Catherine Martin welcomes planned changes to judging of Irish dancing competitions

Minister for Arts and Culture Catherine Martin has welcomed proposed changes to Irish dancing competitions, calling on fair and transparent treatment for all competitors.

An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG), the oldest and largest governing body for competitive Irish dancing, agreed at a meeting in Dublin on Saturday to give more than 2,300 registered Irish dancing teachers worldwide a greater say in who will judge competitions.

From 2024, the Irish dancing commission said that it would allow all CLRG registrants and members to vote for adjudicators for All-Ireland and world championships, allowing “more teachers than ever before to have an input into who adjudicates these prestigious events”.

The Irish dancing world has been rocked by allegations of competition fixing that has led to the suspension of 44 individuals from judging competitions and full disciplinary hearings following an investigation by Mr Justice Micheal Peart, the former Court of Appeal judge.

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Responding to the CLRG’s announcement of the new reforms, Ms Martin told The Irish Times that “to fully restore public confidence in their events, the priority must be on ensuring that all competitors are treated fairly and are seen to be treated fairly”.

“Irish dancing is a key part of our Irish cultural identity and a wonderful pastime for so many children and young people, here at home and wherever there are Irish communities around the world,” Ms Martin said.

“My main concern is ensuring that these children and young people receive fair treatment when dancing and that this is transparently the case.”

[ Michael Flatley expresses disappointment over Irish dancing scandal ]

The Minister said she welcomed “the change process under way at CLRG.”

The commission said the intention of the changes was “for all those in good standing to be entitled to vote in adjudicator selection from 2024 onwards”.

“While it has been a challenging period for CLRG, an coimisiún remains committed to and focused on being fully transparent and delivering positive change across the organisation,” said a spokeswoman for the organisation.

“The process of appointing a change management consultant firm to undertake a strategic review of CLRG across the board is now under way.”

The commission said transformation was a gradual process and required “consistency and a multitude of small changes to be effective”.

[ Irish dancing: Claims of competition fixes, sexual favours detailed in court challenge ]

It said it was “delighted to usher in another change that makes an important aspect of the organisation and competition both fairer and richer by its inclusiveness”.

A detailed complaint was made to the ethics committee of the CLRG last summer accusing at least 12 Irish dancing teachers of fixing competitions.

Screenshots of text message exchanges were shared with the commission appearing to show attempts between the parties to agree better scores for competitors before dance feiseanna.

[ Malachy Clerkin: The fix was in when it came to Irish dancing? Say it ain’t so! ]

In September CLRG asked Mr Justice Peart to investigate whether people had a case to answer after the allegations and the text message exchanges were leaked online.

The investigation team, led by the retired judge, recommended that cases against 44 individuals under consideration proceed to a full disciplinary hearing.