I have created this page because I am proud of my heritage. My ancestors came from Ireland, as well as England, Scotland, and perhaps other countries as well. However, my family is involved mostly in the (rather large) Irish community here in Calgary. My younger sister and I belong to an Irish Dancing school here called Ard Na Greine (Gaelic for "The height of the sun") which is under the direction of Sally Houston and Kim Kinash (nee Houston). As well, my entire family enjoys Celtic music, and my parents even help to co-ordinate a local show called Celtic Folk, which is put on several times each year and features local amateur (and one or two professional) celtic groups.

In my opinion, the most interesting aspect of Irish culture is the dancing, which I began studying and competing nearly thirteen years ago, when I was six years old. My sister and I have had the opportunity to travel to Irish Dancing competitions ( in Gaelic a competition is called a Feis, pronounced FESH) throughout North America, and in April 1996, I competed in the World Championships in Dublin, Ireland. I was a member of an eight-person team that placed seventh in the Senior Ladies (16 and older) category. We received a medal, a feat which we think had never before been accomplished by a Western Canadian team.

More recently, I competed in the 1997 North American Irish Dance Championships, which were held in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. I danced in an eight-person team that placed second in the Senior Ladies category, equalling our performance at the 1996 North American Championships in Boston. I was also a member of a sixteen-person team called a Teacher's Choreography, which placed first in the Senior Ladies category. The majority of the dancers in our choreography had never been a part of a winning team in this category, so it was definitely an exciting and memorable experience. At the 1998 North American Championships in Orlando, Florida, we managed to defend our title, which was also a thrilling experience.

Recently, the world has been exposed to Irish Dancing through the Riverdance and Lord of the Dance shows. The success of these shows has been phenomenal, and both currently have troupes touring the world. The Riverdance began as a cultural presentation at Eurovision, and starred Michael Flatley and Jean Butler. The presentation was so popular that a full-length show was developed, and began to tour. More recently, Michael Flatley left Riverdance to form Lord of the Dance, which has also been incredibly successful. Both shows are wonderfully entertaining, and well worth watching (or buying, if you want to watch them again and again). The dancing in Riverdance and Lord of the Dance has also been instrumental in creating a worldwide awareness of Irish Dancing, so people finally know what I'm talking about when I say I 'm an Irish dancer.