Young Irish dancers who train in Spott have achieved great success at an international Irish dancing competition.

Áine Hay Academy of Irish Dance, which holds classes at Spott Village Hall, took 12 dancers aged 10 to 18 to the World & International Championships and International Grade competition in Killarney, Ireland, last month.

Organised by the World Irish Dance Association, the competition welcomes dancers of all ages from around the world.

At the competition, the group’s céilí team secured a second place finish, while dancer Orla Palmer, 11, finished fourth in the under 11s category.

Annemarie Welsh, from Dunbar, who runs the dance group, was extremely proud of the dancers’ efforts.

She said: “It was an incredible showing by everyone involved. We had 12 dancers go along to the competition, which is quite a lot.

“It’s a huge competition. There were dancers from America, Australia and Europe all there so people were coming from all over the world to compete.

“They all did so well and I am proud of them all. We finished second in the céilí competition, which is just fantastic, and our highest individual performer finished fourth in the under 11s, which is also incredible.

“Orla showed the world what I’ve seen for ages. She absolutely smashed every round. I am very proud.

“It was a real team effort from all and we can’t wait to go again next year.”

Annemarie, a former Irish dancer, started the group seven years ago after her daughter Brogan expressed an interest in the sport.

She said: “I’m an ex-Irish dancer and my daughter was keen to learn the sport, and she brought along her friend, who I also started teaching.

“It wasn’t long after that it started to pick up and soon I had 20 kids in the class.

“I then sat some of the teacher exams and started encouraging some of the girls to start competing.

“I think by encouraging them to enter competitions it really helps with their progress and I have seen them go from strength to strength.”

Brogan is now 18 and no longer dancing competitively but still helps out with classes.

Annemarie, who works as a cleaner part time, runs weekly classes for all age groups at Spott Village Hall.

She said: “The village hall is a great place to hold classes. They are very accommodating and we enjoy holding our classes there.”

The academy is looking to take on new dancers, with a new weekly class schedule set to be published soon.

Annemarie said: “We’re always keen to welcome new dancers and we’d love to see more young people come and join us.”

Anyone interested in joining should email ani1888@yahoo.com or visit Friends of Áine Hay Academy of Irish Dance on Facebook for more information.