Clonduff GAC hosted one of it’s most successful fundraisers ever on Saturday 21st November 2009 in INF Hall, Hilltown. ‘Strictly Come Jiggin’ saw seven local couples battle it out for the honour of becoming Clonduff Dancing Champions. The hosts for the evening were Clonduff Camog Orla Maginn and Clonduff Footballer Paul McShane, and they played a big part in keeping the critic going between each dance. Our judges included Mary Grant (local celebrity), Catherine McAnulty (Carrickcruppen set-dancer), Debbie Murnin (Nurse to senior footballers) and Eugene Lively (well known mover and groover in Hilltown).
The night began with the couples arriving onto the floor wearing their own personalised t-shirts, urging those in the audience to vote for them!! Luckily Paudie Brown made it home from Denmark just in time to take to the floor with his partner GAGA Maginn, even though he had to leave his suitcase at the door!! A group dance saw the couples move to ‘Evolution of Dance’ and a very high standard had been set for the rest of the night. First up was Joleen ‘Mambo’ Morgan and club Chairperson Brian ‘Bust a move’ McGreevy who entertained the audience with their costumes and moves to ‘Cotton Eyed Joe’. Second couple to raise the rafters was the Cabra Magpie Mickey ‘Lightning Moves’ Greenan and Ursula ‘Quickstep’ Quinn who worked the floor to ‘Footloose’. Third Couple of the evening was Hostess with the mostess Pauline ‘Twinkle Toes’ O’Hare and Thomas ‘Dirty Dancing’ Murnin, who had the crowd in fits of laughter when Tooter appeared pushing Pauline in a wheelbarrow. Tooter then took the competition to a whole new level when he combined the ‘Hills of Donegal’ to moves that Stavros Flatley couldn’t even match!!!
Next up after the break was Dermot ‘Fancy Feet’ Fitzpatrick as we’ve never seen him before, Dermot had transformed his image for the show and went to great lengths to look like a female Irish Dancer, let’s hope his eyebrows can grow back!! His partner Carol ‘Cha Cha’ Magee who would have given Michael Flatley himself a run for his money, re-enacted the ‘Riverdance’. The props and backing dancers were first class in this act and the high calibre of talent continued right through the night. Couple five was Clonduff Ladies Footballer Onagh ‘Dancing Queen’ Gribben and U14 Football Manager Aidan ‘Billy Elliott’ Brown. They got the first standing ovation of the night when they danced to the ‘Grease megamix’, wearing fabulous co-ordinating outfits. Next up was the recently returned from Denmark Paudie ‘ Crazy Legs’ Brown and Lorraine ‘Lady GAGA’ Maginn, who created their own megamix and pulled moves on the stage that have never been seen in Hilltown!! Last but by no means least, Gary ‘Float like a Butterfly’ Haughian (Senior goalkeeper) and Janine ‘ Jitterbug’ Brannigan (Ladies Football) who performed Dirty Dancing ‘Time of my life’ and the crowd went crazy when Gary pulled of that ‘lift’!! Seven couples had performed to a very high standard and the audience were left scratching their heads as to who would win their vote. In the end, Gary and Janine (right) emerged as runners up receiving beautifully inscribed trophies, whilst the winners were declared as Aidan and Onagh (above left) who also received trophies and flowers.
The event was a wonderful success, the audience had been entertained with video diaries and the actual dances they performed on the night! Thanks to our hosts Orla and Paul, Technical support in Ciarán McGreevy and Joe Farrell as well as Paul Fitzpatrick who recorded the whole event. (DVDs go on sale soon) Thanks also to Patrick Fitzpatrick, Deirdre and Maureen Killen. Thanks also to the INF Hall and their staff for their help in co-ordinating this event, and to Mini Macs Roadshow who had everyone in the hall dancing by the end of the night!!!
Congratulations and Thank you to each of the dancers for making last night such a success!! It was brilliant and couldn’t have happened without your efforts.
Many thanks Sheenagh McConville for the original idea and all the hard work and publicity to turn such a great idea into a roaring success!
