Irish dancers follow in Flatley's footsteps

IRISH eyes are smiling as dancers from all over the world put their best foot forward as they compete in a major event in Scotland.

Thousands of competitors are taking part in the 40th World Irish Dancing Championships, in Glasgow. The city has proved to be a popular venue for the championships and is hosting the competition for the third time.

Glasgow was the location in 1975 when an unknown 17-year-old called Michael Flatley from Chicago made his incredible first impression on the world stage in 1975.

This year 4,500 dancers are taking part in the annual championships after travelling from 32 countries.

The eight-day competition, which concludes on Sunday, will feature prizes for events ranging from stepdancing to ceilidh.

Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, which funded and supported the event, said that with 15,000 family members, friends, teachers and supporters also due to attend, the competition would be worth an estimated 7 million to the local economy.