COVER STORY
Actress and Dancing With the Stars favourite Aoibhín Garrihy on her memories of the TRÉ show, climbing Everest and what she hopes to do next
Aoibhín Garrihy sits at a small wooden table at the Homemade café on the first floor of Arnotts. A lady at a nearby table squeals with joy when she sees the actress and reality TV star, and playfully hits her husband’s hand in excitement. She quickly grills Aoibhín on her time on Dancing With The Stars and wonders was it as much fun as it seemed.
Aoibhín is no shrinking violet and happily spills the beans on the hard graft that saw her fall agonisingly short of lifting the debut series title and the much- coveted Glitterball trophy. Much has happened since the series ended in April but Aoibhín says she has finally moved on from the popular reality show.
‘I definitely had a severe case of post-show blues,’ she says. ‘It was all- consuming for five months of the year and then it came to such an abrupt end. I was doing eight-hour days and all of a sudden there was this real low having come from such a dizzy high.
‘I counteracted that by going to Everest which was probably the best thing for me to be honest,’ she says of her trip to accompany her husband John Burke some of the way as he successfully scaled one of the world’s highest mountains.
‘It gave me the chance to process all that had happened.
‘When I was in Nepal, it was the other extreme, one where I couldn’t shower for weeks on end – from the glitz and glam of the show to, well, nothing really.’
Looking back at Dancing With The Stars, Aoibhín has no regrets about taking part in the inaugural series.
‘It was one of the best experiences of my life and what it did for my fitness and mental health was amazing. Dancing is good for the soul – I was permanently in great form. It helped that I was part of something that was well received generally by everyone.’
The 29-year- old smiles wistfully as she thinks back to some of her performances. With her dedication and love of dance, she was immediately installed as the bookies favourite, only for Kerry footballer Aidan O’Mahony to pip her at the post. But Aoibhín says it was not all about winning for her or the rest of the cast. ‘My granddad, who is 92, said that it shortened the winter for him. It came at a time in January when Sunday evenings can be bleak and it was a real family show and the feedback I would get on a weekly basis was that it was bringing the whole family together on the couch. That was lovely to hear. I enjoyed every aspect of it.’
RTÉ has confirmed that it will be commissioning a second series of the show, and Aoibhín has some advice for any celebrities intending to take part.
‘What I would say to the new crop of dancers is that firstly I’m very jealous!’ she laughs. ‘But you have to be able to put the work in, there’s nowhere to hide. We were all wrecked from it and had lumps and bumps and bruises but it was so much fun. Unless you’re prepared to give it welly, maybe don’t do it. Even the seasoned professionals who have been on the TV all their lives, this was something really different.
‘Des Cahill, I think found it to be a lifechanging and life-affirming experience – it gave him a real pep in his step.
‘Obviously there were people there who knew they weren’t going to be the best dancers in the world but they embraced the show and I have no doubt that there is a queue out the door to do it so we will have to wait and see.’
Aoibhín is well used to being recognised from her days on Fair City, when the Castleknock lady caused many a stir on the streets of Carrigstown. She started out in the show in 2010, when she landed the role of Neasa Dillon. She looks back fondly at her time there but admits that Dancing With The Stars has had a bigger impact on her life.
‘Maybe people don’t realise that over 600,000 a night tune in to watch Fair City, it has a very loyal following. I’ve been gone from the show for five years now but Neasa is still my alter ego – it’s always hard to shake that off. But the Dancing With The Stars interest was just a different level.
‘I was commuting up and down the country during it and I couldn’t drive on a toll bridge without people calling me to ask what happened the week before or tell me that the tango didn’t suit me. They want to give you all the feedback and that was cool – it was lovely that people invested such time in you.
‘I met a lot of people who said they voted 30 times for me every night and it’s lovely to hear that – but I still didn’t win. What was it one of
I definitely had a severe case of post-show blues. It was all- consuming for five months of the year and then it came to such an abrupt end
➤ those politicians said when he lost his seat: “I don’t know what has happened, but I must have met 2,000 liars who promised to vote for me!”’
Having finally come back down to earth after the show and, indeed, from her Everest adventure, what’s next for Aoibhín, who runs her own performing arts school in Ennis but also harbours dreams of presenting for the national broadcaster?
‘It has definitely given me an appetite for TV,’ she says. ‘I don’t know what way I pitched myself but since I did it, I’ve been asked to do certain shows and they all seem to be outdoorsy stuff! I was asked to do The Big Week on The Farm for RTÉ and I’m in talks to do a couple of other projects that are outdoors stuff.
‘I love getting out and about and I’m very passionate about the west and rural Ireland, so it’s a good fit for me. I will embrace whatever comes my way. Some people prefer to stick to just acting and that’s fine but I feel that I would hate to be pigeonholed. Acting is my first love and what I trained in but unless you can’t live without it, don’t do it.
‘I now have other interests and I’m prepared to embrace and explore them – Ireland is too small to turn down work.
‘I live in the west and the options just aren’t there for someone who is purely acting. TV is definitely on my radar and I had a great time presenting on the farm – I was pulling udders and just loving it!
‘I like the idea of live as well. You couldn’t get more live than DWTS and I feel I coped well with that pressure, the nerves didn’t cripple me. So we will see what happens.’
For now, Aoibhín is preparing to team up with Baz Ashmawy and the G Hotel to judge the best dressed lady competition at the Galway Races. Aoibhín is no stranger to the races as a punter and says she is excited about seeing first-hand the energy that surrounds Ballybrit.
‘Ladies Day itself is a sport – there are women there who commit to the day and they do figures of eight around you to make sure that they’re noticed. I think that the best dressed is someone that exudes inner confidence but in terms of style I don’t really know what I’m looking for yet.’
As if that wasn’t enough to keep the newlymarried actor busy, Aoibhín is also co- organising a wellness festival for women in Co Clare. Beo is a health and wellness event to inspire and motivate women in the tranquil surrounds of the Armada Hotel. Aoibhín has signed up model Alison Canavan and singer Leanne Moore for fitness and nutrition as well as Jennifer Rock, who is known as The Skin Nerd.
She is also happily getting used to having her husband home after his escapade to Mount Everest this summer – though he is stealing her spotlight somewhat.
‘John has gone back to work, well, in between visiting schools and dealing with his new-found local hero status,’ she says. ‘It has been a great month for him and Clare County Council has really celebrated his success. He has had lots of accolades and the mantelpiece is filling up with all sorts of certificates and lovely pictures.
‘It’s been a real feelgood month for us – we’ve had a chance to reconnect after all the madness. I wanted to get him dancing to get him away from the hills but he’s having none of it – he’s already talking about going out to K2.
‘I think he has probably found what he’s passionate about and he has probably found a voice with it as well. He never did public speaking but now he won’t shut up! It’s wonderful and people seem to be engrossed in the story. It’s like a soap opera playing out because the stakes are so high and you’re juggling with life and death. I think people are fascinated by the heroism.’
She admits that despite a few rocky nights after his return, John is back to his normal best but that still hasn’t stopped her mum, who is desperate for grandkids, from asking the tougher questions.
‘It was definitely a trauma that he had been suppressing for a long time, just to stay positive about the whole thing. To try and deal with all that was going on around him and just get through it. When he came back there were the night terrors, he was waking up and grabbing for ropes and all kinds of stuff. He has calmed down now and is back to normal but I’m sure there were elements of post-traumatic stress – that’s my diagnosis, not any doctor’s. But it certainly wasn’t something I was used to seeing in him.
‘Work is giving him the stress now that he needs. My mum almost wanted confirmation when he got home that everything was in working order – she’ll have to wait for that I think! We’re all just delighted to have him back.’
Just as viewers will feel, we imagine, when Aoibhín finally returns to our screens.
It’s been a real feelgood month for us – we’ve had a chance to reconnect after all the madness. I wanted to get him dancing but he’s having none of it!