Dirty Dancing: The Inside Story of the Irish Dancing Cheating Scandal

by Ellen Coyne

'A fascinating exposé on the history and crazy controversies' MARK TIGHE

From Feis fixing to false allegations, why are the dance halls across this island such a hotbed for rumour and controversy?

Irish dancing may sparkle on the stage – glittering costumes, perfect smiles, flawless footwork – but behind the polished performances lies a world far less picture perfect.

When an explosive whistleblower email lands in the inbox of journalist Ellen Coyne, she is pulled into the high stakes, fiercely protected realm of competitive Irish dance. What she uncovers is a culture simmering with resentment and allegations of feis fixing, toxic politics, whispered scandals and rumours that reach the biggest stages in the world.

As Ellen follows the trail, the immaculate world of Irish dancing begins to crack open, revealing a community where ambition can turn corrosive and where the pursuit of victory often comes at an unbearable cost.

Genres: Irish Literature, Nonfiction

281 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 16, 2026

Reviews

[Emma O'Donoghue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the most well written account but I was very interested as an Irish dancer in a previous life. One huge gaping hole in the story is that the author didn’t include any perspective from the dancers and children themselves - the people who matter most in the whole story 💔

[Michael Farrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In my sorry experience paranoia is often the most rational response to the dramatic twists and turns of Irish dancing.”

I had heard about this scandal but was not aware of the details. I thought the history of how Irish Dancing as a sport developed was interesting, but I wasn't expecting to have 80 pages of background before the scandal was addressed.

My taking from this book is that a sport with relatively subjective scoring, a terrible governance culture, and some crazy members is a recipe for disaster.

This whole scandal is like a cousin of the GAA Catfish and is a warning as to the dangers of relying on digital evidence in the modern age. A fake screenshot is enough to incite wild speculation but almost impossible to disprove. A false positive like this is almost impossible to refute in the eyes of a baying mob of disgruntled Irish Dancing teachers.

Some good has come out of the scandal now that the judging process has been amended to rule out bias and favour trading. It is eye opening how digital tools were used to manipulate the competitions.

I didn't have the time of my life, but it was an interesting read.

[Ruth McAvinia · Rating 2 out of 5]

As frustrating as this investigation was for the author, the resulting book is also frustrating. Too many silly mistakes (names like John McColgan and Areleen Ní Bhaoill shouldn’t have been published incorrectly) and lack of internal logic (at no point is the actual process of a world championship and the rounds involved described). So you get one third jumbled history, one third what was already in the papers, and one third on the heap of nothing that happened next. Maybe it was all just a bit rushed but needs a bit of cleaning up.

[Laura Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty accurate depiction of the corruption that goes on in Irish dancing. It’s a pity that the sport has gone so far beyond what true Irish dancing should be. It’s more pageantry now than anything else.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was genuinely fascinating. A lesson in how not to handle a cheating scandal.

[Shannon Keogh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard to read, hard to get into, I wanted to know the story line but what a hard read

[Megan O'Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Well-written overall, and probably more informative for someone more unaware of the Irish dancing world.

[goodbyewaffles]

An easy read, but not as insightful as I hoped it would be

[Alesya Howley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting story but poorly written, especially considering the author is a journalist by trade.