Teenage Boy Advances To Worlds After Winning Girls' Irish Dancing Championships
Out of all the sports where females are forced to take a backseat to trans-identifying males, surely Irish dancing is safe, right?
Wrong.
Parents are outraged after a teenaged boy won the girls under-14 2023 Southern Region Oireachtas competition in Dallas last weekend. He has advanced to the World Irish Dancing Championships — stealing an opportunity from a deserving young girl.
"It's going to make me cry," one mother told The Daily Signal, who originally reported the story. "I never thought I was going to have to deal with this. And my heart breaks for my daughter and the other girls that are having to deal with this. They are too young to have to deal with topics that are going on in society, that are adult topics, that they don't quite comprehend yet."
Unlike most sports where males and females perform the same activities, Irish dancing is highly gendered. Men and women wear different shoes, different outfits and perform different style of dance that emphasize their own natural abilities.
"There's just no getting around the physical differences between men and women," former Irish dance instructor Rowena Ryan said.
"When you're judging competitions between girls and boys, things that you look for are different in a male dancer compared to a female dancer. So I just don't think it's fair to have the two competing against another because they are judged on different criteria."
And the parents agreed.
"Just not OK," another mother said. "It's totally wrong. It's unfair, especially in Irish dance. A lot of it is just about power and strength. Yes, there is the technique... but a lot of it also has to do with strength and power and the boys are stronger."
Boy Qualifies For Girls Irish Dancing World Championship
According to The Daily Signal, the teenager formerly competed as a boy and placed 11th in the world in the Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG) World Championships in April 2023.
But on Dec. 3 in Dallas, the 13 year old put on a blond wig and a gemstone-covered solo dress and took the stage with the girls. He took first place out of 100 dancers in the category. The placement makes the boy both a world qualifier and a national qualifier.
"My daughter was in absolute tears," one mother shared. "She was like, 'This is so unfair.' I totally agree."
(Getty Images)
Two weeks before the competition, Southern Regional Director PJ McCafferty released a statement regarding the inclusion of male dancers in the female competitions. The statement clarified that all dancers may compete based on their gender identity.
"I am writing this post to remind everyone that we teach all the dancers. We advocate for every one of our dancers," McCafferty wrote. "We do our very best to be fair to everyone. This situation is not easy for anyone. Not everyone's point of view or personal interests align. I am asking for your tolerance. You are expected to respect all the dancers."
He disabled the comments on this Facebook post.
But these statements are all the same. They demand fairness and tolerance — while upholding a deeply unfair policy and refusing to tolerate anyone who speaks out against it.
Maggie McKneely, who competed in the adult competition at the Southern Region Oireachtas last weekend, said it best.
"Clearly, the powers that be within Irish dance are more interested in being politically correct than preserving both the dignity of Irish dance and its dancers."
Follow Amber on X at @TheAmberHarding or email her at Amber.Harding@OutKick.com.