Mums steal the show in Riverdance dance-a-thon fundraiser for LauraLynn charity

Two months back, Monika Cwiok had under no circumstances tried Irish dancing . Nevertheless on Thursday night time, the mother of just one was starring in the legendary finale of Riverdance in front of a packed Gaiety Theatre audience.

s Cwiok was 1 of 4 mothers who took component in a pretty exclusive encore of the earth-popular Irish dancing ensemble, to aid raise funds for Ireland’s only children’s hospice LauraLynn. All four avail of LauraLynn’s providers for their family members.

Ms Cwiok’s 14-year-outdated son Daniel, who has been cared for by LauraLynn for a lot of many years, was watching from the group as his mother introduced the overall viewers to its feet – and several to tears – in the climactic close to Riverdance’s fundraising dance-a-thon, which started out on Thursday morning.

“I hope this emotion never goes absent,” Ms Cwiok mentioned, “it was an out-of-this-environment practical experience.”

Ms Cwiok was joined by Anne-Marie Gleeson, Kate Early and Alyson Farrell. The four mothers had less than 10 hours’ rehearsal in excess of the previous two weeks, in advance of having to the phase in front of a packed group, learning the techniques – very first designed planet-well-known by Jean Butler and Michael Flatley in 1995 – with the aid of female lead Amy-Mae Dolan.

The gals did not know just about every other a fortnight back but have turn into very shut just after sharing their activities

All were in tears as Kerry McLaverty, the main government of LauraLynn, opened Thursday night’s exhibit, detailing to the viewers how the hospice’s operate is created to let mother and father who are entire-time carers for extremely sick small children the likelihood to “just be mammies and daddies”.

“The do the job that LauraLynn does is just important,” Ms Cwiok reported. “Daniel is my boy, and he’s my entire entire world. But it can be relentless. LauraLynn are a lifesaver – I do not have any extended family but they’ve turn into mine.”

Ms McLaverty explained functioning with Riverdance experienced been a “particularly special” partnership.

From Thursday morning, 400 children from dance educational institutions across Ireland took turns executing exterior the Gaiety Theatre in a dance-a-thon to enable increase funds, joined by the solid of Riverdance.

Though introducing the 4 mothers on stage, Padraic Moyles, the executive producer of Riverdance, reported that what the females had attained was “nothing short of amazing.”

LauraLynn relies mainly on fundraising to continue to keep its solutions likely. Go to lauralynn.ie/donate.