No Irish dancing in the lifts... NI hotel’s warning sign goes viral
A SIGN in a Belfast hotel warning Irish dancing competitors against practising their moves in the elevator has been removed — but not before going viral on Twitter.
The sign, which was purported to be from management, was put up in Cathedral Quarter’s Premier Inn hotel during the World Irish Dance Championships (right) being held in the Waterfront Hall and proved a hit on social media.
Dubliner Lianne Reddy, who was visiting the city with her friend at the weekend, first spotted the cautionary notice on Saturday evening when the pair returned from having dinner.
“We just thought it was great. It was really funny and we figured someone in hotel management must have a great sense of humour,” she said. The notice advised those competing in the An Comhdhail World Irish Dance Championships not to train in the lift.
Ms Reddy took to Twitter to share a picture of the sign — but it appears hotel management didn’t see the funny side.
A member of staff at the hotel told the Belfast Telegraph that the sign was removed yesterday afternoon.
“We have had to take the sign down,” they explained. “Unfortunately, it was put up without the correct authorisation.”
The warning, which was addressed to “all our Irish Dancing Champions”, read: “We at Premier Inn understand how you need to practise constantly to perfect your skills.
“However if you dance in the lifts they will stop moving and you will be stuck here until we can get an engineer to come and rescue you.
“PS: best of luck at the Waterfront.”
Lianne tweeted the image, which has since racked up almost 3,000 likes and over 1,000 retweets, with the comment: “An actual sign in the lift in our hotel. I can’t breathe with the laughter.”
It was only when she saw the sign that she realised why the hotel was bustling with guests.
Participants from all over the world descended on Belfast over the weekend in a bid to claim the much coveted world champion title in the six-day competition, which kicked off yesterday.
“We had noticed the hotel was really busy but didn’t know why,” said Lianne.
“I didn’t realise there was an Irish dancing competition on until we saw the sign.”
Ms Reddy has been left overwhelmed by the response to her tweet and said she was glad that so many got a laugh out of it.
“I really didn’t expect it,” she said. “I posted it because I thought it was great and a few people might get a laugh from it.
“I never would have predicted this, and I’m not sure I would have posted it if I had.”