AN AMERICAN woman who was targeted with vile racist online abuse after posting a video of herself Irish dancing, has been invited to next year’s St Patrick’s Day parade.
Leo Varadkar extended the invite after watching a clip of the Virginia-based dancer Morgan Bullock’s dazzling routine on social media.
A member of the Baffa Academy of Irish Dance, Morgan posted first posted the video of her impressive moves to TikTok and Instagram over the weekend, where it subsequently went viral.
But while the response to the routine has been largely positive, she has also faced racist abuse and taunts from online trolls who have accused her of appropriating Irish culture.
Morgan says that the majority of negative comments have come from Americans rather than Irish commenters.
this remix has no business being this hard 😩😤 pic.twitter.com/JZQh0jvtg5
— Morgan Bullock (@Morrghan) May 2, 2020
Undaunted, Morgan hit back at the unwarranted criticism with a statement defending her right to perform Irish dancing.
“If you think that a black girl Irish dancing is some form of cultural appropriation, then you clearly don’t know much about Irish dance and what is became over the years. There are Irish dance schools all over the world, including Mexico, China and Africa,” she wrote.
“It has become a very widespread sport in which participants become immersed in the culture, whether or not it is based on ethnicity.
“Irish dance has taken me all over the world. I have been to Ireland multiple times and I was met with so much love and support.”
That love and support was echoed by the Irish Taoiseach, who was among those to share Morgan’s brilliant video.
Writing on social media, Mr Varadkar praised the talented young dancer for “some brilliant moves”.
“Hope you can dance in Ireland for St Patrick’s Day in 2021. We’d love to have you over,” he added.
Maith thú @Morrghan! Some brilliant moves there. Hope you can dance in Ireland for St Patrick’s Day 2021. We’d love to have you over. https://t.co/5Psqz6s9CG
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) May 5, 2020
That message of support was echoed by the Embassy of Ireland to the US which said it was fortunate “to have such talent here devoting themselves to Irish dancing”.
“You are better than good at what you do. And you are a credit to both our nation and yours.”
She also got the thumbs up from the Kings of Irish dancing over at Riverdance.
Morrghan you are “rockin” it. We heard you on the radio here in Ireland and we are super proud of you. Great dancing and we look forward to your next video.
— Riverdance (@Riverdance) May 5, 2020
Looking forward to seeing you in March, Morgan!
