Tir Conaill Academy of Irish Dance

Christopher McGrory

Christopher was born into a very musical family originally hailing from County Donegal, and began Irish dance lessons at the age of four at the prestigious Cora Cadwell School of Irish Dance in Dublin, Ireland. By the age of seven, he also began to learn “the box” from his accordionist father at home. Christopher demonstrated natural talent in both disciplines, and quickly moved up the competitive ranks in both dance and music. At the age of twelve he won the coveted All Ireland dance title at the Mansion House in Dublin. A few years later he also won the All-Ireland championships on accordion. Chris was next invited to tour in the US as a young teenager with an Irish cabaret show, both playing accordion and dancing. Since that time he has continued to tour worldwide, across Ireland, the UK, and Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

As a young adult, Christopher obtained an honors level music teaching diploma (TTCT) and taught young musical groups and ceili bands for the Clontarf branch of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eirinn, the most prominent traditional music organization in Ireland. During that time, Christopher also received his TCRG certification in Irish dancing from An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha, the international Irish Dance Commission. For many years he taught students in both traditional music and dance in the greater Dublin area.

A highlight of Christopher’s career came in 2003, when he was asked to perform at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Dublin, the largest sporting event in the world that year. Christopher was privileged to perform at the

“World Village,“ rubbing shoulders with U2, Sting, Elton John, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Farrell at the entertainers marquee.

In late 2004, Christopher made a life changing decision and moved to Tucson, Arizona. In February of 2005, he began teaching Irish music and dance to the local Irish community. And since that time, the Tucson dance school has blossomed into an academy of happy and flourishing students. Christopher loves hard workers, and will train dancers of all levels, from beginners and adults through world level competitors, with equal intensity and effort. He especially enjoys working on the foundation of dancing with the beginners, and then training them to achieve championship standard. Additionally, as an internationally renowned Irish dance musician, Christopher is also a taskmaster with rhythm and timing, and the dancers benefit greatly from his expertise in perfecting their steps.

Combining the talents of Michael Patrick Gallagher and the Phoenix class with the successful Tucson school in 2007, the Tir Conaill Academy of Irish Dance has become one of the largest and most acclaimed Irish dance schools in Arizona. Expanding into Albuquerquue, New Mexico has been the latest project for the school, and the welcome thus far from the Albuquerque Irish community has been heartening and very exciting. Watch this space for updates!

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