Category: Teachers

NIALL O’LEARY TCRG, ADCRG is a former All-Ireland and World Champion dancer from Dublin, Ireland. His teachers included Kevin Massey, proclaimed by Michael Flatley to be the greatest ever Irish dancer, and Rory O’Connor, the first man to do Irish dancing on radio, and Rory’s daughters Breda and Ann. The Niall O’Leary School of Irish Dance…

Rosemary Cooper TCRG, known to most as Rosie, has danced unceasingly since the age of three years old. Born in Dallas, Texas, she began Irish dancing there at the age of seven and quickly excelled through the local and regional competitive ranks in feiseanna. Rosemary moved to New York City at the age of 13…

Colleen Meenan, TCRG, discovered her passion for Irish Step Dancing under the instruction of Mary Lou Schade and Rosemary Schade Cromie at the Schade Academy. Born on Long Island, New York, she began dancing at the age of 5 and progressed competitively until retiring in 2017 at the World Championships. During her competitive career, Colleen…

Mallory Mulligan Wendt TCRG, brings over three decades of dedication to the art of Irish dance, having begun her training at the age of three. Her earliest steps were guided by Sheila Tully, with a formative foundation later shaped by the late Tim O’Hare, whose mentorship instilled in her a deep respect for discipline, musicality,…

Laura Gray TCRG began dancing at the age of 4 in her hometown of Clane in County Kildare, Ireland. Through her competitive career Laura has many accomplishments including South Leinster and Leinster titles and numerous World Championship placings. While studying Architecture in University College Dublin, Laura led the UCD Irish Dance Crew to victory in…

Augusto Canessa TCRG is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He been promoting the traditional culture of Ireland in South America since 2004 giving Irish Dance Workshops to schools in Argentina, Brazil and Chile. Additionally, Augusto coached fellow dancers for their TCRG examination. Augusto focuses on helping dancers to understand and improve the unique traditional technique and…

Cecilia has a degree in Interior Design and a Diploma in Acupuncture, Aerobics and Personal Training. She began taking ballet, folklore and gymnastics (Competing with the National team) since she was 7 years old. At age 20 she participated for 7 years in the TV program “Ritmo Vital”. She taught aerobics at the training center…

Caitlin McNeill from Brooklyn NY began Irish dance as a student at the Niall O’Leary School of Irish Dance aged 10. She is now one of our top assistant teachers. In between, she has won many prizes for Irish dance, recalled at the North American Championships, has performed in shows all over the United States,…

Jesse Gilday has been a dancer and teacher with the Niall O’Leary School of Irish Dance for about 9 years. Previously, he danced with the Boland School in Albany NY. A graduate of NYU, having studied a masters degree in music, specializing in the clarinet, he is an excellent dancer and teacher. He has competed in…

Amy has been dancing since she could walk. After spending her early years taking a variety of classes including ballet, tap, and figure skating, she fell in love with Irish dancing at age 12. She trained under several Irish dance schools on the west coast, before joining the southern region and Niall O’Leary School of…