WHETHER or not there’s a glitterball, wall-to-wall mirrors and a dance mat in Killarney Garda Station is unclear but it gives a whole new meaning entirely to the beat on the street.
A local garda has become the third member of the force in the town to win a Strictly Come Dancing competition in the past four years.
Emmet Flanagan and the stylish Ciara O’Donoghue were crowned Killarney Strictly champions last night when they wowed a packed INEC with a sensational dance routine.
They had the adjudicators singing their praises and the Strictly trophies were soon in their grasp.
Dashing Emmet, a Clare man, is a probationer at Killarney Garda Station while bubbly Ciara, from Listry, works in Fexco in Killorglin.
She was the youngest competitor in the event but she and Emmet had all the right moves and they had very vocal support in the crowd of close on 1,800 people.
Amazingly, Emmet is the third local garda to triumph in Strictly following the success of Garda Mike Milner, who partnered Kelly-Ann McSweeney to victory in the Dr Crokes Strictly in 2015, and Garda Aoife Dolan-Twomey who danced with Liam Colleran to win the Killarney Strictly in 2016.
Killarney Garda Superintendent, Flor Murphy, told KillarneyToday.com: “It’s great to see a new garda in town involved with the community for such a great cause and well done to Emmet and Ciara”.
All proceeds from the big event will go to the Killarney and South Kerry branch of the Irish Cancer Society and it has again raised tens of thousands of euro for the cause.
The public vote winners on the night were Mags O’Mahony and Mike Delaney, both from Kenmare, but the judges had other ideas.
Dance school tutor Cassie Leen had choreographed last night’s show and put the dancers through their paces in the weeks leading up to the big event and the judges for the glamorous dance-off were Glenflesk singer, musician and thespian Derry Healy, Tops of the Town star Kate O’Leary of The Laurels, traditional Irish dance teacher Ann Mangan and another Strictly veteran Batty O’Sullivan.
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