About Us
Banbha Irish Dance School
Delighted to be part of the community in Dublin 15 since 1989
Banbha Irish Dance School (formerly The Fagan School of Irish Dancing) have been involved in the community in Dublin 15 for over 30 years. Classes were held in Scoil An Chroí Ró Naofa Iosa from our establishment in 1989 until 2002 . We moved to our new home, Huntstown Community Centre, in September 2002.
In September 2019 we opened our second venue in the brand new Luttrellstown Community Centre.
We decided to change our name from The Fagan School of Irish Dancing in 2014. We wanted something a little more Irish! In old Irish Mythology there were three goddesses, Banbha, Eriu and Fodla, All three goddesses wanted Ireland to be named after them. The people choose Eriu and so our country is known as Eireann. However, there is a chance that Ireland could have been called Banbha Land!
Dancers from our school are actively involved in dancing competitions. Over the years dancers have also competed across Ireland, in England, Scotland and America. Our school has also been represented at the Irish Nationals, All Ireland Championships and the World Championships. As well as in competitions our dancers have represented Ireland at many international festivals throughout Europe. They have danced in the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Spain and have been to a children’s festival in Croatia on three occasions.
Banbha Irish Dance School registered with An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha. Founded in 1927, CLRG is the oldest and largest governing body for competitive Irish step dancing globally. All teachers registered with CLRG are Garda vetted and have completed a TUSLA child protection course.
We currently have 3 teachers Niamh Gavin, Eileen Fagan and Siobhan Gargan.
Meet Niamh
Niamh Gavin TCRG started dancing at 4. She competed in competitions from a young age including the All Ireland Championships, the Great Britain Championships and the All Scotland Championships. She has also danced in numerous festivals across Europe including festivals in the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Spain & Portugal.
Niamh qualified as a teacher in 2008 and looks after the running of our Irish Dancing school. (Niamh also has a day job … she has a Masters in English and is a qualified Secondary school teacher but at the moment she works part time as Marketing Manager for an accountancy company!) She is Eileen’s eldest daughter 😉
Meet Eileen
Bio coming soon …
Meet Siobhan
Siobhán started dancing at the age of 3. She competed in many championships such as the All Ireland Championships, the Scottish Nationals and the American Nationals.
At 15, Siobhán began dancing professionally and performed in the Arlington Hotel on Bachelor’s Walk. She danced with Riverdance in the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics in 2003. Siobhán still performs regularly in venues such as O’Neill’s Bar and Restaurant on Suffolk Street and the Bloom’s Hotel in Temple Bar. She also dances at weddings and various other functions (well until COVID-19 she did!).
During her time as an Irish Dancer Siobhán has travelled to many countries including Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi, Croatia, Germany, Lithuania, Italy, Malta, Denmark and Iraq to perform at award shows, festivals, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations etc.
(And Siobhán has a day job! She is a doctor of immunology and works in research in Trinity College and St James’s Hospital). She is also Eileen’s daughter 😉
Want to know more?
If you have any questions about our classes please feel free to get in touch. We are happy to talk to all future dance stars ⭐
Get in Touch By Phone Or email
You can also contact Niamh directly with any questions you may have:
Phone
085 7443773
banbhairishdancing@gmail.com