Scór na nÓg – Final (20/11/11)

As the euphoria of qualifying from last week’s semi-final died down, both acts and mentors got back to work with preparations for the final, to be held in St Joseph’s Parish Centre, Dunloy.

The club put on a bus for the final and a crowd of Lámh Dhearg members made the journey to North Antrim to cheer on the competitors.

As the hall began to warm up, the competitors went through their own preparations, the dancers going through a rigorous practice courtesy of Ciara! Then Fear an Tí Malachy Duffin called for everyone to take their seats and the competitive aspect of the day began.

First up were the dancers, who were up against experienced Scór na nÓg competitors St Mary’s Aghagallon for the title. Despite an excellent performance, we were pipped at the post and the plaudits went to St Mary’s. The girls, many of whom had just begun dancing a few months previously, were absolutely fantastic and a credit to themselves and to the club. There is much more to come from this group of dancers.

Natasha Miskimmin then took centre stage in arguably the most competitive of the day’s events. Once again she left the crowd in awed silence with another magnificent performance. Despite this incredible rendition, Natasha finished marginally behind the eventual winner of the competition, but can be very proud of her efforts and we are sure she will return next year with the title.

Our final competitor of the day was Rachael McCrudden in the Recitation. Loughgiel and Tír na nÓg provided her opposition in this section. Again she produced a very impressive performance, the judges praising her expression and body language throughout. However, Rachael was unlucky to finish just behind the eventual winner from Tír na nÓg. Rachael deserves great praise for her hard work and willingness to take on this difficult competition and again, we can aim for next year with anticipation.

Congratulations to all our competitors in this year’s Scór na nÓg. It is great to see the club making a resurgence in the Scór competitions and we hope to build on this success in the future.

The eventual winners from this year’s Scór na nÓg are listed below:

Rince Foirne (Céilí Dancing): St Mary’s, Aghagallon
Amhránaíocht Aonair (Solo Singing): Orla McAteer, Kickhams, Creggan
Ceol Uirlise (Instrumental Music): Naomh Gall, Belfast
Aithriseoireacht (Recitation): Seán Duffin, Tír na nÓg
Bailéadghrúpa (Ballad Group): Kickhams, Creggan
Nuachleas (Novelty Act): St Mary’s Aghagallon
Tráth na gCeist (Question Time): Tír na nÓg