this

https://www.etsy.com//8985/irish-dancing-colouring-book-3 Great little Christmas gift

Can't 'bate' darkest East Clare. Up the Banner. This is the town I taught in at home. There was nobody out of time there I can tell you . Can't wait til we can enjoy this again. turns out i taught at least two of them. Amy and gearoid mc namara

what a lovely start to Halloween and look who popped in not wearing a mask Thanks to F and R for making this such a lovely morning

FEIS SOCK presents... ‘The Practice Sock’ www.feissock.com We are delighted to finally be able to share details of a product that’s been in the works f...or the last couple of years. ‘Feis Sock’ directors, Kelly Hendry & Danielle Fegan, decided to team up to work on an idea that had been brewing for a long time. Feis Sock is finally ready to launch it’s first ever product, ‘The Practice Sock’. For years, Kelly had been drawing ‘spots’ on her dancers’ socks with a sharpie pen to encourage turn out. The reason behind this is that your teacher should always be able to see your ‘spots’ or you should be able to see them in the mirror, meaning you’re turning your feet out. This really worked for Kelly’s dancers & she found they focused so much harder when they had their ‘spots’ on. However, dancers would then turn up to class with odd socks, washed out spots or one plain & one drawn on sock This motivated her to think of a way of producing a sock without the need for drawing all over her dancers’ socks with a sharpie! Kelly & Danielle have been working with teams of people to design a comfortable, soft & high-quality poodle sock, along with various fun logos to replace the good old sharpie pen! The idea is that dancers of all ages & abilities can focus more on turnout whilst wearing these fun (& comfy) socks. The product has been ready for some time, but as with everything in life this year, COVID had other ideas. However, Feis Sock are now finally ready to launch & the team are so proud that their vision has finally become a reality. On behalf of the Feis Sock team, we’d like to thank everyone for their support & encouragement. In such difficult times it’s nice to be able to share some nice news. We’d also like to give MASSIVE thanks to the amazing FEIS App team for our wonderful track, ‘Socks’... you’re the best! Keep an eye out for the track being released on FEIS App. Thanks also to Oli Martin Media for all your work, you did a fabulous job! Whether you’re at class, at home or on zoom, we hope you find these socks useful for your practice & here’s to having lots of fun & lovely turned out feet! Love, The Feis Sock Team