Up to 10,000 dancing in the streets for record attempt

UP to 10,000 people are expected on the streets of Cork later today in a bid to break an Irish dancing world record.

Dance star Michael Flatley will count down to the attempt just after 2pm on the city’s Grand Parade.

He has taken a break from preparations for his new show, Celtic Tiger, which opens in New York later this month.

It is hoped the crowd, who will also line the South Mall, will dance their way into the Guinness Book of World Records by dancing the Siege of Ennis continuously for five minutes.

The current record is held by 6,971 people who danced in Dublin, Ohio in 1998 as part of an Irish festival.

“It will be unfortunate if a town called Dublin continued to hold the record,” a spokesperson for Cork’s Ceilí Mór said. “We are appealing to anyone with two legs, as long as you are over eight years of age, and irrespective of your state of health or Irish dancing ability, to register.”

Registration, which is crucial to ensure a world record is verifiable, is still possible this morning, she said.

More than 220 people with disabilities have signed up to take part in the event. COPE Foundation’s Pat Nash is coordinating the disability sector’s involvement.

“We have people taking part ranging from 20 to 70 years of age. There is a special disability zone allocated on the day. We hope to do our city proud. Our ethos is to put the person at the centre of things, not the disability,” he said.

Gardaí warned of major traffic diversions in the city centre from early morning. Sign posting will be place, a spokesman said.

Parking in city centre streets will also be limited.

Cork City Council said it plans to increase the frequency of its park-and-ride service from the Black Ash site to a bus every 10 minutes to ease the pressure.

* To register to take part in the Ceilí Mór call 021-427 2022 or go to registration points in the city this morning.