The main event was, of course, Clonduff Come Dancing with eight couples (one withdrawal through illness) strutting their stuff – the culmination of months of hard work.
Following the traditional group dance who set the mood for the night, a very young group who attended Shane Berger’s Dance Camp in Clonduff Clubrooms, took the stage while the couples changed for their individual dances. They were amazing – we do know Shane can work miracles but he had very responsive pupils!
The comperes for the night were Francis Quinn and Christina McConville who kept the show on the road with great wit and banter. The judges were local ladies Lorraine McGinn and Karen Doherty along with the now retired Down Goalkeeper and winner of An Riocht’s Strictly Brendan McVeigh. They were joined by Micheál Magill Entertainments Manager and former Down All Ireland Winning Footballer (married to Clonduff lady). They had a great rapport among themselves and with the dancers and the comperes.
The individual dance routines were amazing with Michelle McPolin and Ciarán Killen setting the standard for the rest to follow. They were followed by Patricia Brown and Gary Woods, then Paula Gribben and Bernard Branagan, with Joanne Mullen and Brian Ward taking us to the halfway stage. Then it was the ‘bandages and blood’ nurse and barber duo of Orla Maginn and Declan ‘Nippo’ McGarry; they were followed by the ‘blow-in’ from The Stone and the ‘blow-out’ to The Bridge, Pauline McConville and Lorcan Mussen. The penultimate couple was Maria McConville and Shane Ward with El ‘Polercise’ Fegan and Bridge man Fergal Quinn bringing up the rear!
What a show! The couples were all winners on the night! But in order to crown a champion a system had to be devised which combined judges marks, audience votes and sponsorship. The results were very close and whilst everyone who was on the stage was a winner the eventual Clonduff Come Dancing Champions 2014 is Bernard Branagan and Paula Gribben!
