On Feis day, the tense waiting is part of the performance. 

Young Irish stepdancers, some as young as 5, stand shoulder to shoulder beneath a pavilion at the Michael J. Quill Irish Cultural Center in East Durham. Then the judges call them forward, two at a time.

Parents watch as the children begin their routines, kicking their legs high and tapping their feet to the sound of a fiddle. Nearby, dancers study the competition while applying makeup and adjusting elaborate costumes covered in rhinestones.

The dancers were among nearly 200 competitors at an Irish stepdancing competition known as a feis, pronounced “fesh,” on Aug. 22. Such competitions are held throughout Ireland and the Irish diaspora, including East Durham, a Catskills hamlet whose boardinghouses and resorts once drew generations of Irish families from New York City.

Some students from the Farrell School of Irish Dance wear something simpler: navy blue dresses decorated with colorful Celtic patterns.

The dresses were designed by Michael Farrell, who founded the school in Queens in 1974 and later moved it to Albany and East Durham.

“He made the patterns and the colors,” said his daughter, Meghan Farrell, who now teaches at the school.

Farrell had taught Irish dance informally for more than 20 years when she formally took over after her father’s death in 2024.

“It’s been an interesting trip down memory lane,” she said.

Having grown up as a stepdancer herself, Farrell now helps her students manage the pressures of competition.

“We tell the girls all the time — you’re not being judged, you’re being assessed, evaluated, scored,” she said. “The judges are human. It’s one person’s opinion that day.”

“If you don’t do well, it’s not a big deal. Shake it off and try it again,” she said.

Myla Meacher, 17, a Farrell School dancer from Preston Hollow, said she no longer gets as nervous as she did when she was younger.

“If I’m having a stressful day, I can dance, and it helps clear my mind,” she said.

While certain competitions vary from region to region, most are based on level and age, with categories for beginners, novices, prize-winners, and champions. 

“The judges are looking for who has good timing, who has good rhythms, foot placement, who has their feet crossed nice and tidy, who has good upper body control, good carriage, so that their arms are not wobbling around,” said judge Annmarie Acosta of the Acosta School of Irish Music and Dance in Rockaway Beach, Queens. 

Steps are choreographed by dance teachers, Acosta said. 

“One of the things that’s unique about Irish dancing is that they’re competing against each other doing their own individual choreography, but they’re performing at the same time,” she said. “Sometimes that’s a challenge for the kids because they’re used to dancing at the class with other people that are doing the same steps.”

Irish stepdancing can be traced to at least the 16th century, according to Helen Brennan’s 2001 history, “The Story of Irish Dance.” An Irish-language text from 1510 contains one of the earliest known references to the tradition:

“Cidh na dena damhsa frit cosaibh?”

In English: “Why do you not dance with your feet?”

Irish dance became increasingly tied to cultural identity after the founding of Conradh na Gaeilge, an organization dedicated to preserving the Irish language and culture, in 1893. Nearly a century later, “Riverdance” introduced the tradition to a global audience after debuting as an interval performance at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin.

Craig Ashurst, a Feis judge originally from Melbourne, Australia, toured for years in the lead role in “Riverdance.” He also met his wife through the production.

“It was a life-changing thing for every Irish dancer,” said Ashurst, who now lives in Newtown, Connecticut. “I was lucky enough to tour with the show for many years.”

Competitions, known collectively as feiseanna, are held throughout Ireland and across the Irish diaspora.

Few places in the Catskills are more closely connected to that diaspora than East Durham, a historically Irish hamlet sometimes called the Irish Alps. Beginning in the early 20th century, Irish families from New York City traveled to the area’s boardinghouses, helping establish an ethnic resort community in the Catskills’ northern foothills.

The Michael J. Quill Irish Cultural Center preserves that history. Established in 1987, the nonprofit is named for Michael Joseph “Red Mike” Quill, an Irish-born labor leader who co-founded the Transport Workers Union of America.

The center, on state Route 145, hosts an annual Irish festival and is home to a historic cottage transported from County Donegal, Ireland.

Its president, Ken Dudley, 81, of Freehold, has held the position several times since the 1990s. He returned after the COVID-19 pandemic to help the organization regain its footing.

Dudley jokes that he first became president after a long night at Bernie O’s Steakhouse, a former restaurant and bar on state Route 23 in Cairo.

“After work I went in to have a scotch and a steak,” Dudley said. “All of a sudden, the drinks kept coming up. I walked out about two in the morning and I was president.”

While he’s not sure when the center started hosting the Feis, he said the events have died down over the years. 

“They were brought to the limelight when they had Riverdance,” Dudley said. Everybody was into it. The last two years, it’s been a little bit hard to get people. A lot of them are doing away with it.”

A slowdown still hasn’t stopped young dancers from getting involved to keep the tradition going. Andrew Eenigenburg, 12, from Long Island, started dancing after seeing his sisters take part. 

Now, he says his favorite part of Irish dancing is “sweeping the floor” with his competition.

And swept the floor he did. Eenigenburg got two firsts at this year’s Feis, including one in his traditional set. He attributed his success to being calm, cool, and collected.

“Getting up and doing it, a lot of people get scared,” he said. “I’m good with my nerves.”

For Farrell, who grew up in the tradition, it’s inspiring to see young dancers keeping it alive.

“It’s an ancient art form,” she said. “Our grandmother’s grandmother’s grandmothers did these dances.”

Original photography by Roy Gumpel/The Overlook.

Connor Greco is a staff reporter for The Overlook covering Windham, Hunter, and surrounding Greene County communities. Send correspondence to connor@theoverlooknews.com.