Lord of the Dance Niamh Shevlin brings ‘Hills of Donegal’ to the Rose of Tralee

Niamh Shevlin did Donegal proud at the Rose of Tralee Festival.

The Bomany, Glenswilly, native led out the live television coverage for the second night of the festival and was interviewed by Daithí Ó Sé.

An accomplished dancer, with her twin brother and only sibling Gavin, Niamh went solo to finish off her performance to bring plenty of life to the Kerry Sports Academy, MTU, to the tune of ‘Hills of Donegal’.

Niamh has been a professional dancer for six years and has travelled to over 50 countries on six different continents, and in 2018, joined Michael Flatley’s ‘Lord of the Dance’ where she performed the female lead role of ‘Saoirse’ for five years.

Niamh has recently qualified as a teacher having completed her final placement in Glenswilly National School and is studying for her Masters' Degree in primary school teaching with Hibernia College.

The Donegal Rose Niamh getting the party started with the Hills of Donegal ✨

dare ya not to tap your feet to this #RoseofTralee pic.twitter.com/VL14Ge2RvH

— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) August 20, 2024

Dressed in a long red dress, Niamh dedicated her performance to her late aunt Alyssa Thompson, who passed away in December aged just 44. Last week, whilst in Tralee, Niamh attended the Rose Ball in the same dress her late aunt wore to her prom in 1996, which was made by Naimh’s grandmother Bernadette Callan.

“My cousin, Shannon, who's in the audience tonight has been a great help to me all the way to get here and we put the application together and we sent it,” Niamh said of her decision to apply for the Rose of Tralee. “ In tribute, I wore my auntie's lovely prom dress here at the banquet on Monday. I hope she's proud of me.”

Niamh originally studied at Maynooth University but never made a secret of her longing for home. When she did move back, the opportunity to dance professionally came her way.

“l always wanted to be a primary school teacher,” she said. “I was very homesick and very close to my twin brother and we danced together all our lives. If I hadn’t come home I never would have got the opportunity to audition for Lord of the Dance so I suppose everything happens for a reason

“I just sent off an email and you're not always lucky that auditions are coming up they could be fully cast but I went off and I auditioned in Dublin and I got the call up then to join them on their tour so I headed off to China in 2018. I toured with the show for five years.”

Niamh continued to dance with ‘A Taste of Ireland’ and I am part of the Riverdance flying squad after travelling to Uganda for 10 days in March 2023 with Irish Aid, she began teaching weekly online lessons, aiming to ignite a passion for Irish dance in children from the world’s poorest regions.

She paid tribute to her twin and dancing partner Gavin, who she described as “the boy version of me” and “my best friend” with their parents Mick and Geralyn proudly watching on with many more family members and well-wishers in the crowd. The winner of the 2024 Rose of Tralee will be crowned later tonight.