My Irish heritage has been a very important part of my life for as long as I can remember. And a huge component of that is culture: language, music and dance. As the current Language Officer (Treórai na Gaeilge) of two branches of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Craobh Úll Mor and Kiloran Clancy Whelan), the Irish language is the newest cultural aspect to be part of my life. I grew up surrounded by Irish music. But, as the topic of this article, I have chosen to discuss the third characteristic of Irish culture: dance. I grew up listening to the stories of my Aunt Maisie who was an Irish step dancing champion when she was young. As a young girl I hoped that some of her champion dancing talent would rub off on me and so I was enrolled in an Irish dancing class in 1968. Unfortunately, her extraordinary skill did not greatly influence mine. However, my interest and love for Irish dancing could not be repressed and to this day it remains a part of my life. I continue to enjoy the monthly céilthe held at the New York Irish Center sponsored by the Craobh Úll Mor branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. My girlfriend's daughter, Caitlin Ahr, is a top ten North American Irish step dance champion in 2002 and 2003. She has danced in world championship competitions and various other step dance competitions both nationally and internationally for over ten years old and is on track to test and receive her TCRG, the Irish Step Dance Teacher Certification. While I may not be in the spotlight and on stage performing Irish dance myself, it has always been an extremely important part of my life and being a history buff, the history of Irish dance has invited me to study it. It's... middle of paper... formed with tours that included the Chieftains in the 1980s. In May 1989, Flatley set a Guinness Book world record for a typing speed of 28 strokes per second. Then, in 1994, he created and choreographed Riverdance, a seven-minute intermission act for the Eurovision Song Contest. Riverdance was an immediate success and was developed into a full-length show. Other successful shows followed, including Lord of the Dance and Foot of Flames. The success of these shows opened up the world of Irish dancing to masses of people and led to hundreds of children attending Irish dancing classes. Today thousands of young people participate in Irish step dancing. Schools can be found all over the world. The popularity it enjoys today is a far cry from the interest I had as a kid. But the driving force is always the same: the love of Irish dancing was, is and will always be part of our heritage.