Member's statement: Antrim Coast Dance Academy: World Irish Dance Championships
Member's statement by Mr Danny Donnelly on .
- MLA
- Mr Danny Donnelly
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 18 November 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Antrim Coast Dance Academy: World Irish Dance Championships
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5243915
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I recognise the success of Antrim Coast Dance Academy in Larne at the recent World Irish Dance Championships in Salthill, Galway. The academy brought 27 dancers to the event, and every one of them placed in the top 10 in their category. That alone says a lot about the hard work and commitment of those young people and the support that they receive from their families and teachers. Seven dancers from the academy came home as world title winners. Eva Quinlan became the under-9s intermediate world champion. Bailey Smith won the under-11s primary world title. Lacey Mitchell took the under-11s intermediate title after only one year of dancing, which is an incredible achievement for anyone who is starting out. Grace McKeown became the under-14s intermediate world champion. Grace lives with mild learning disabilities and had struggled to find her place until she discovered dance, which makes her success all the more meaningful. Erin Millar won the under-14s open world title. Melissa Galway became the under-16s open champion, winning her second world title. She also achieved nine GCSE A* grades at St Killian's College, Carnlough, this year. Jodi McCourt won the under-21 ladies' open title and has not been beaten in any competition in the past three years. The academy has been running for 10 years and is led by two dedicated teachers. It has about 30 dancers aged between three and 21. What they have built gives children and young people the space to grow in confidence and talent, and their results in Galway show how far that has taken them. I offer my warmest congratulations to every dancer who was involved and to the teachers and parents who give so much time and care to help them thrive.
289 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.02 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.91 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.09 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:50 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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