of Irish Dance

    In 1917, Edward McNally marched off from his small town of Waterford, Ireland to serve in the British army during World War I.  It was during the war that he was gassed and he would eventually die from the poison; however, he made it home to Ireland and his family and lived several more years before that happened.  During his last years, his wife gave birth to Ellen Mary, affectionately known as Eily.

            Eily began Irish step dancing with her siblings at a young age and excelled at it.  She quickly became a champion dancer, winning many trophies and medals.  Her and her brother were even asked to tour with a musical group; however, times were difficult and their single mother didn't want them far from home.

          Shortly before World War II began, Eily's family moved to Birmingham, England searching for better financial opportunities.  Birmingham was the town of many munitions factories and was unfortunately the site of much bombing during the war.  Eily, even though a young lady, was forever affected by the damp bomb shelters when her lung rotted and collapsed.  She would struggle with her health for the rest of her life.  

          Far across the sea, as World War II began, a young man from Lancaster, Pennsylvania named Howard Rogers II lied about his age and signed up to join the U.S. Army.

        After landing on the third day of D-day he fought his way across Europe, being taken prisoner and wounded twice.  After he was found by the Allies, he was sent to England to recover and was put on light duty until the end of the war.  It was there, at a dance, that he met Ellen Mary McNally.  They fell in love and after the war, he returned to England to bring his war bride home with him.  Eily never saw the British Isles again.

         Several decades later and two generations past, Eily's granddaughters all began to learn the Irish Dancing that she had once loved so much.  Eily never lived to know her granddaughters or to see them compete, but her legacy of love for dance has carried on long after her.

          All three granddaughters, Esther, Rachael, & Anya competed in Irish Dancing for many years.  All of them reached championship level, competing in Regional and National championships.  

          During the sisters' years of Irish dance, they met a family called the Glicks.  They encouraged the Glicks to take Irish dance, convinced that they had natural talent.  Crystal Glick and her sister and brothers began taking dance and quickly excelled at it, several of them competing at Championship level and in Regional & National competitions.    

          Crystal Glick informally founded the Lancaster School of Irish Dance several years ago as a fun class for home school students to attend.  The class continued to grow over the years, with non-home schooled students also attending. Upon deciding to attend a missions school in Russia for several months, Crystal asked Anya to take over the classes. Both women, having a well-founded faith in Christ as their savior, determined that the school would remain a ministry to the students and would also provided opportunities for the students to grow in ministering to others with their gifts. Crystal left for her trip, and God continued to bless and prosper LSID.

          Over the years, the school has grown under the leadership of Anya and now Crystal has passed her teacher's certification and has taken over the school, registering it with An Comisiun with its new name: The Hooley School of Irish Dance. Each teacher has a faith in Christ and has seen God truly bless the school .

We will continue to pray & seek God’s purpose for the school & the students. We welcome any person of any age to attend & participate as they wish.