Parental Reminder World Irish Dance Association (WIDA) |
| When I initially received a request to
add a link to this federation from its President Sean
Gavan, I was unsure whether to do so or not. Mr Gavan has a history that can create a very emotive response from the parents of Irish dancers, and my initial reaction was "No Way". However, to his credit he was honest enough to mention his history and asked that I look past that for the good of the federation. The moral dilemna that I then found myself facing was as follows: On the one hand I have always said that Irish dance (and this website) is not exclusively the dominion of An Coimisiun Le Rince Gaelacha, even though our own experiences have been rooted firmly within that organisation. I have actively supported dancers and Teachers from any federation that has contacted me, and have happily added links to their websites, feis details etc. I therefore honestly feel that I should extend that to the dancers and Teachers of WIDA, who are sincere in their efforts to promote Irish dance to the wider audience. On the other hand I have my personal reaction to Mr Gavan, and his past actions, which is driven by the emotions of being a parent. Is it possible to separate my personal feelings towards him from the rights of the organisation, and its growing membership, to exist? If I actively promote WIDA it may be thought that I condone his past in some way. I may be seen as having endorsed them and that may lead parents to join WIDA that may otherwise not have, if they had known of Mr Gavan's history. I eventually concluded that although he is the founder, and current President, of this fledgling federation, he is not the only person involved. There are already around 40 schools with possibly several thousands of dancers, all enjoying Irish Dance. My understanding is that many of the teachers are making sure that they are open and honest about Mr Gavan before people join. That being the case I feel that it is right to allow them to advertise freely as we would with any other organisation. However, as a parent it is our duty to do our utmost to ensure that the choices we make for our children are always be for their benefit and safety. As such I would urge that before joining this, or any other federation, you should do a "Google" search on the people involved to ensure you have the full facts about them before making an informed decision. If you now wish to proceed to their site please click the link below |