By Sean Moriarty

It was a proud moment for a Park Road family to see one of their dancers reach fourth at the World Dance championships.

Scott Hegarty O’Meara finished fourth in the CLRG World Championships in Belfast just before Easter.

A member of the Hegarty Irish Dance Academy on Park Road, he has already qualified for An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG) World Championships in Montreal, Canada, next year.

He was the top Irish competitor in his age group in Belfast and brought home a coveted World Globe to Park Road.

The result means he will now go to Canada next year with the aim of finishing higher up in the rankings. First he hopes to get to the Irish Nationals being held in Dublin in June.

The Hegarty Irish Dance Academy is run by his mother Lisa Hegarty and aunt Maureen Hegarty-Vogels.

“This is a personal best for Scott,” his aunt and teacher Maureen told the Killarney Advertiser.

“He had a goal in mind, but you never know on the day what can happen. We are all thrilled that he has brought a World Globe home to Kerry and to the dancing class, but nobody is prouder than his nana, Nancy Hegarty. She has been his constant support since day one, attending all his competitions as he was growing up. In recent times, she gets too nervous, so just waits at home to hear the results and rundown of the day. This year was great, we had a new addition to the championships, Feis TV, so family and friends were able to tune in online and watch the championships live. The excitement in Park Road when the results were called out on Feis TV was unreal.”

Scott will spend the summer as part of the cast of Celtic Steps The Show.