An Irish dance school from New York moved into Scranton thanks to a former teacher's commitment to keep Celtic culture alive in Lackawanna County.
The Johnston School of Irish Dance, founded in Watertown, New York in 1993, has four locations in New York and now a fifth in Scranton.
Fedelmia Gallagher owned the Gallagher School of Irish Dancing and taught in several locations in Scranton and Monroe County. She made the difficult decision to retire after teaching Irish step dancing for 25 years, but not without finding a replacement.
“I didn't want to leave the children at all. And I certainly didn't want them to not have the opportunity to have Irish dancing,” she said. "I was trying everything to get another teacher into Scranton... it's filled with so many Irish people that want their children to have the culture."
The Irish dance community is especially important to Fedelmia. Her mother, Fedelmia Mullen-Davis, is one of six who established the Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America.
“She brought Irish dancing to America,” Gallagher said. "When she first came [from Ireland], there was like no dancing teachers hardly at all."
Gallagher taught her last class on Saturday, January 27th. Abby Cook from Johnston School of Irish Dance was in Scranton the following week to allow Gallagher’s students to continue their education without missing a beat.
“When I look at Abby, I see me 30 years ago,” Gallagher said.
Johnston rents the same space where Gallagher most recently taught at the Linn McDonald School of Dance at 1501 Wyoming Avenue.
Shannon Murphy Fennie enrolled her daughters, Catherine and Reilly, at the Gallagher School of Irish Dancing years ago. She was worried to learn about Gallagher’s retirement.
“I have four children so it would be a challenge to bring them too far out,” she said.
Other competitive Irish step dancing institutions exist in Stroudsburg, Lewisburg and Vestal, New York. The Joyce School of Irish Dance in Pittston is non-competitive.
Fennie’s daughters compete in Irish dance competitions, also referred to by the Gaelic word Feiseanna or ‘Feis.’ They allow dancers to travel around the region and the world.
“There’s a huge festival that they host in Hershey as well as at the Kalahari Resort,” Fennie said. “It’s just a great opportunity for us to travel as a family and for the girls to engage in a sport that they just love, love, love to participate in.”
Cook says people are grouped in classes depending on their skill level, and they don’t have to compete if they don’t want to.
“An adult might not be interested in competing, but they might just want to come and learn. And if they’re capable of doing a little bit harder than just like the beginners, we would group them in with where they fall," she said. "The one adult dancer who we have there now actually dances with her daughter which is awesome, and the two of them kind of keep up with each other.”
The new school will offer one free class to people who are interested in trying it out this Spring.
