HUGE CROWD CHEERS ON BALLYMAC DANCERS

ONE hopes the last person to leave Ballymacelligott on Saturday evening remembered to switch off the lights.

Such was the crowd at Ballymacelligott GAA club’s Strictly Come Dancing fundraiser at the Ballygarry Hotel on Saturday night it looked as if everyone in the parish was in the hotel to cheer on the dancers.

This was the second year the club have run a Strictly Come Dancing style fundraiser and the event was even bigger than last year with a whopping 700 people packing into the Ballygarry Hotel function room for the sell-out event.

Twelve dancing couples – all trained by professional dancer Honor Hurley – took to the dance floor doing their all to impress former Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh, dancing expert Mary Philpott, musician Dave Allman and Tim Moynihan of Radio Kerry and Garvey SuperValu who were the judges.

While all couples were terrific there could be only one winner and this year the crown went to Nicole McEllistrim and Tomás O’Connor after a close-fought battle with Dave Long and Zelda Boyle.

The other dancing pairs who took part were Anne Marie Nelligan and Vincent Horan; Jennifer Flaherty and Jeremiah Lynch; Maeve Rahilly and Mossie Leen; Fiona Cahill and Stephen Birmingham; Noelle O’Brien and Declan O’Connell; Angela Lenihan and Thomas Daly; Karolina Tangney and Eanna Reidy; Linda Gleeson and Brendan Falvey; Ita and Derek O’Brien and Nora Curran and James Sugrue.

Aileen and Paul O’Riordan with Denise and Jimmy O’Sullivan at the Ballymacelligott GAA Club Strictly Come Dancing fundraising night at Ballygarry Hotel on Saturday night.

(Above) Winnersof the Ballymacelligott Strictly Come Dancing event Tomás O’Connor and Nicole McEllistrim with judges Mary Philpott and Maria Walsh and MC Andrew Morrisey. (Left) Sean Lyons, Edmund and Mona O’Brien were cheering on contestants Ita and...

Contestants Vincent Horan and Ann Marie Nelligan strut their stuff for the judges at the Ballymacelligott ‘strictly’ night.