Two Irish dancing organizations are being called to change their policies allowing transgender-identifying athletes to compete in the girls’ category after a biological boy has won several competitions.
In a letter to the Irish Dance Teachers’ Association of North America and the An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha, which are described as being “two major governing bodies for Irish dancing,” the Concerned Women for America (CWA) called for them “to remedy their participation policies,” Fox News reported.
Maggie McKneely, who serves as the Director of Government Relations for CWA, explained to the outlet that a “boy won in the girls’ category for the very first time back in 2023,” adding that he had “been Irish-dancing for a long time and had gone to the World Championships as a boy” before “identifying as a girl.”
After “competing in the girls’ division” in 2023, the transgender-identifying individual “won a regional title for the first time, and he has since gone on to win two more times,” McKneely told the outlet.
Per the outlet, McKneely described a “ripple-effect” that is “caused by the male dancer” competing in girls’ competitions:
Speaking to Fox News Digital, McKneely lamented what she described as a “ripple-effect” caused by the male dancer being allowed to continue competing in the girls’ division.
“Not only did a boy win the girl’s title for his age category, placing the girl who got in second who should have been in first, but that also means that the girl who got in 11th did not qualify for Worlds because the top 10 dancers qualify for worlds. It means the girl who got 26th did not qualify for nationals because the top 25 qualify for nationals,” she said. “You have a boy on top of the podium and all these girls who have dreamed and have set goals for different placements in their age category who were not able to make them because of this one boy disrupting the entire category.”
In an article on the CWA website from December 2025, McKneely wrote that “competitive Irish dance is extremely rigorous and time-consuming.”
“It is difficult enough for a girl to win when she is competing against fellow female dancers,” McKneely added. “It’s nearly impossible when pitted against a biologically advantaged male who can jump higher, move faster, and naturally has more stamina to make it through his rounds.”
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