A COVENTRY fundraiser brought her dancing skills to Galway to raise money for the Irish Cancer Society.
Maggie Gallagher, a line dancing choreographer and Irish dance teacher, joined forces with her friend Maureen Briggs, whose husband Ray passed away following a battle with the condition last year.
Both Maureen and Ray are Coventry-natives who retired to Inverin in Co. Galway in their later years.
For Ms Gallagher, a fellow Coventry-native, with roots in counties Mayo and Kildare, the event provided an opportunity to give something back to the organisation researching the devastating disease while remembering the many friends they had lost to it over the years.
The fundraiser, who has raised more than £85,000 for local causes in Coventry over more than 15 years, brought 15 of her dancers to Galway to stage a line dancing extravaganza at The Salthill Hotel.
“With the help of Facebook, Twitter and Mid-West Radio, word of our event spread across Ireland and the Irish came out in great numbers to join us for the event – both line dancers and non-line dancers,” she told The Irish Post this week.
“The event was held in memory of Ray Briggs, a devoted husband and beloved father, who passed away with cancer last year, and also to remember the many friends and neighbours we have all lost to cancer in the same year,” Ms Gallagher, who runs Coventry’s Celtica Academy, added.
The day began with a line dance choreographed by Ms Gallagher and Irish DJ and line dance choreographer Gary O'Reilly, which was named The Galway Gathering.
All the dancers took to the floor to learn the moves - where some stayed dancing until 5am, raising a total of €7,529 for the Irish Cancer Society along the way.
