McMenamin Academy Feis Irish Dance Open Champion Results and Photos

The 2nd Annual McMenamin Academy Feis on August 14, 2011 was held at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Irish dance families who also registered for the Milwaukee Feis on August 13th were in for a weekend of back-to-back feising fun! After opening ceremonies and anthems, competitions got started right away with figures and first feis competitions.

Here are the Open Champion results as tabulated by our friends at FeisWorx! Visit FeisWorx for complete results.

Open Champion Boys under 13:
1st McKimmon Engelhardt (McNulty School of Irish Dance)

2 Michael Wall (Cashel-Dennehy)

3 Henry Schnabel (Richens-Timm, Indiana)

4 Raphael Hallerman (Rince Nia Academy)

Open Champion Boys under 15:

1st Donovan Lyon (Rince Nia Academy)

2nd Mitchell Hollman (Glencastle Irish Dancers)

Open Champion Girls under 12:

1st Sophie Steigerwald (Cashel-Dennehy)

2 Mairead King (Dillon-Gavin)

Open Champion Girls under 14:

1st Kristen Anklewicz (Sheila Tully Academy)

2 Gabby Hughes (Sheila Tully Academy)

3 Sarah Elizabeth Hubbard (Trinity Academy)

4 Suzanne O'Meara (Cashel-Dennehy)

Open Champion Girls under 16:

1st Rachel Knapp (Dillon-Gavin

2Tie Finola Hughes (Cashel-Dennehy) and Emma Reynolds (Mulhern)

4 Ashley VanHandel (Yeates Academy of Irish Dance, OR)

Open Champion Girls under 18:

1st Mina Margaret (Rince Nia Academy)

2 Allison Wall (Cashel-Dennehy)

3 Katie Wilhelms (Trinity Academy)

Open Champion Ladies 18 & Over:

1st Kathleen Jorgensen (Cashel-Dennehy)

2 Ellen Harris (Cashel-Dennehy)

3 Caitlin Livingston (O'Hare School of Irish Dance)

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New Yorkers in Top 5 for Girls under 10 at North American Irish Dancing Championships

Emily Marino from Rince na Tiarna in New York
2011 North American Irish Dancing Champion under 10

Three little girls from metropolitan New York Irish dance schools joined friendly rivals from Trinity in Illinois and Gilleoghan in Connecticut atop the Girls under 10 podium last night at the North American Irish Dancing Championships in Nashville, Tennessee!

Emily Marino from Rince na Tiarna (NY) won first place and shared the podium with

2 - Sydney Niewiedzial from Trinity (IL/WI)
3 - Farran Dougherty from Broesler (MD/NJ)
4 - Nora Ahern from Gilleoghan (CT)
5 - Paige Diecidue from Mulvihill-Lynch (NY)


Feis America has been expressly prohibited from publishing real-time results or live commentary, but will post information once results are publicly available. For full results and updates in real-time, visit www.nanationals.net/2011.

Subscribe today to Feis America, North America’s favorite Irish dancing magazine!

Photo Feis America LLC from North American Irish Dancing Championships 2010

Melissa McCarthy defeats Paige Turilli for 2011 NAIDC girls under 15 title

Melissa McCarthy from Harney Academy (MA)2011 North American Irish Dancing Champion

Girls under 15B

Melissa McCarthy of the Harney Academy from Massachusetts clinched the Girls under 15B North American Irish Dancing Championship after coming in second behind 2010 and 2011 World Champion Ann Paige Turilli from Inishfree New York. McCarthy also placed second behind Turilli at the All-Ireland Championships.

Top Five in the Girls under 15B event:

2 – Ann Paige Turilli from Inishfree (NY)
3 – Mackenzie Mahler from Blakey (Western Canada)
4 – Kelsey Parry from Pender-Keady (CT)
5 – Breanna Ahern from Gilleoghan (CT)

Top Five in the Girls under 15A event:

1 – Aisling Reinhardt from Elaine Kavanagh (Ireland)
2 – Heather Monaghan from Mulvihill-Lynch (NY)
3 – Meaghan Kenfield from Trinity (IL/WI)
4 – Collette Harling from Cashel Dennehy (WI)
5 – Kellyn Berrigan from Pender-Keady (CT)


Feis America has been expressly prohibited from publishing real-time results or live commentary, but will post information once results are publicly available. For full results and updates in real-time, visit www.nanationals.net/2011.

Subscribe today to Feis America, North America’s favorite Irish dancing magazine!

Photo courtesy of www.dance.net from 2011 Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne

North American Irish Dancing Championships Trinity Cheer Posters

One of the best parts about going to a major Irish dancing competition is watching the old friends meet up - families AND dancers. My personal favorite pastime (after watching the amazing dancing of course!) is scouting the room hallways to see the creative display of posters made by dancers for other dancers. Enjoy these sweet cheer signs made by and for Trinity Irish Dancers (IL/WI) that Feis America scouted out at Gaylord Opryland Hotel today in Nashville. Remember, friends last forever (trophies end up in a box in your attic!)... have fun and make memories to last your lifetime and enjoy the glory of having qualified to compete here at North America's Irish Dancing Championships.