A whole new ballgame: Anna Geary on Dancing with the Stars
As Anna Geary takes time out from Dancing with the Stars for our S/S shoot, she talks camogie triumphs and rumba rehearsals with .
We may be more accustomed to seeing her do battle on the GAA pitch than posing for the cameras, but as she goes through the wardrobe of clothing for our photoshoot, Anna Geary is keen to try on everything and is completely in her comfort zone.
Trying on a sparkling skirt teamed with a t-shirt, and a stunning red dress which enhances her natural glow, Anna is enthusiastically going through the Littlewoods’ new spring/summer ‘V by Very’ range and is, according to stylist Irene O’Brien, very much into her fashion.
She’s also up for trying anything when it comes to a look, adds the stylist.
This is a good thing, as there have been a lot of fancy frocks, style and sparkle in her life lately. From the initial inquiry about her interest in participating in RTÉ’s Dancing With the Stars, Anna was ready to rumba. Dancing has always been a part of her life, she says.
“Well you know what, there’s a dancer in everybody. It just depends on the level of alcohol that you need to bring her out,” she jokes.
“But I love dancing. And all of my friends, if there was any local Strictly, would say: ‘You should do that.’ Any night for me isn’t a night out unless you end up dancing. And if there isn’t a dance floor, throw a handbag down and go away and make your own.
“I would love going out with the girls and having a little bit of a dance-off on the dance floor. When I was asked to do it, to learn a skill… I genuinely think that my generation, we sit there and we wait for the DJ to come on, because we can’t waltz, or jive, or quickstep, and our parents are doing circles around us.
“I’m not big into reality TV in general but this is different because you’re learning a skill. After this, no matter what happens, I can kind of tango, kind of waltz.”
Since retiring from inter-county camogie a couple of years ago, the three-time All-Ireland winner and Milford club player has relished new challenges. Having a goal is in her DNA, she agrees — but stresses that there are many forms of challenge in life beyond the playing pitch.
“One of the things for me when I retired from Cork, people would ask: ‘Do you miss that winning feeling?’ But you can replicate that in different ways of success. It’s the challenge.
“Every year I loved playing with Cork because I knew when I was lining out, that every time I played in a Cork jersey, the girl marking me was going to challenge me. Or coming back from injury was going to, or try to, keep my place in the team.
“When you step back from that, you lose the opportunity to challenge yourself. We all love a comfort zone, I’m as good as anybody. We all like the routine, the familiar.”
While she has always stayed fit and had a busy time training as a performance coach and taking on other TV work such as Ireland’s Fittest Family and presenting slots on The Six O’Clock Show, she felt DWTS was the step-up she needed at the right time.
“This has made me walk my own talk in a way. I’m challenging myself by dancing. There’s over a million people watching me every Sunday evening, you’re out of your comfort zone, you’re really vulnerable.
“If you make a mistake, the real you will come out, so why try to hide it? I think that in itself takes me out of my comfort zone. People are probably used to seeing me as this strong, confident, talkative individual, and they’re not used to seeing me get a little bit emotional.
“My dance partner says: ‘I know you’re an extrovert but you’re very sensitive underneath it all.’ And I say: ‘I know don’t tell anybody. It’ll ruin my rep man!’”
As a child in Cork, Anna always had a hurley in her hand. She says she got her competitive streak from her dad, and it was honed by playing with him and her brothers in the garden of their family home.
“I can remember growing up, anything from the age of four, when I could hold a hurley in my hand, we’d play a game, my brothers myself and my dad, called hit the drainpipe. Obviously my mother wasn’t too impressed,” she smiles.
“My dad wouldn’t be like: ‘These are my kids so I’m going to let them win.’ He’d be more: ‘If you want to beat me you have to win and be more accurate.’ Whether it’s a game of cards or crazy golf, my dad would want to win, and I’ve I suppose adopted that from him. It’s a perseverance, that you keep going.”
That workmanlike quality was developed through distance running. “I liked sprinting, but they used to make me do long-distance running to get fit for camogie. And I developed that resilience, that perseverance, to keep going. Camogie has done it for me in bucketloads.
“I played camogie for 25 years, I’ve won All-Irelands, but I’ve also had really bad days, and underperformed on big stages, lost All-Irelands, made loads of mistakes. Arguably they’re the things that have made me better than the times that I’ve won. Sport teaches you that you can make mistakes and it’s not seen as weakness. Rob (Heffernan) and I would often talk about that.
“Of course you’re going to be disappointed if you don’t do well, that applies to any person, but I think it’s about using that then to keep going, that’s a big thing that sports people would have.”
But she adds that it’s not just athletic people who are competitive — and says that all of the contestants in this year’s DWTS have been successful in their fields.
“They all have competitive instincts, they’re just not showing it by hopping off somebody on a pitch. Sports people get a hard rep sometimes but everyone brings a competitiveness. Everyone has a fighting spirit, but hand on heart, there’s been a great camaraderie in our group. You’re in competition with yourself, really, and that means it’s easier for us all to get along. And we all know what the other is feeling. There is a real support there.”
Off stage, Anna shares a home with her boyfriend, hurler Kevin Sexton. The Dubliner plays for Oliver Plunketts and also works for the GAA in the ticketing department. She says he’s been a great support while she’s put in the many hours a day of rehearsals that a show as big as DWTS demands.
“I wouldn’t be going to massage his ego now, but he is very good. We live together. I’m very lucky that we have a house in Dublin.
“It’s the small things. I’m a very organised person by nature. Monica in Friends springs to mind. I like things in certain places. I know what I’m doing Tuesday fortnight.
“And because the dancing has literally catapulted me into a different mindset, it’s in your brain all the time. You can turn it down, but you can’t switch it off. And he’s had to pick up the slack for me, keep the house tidy.
“The costumes don’t really leave much to the imagination so I have to think about what I put in my mouth. He’s helping me out as much as he can. When you have someone who’s supporting you, and tolerating your ‘little bit more’ mood swings, it’s really comforting. We can laugh about stuff then as well. ‘Sorry I lost the plot because you didn’t buy teabags!’” she laughs.
Geary is a vibrant personality, and the camera loves her. She’s made an easy transition to the world of media. “I was very lucky when I was playing camogie for Cork, I would have got the opportunity to do a little bit of TV stuff.
“Nothing is going to replace the feeling of running around Croke Park on All-Ireland Final day, that buzz, but I get a similar rush when somebody says: ‘Ok we’re going live in 30 seconds.’ In a match, there are no second chances, you have to be on top of your game, and it’s kind of the same with television.”
A league of their own
Jackie Tyrrell and Anna Geary made their names in the sports world with their stylish play on the GAA field. Now they’re showing their style off the field, modelling the latest V By Very collection for Littlewoods Ireland.
Taking inspiration from the latest catwalks, these S/S looks celebrate this season’s biggest trends including pops of bright colour, statement sleeves, ruffles, prints, high shine and sharp tailoring.
V by Very Oversized Double Tassel Square Top Earring €20: V by Very Volume Sleeve Bardot Pencil Dress With Bow Cuffs €95V by Very Sylvia Asymmetric Heeled Shoe - Rose Gold €38.
Anna wears V by Very Oversized Statement Tassel Earrings – Pink €15; V by Very California Dreaming Slogan Tee €20; V by Very Pleated Sequin Skirt €70; V by Very Destiny Suede Peep Toe Ankle Boot – Blush €75.
Jackie wears V by Very Ss Poplin Shirt €25; V by Very Slim Chino Short €34, V by Very Shoulder Tech Panel Sweat €38.
