Former world champion dancers Alliyah O’Hare and Callum O’Neill told David Hennessy about the new Irish dancing show Éireann by A Taste of Ireland which is coming to The West End and Ireland.
The creators of the internationally touring Irish dancing show A Taste of Ireland are coming to London with the bold new reimagining — Éireann by A Taste of Ireland — making its UK premiere this summer with a strictly limited run at the Peacock Theatre from 28–31 August 2025. The London dates follow the Australian company’s Irish launch with dates in Galway and Tralee.
The show is created and directed by Brent Pace (A Taste of Ireland – Off Broadway, Assoc. Producer This is Not A Happy Room – Off West End) with co-direction from Ceili Moore (World Champion, Riverdance, Lord of the Dance), and musical direction by Charlie Galloway (Talisk).
The cast includes 16 world-class dancers and four gifted musicians — including alumni of Riverdance and Lord of the Dance, as well as multiple Irish dancing world champions.
Among the dancers are Alliyah O’Hare, a nine times World Champion from Birmingham and Callum O’Neill, a World Champion also from Birmingham.
Alliyah, 22, is from Dorridge with family in Wicklow and Galway and from the Scanlon School of Irish Dancing.
Callum, 23, is from Sutton Coldfield with family in Tallaght, Dublin and trained at the Carey Academy set up by John Carey who starred in Riverdance and Lord of the Dance.
The cast also includes Callum McAleer, also from the Scanlon Schoold of Irish Dancing in Birmingham.
We spoke to Alliyah and Callum about the new show prior to their shows in Tralee and Galway ahead of their London bow.
How are rehearsals going?
Alliyah: “It’s definitely hard work.
“We’re doing something that’s never been done in the Irish dancing world so the hard work should pay off.”
Callum: “It’s always good to learn something new and the thing that we’re actually going to put through to the audience, I think, is really good just because it’s such a mix of what you would see in theatre and Irish dancing which hasn’t been done before.”
Sounds like the show is something very fresh and exciting, is it injecting new life into the whole genre?
Callum: “100%, yeah.”
Alliyah: “It’s definitely injecting new life into Irish dance and the Irish dancing world.
“There’s loads of Irish dancing shows but no one’s done anything like this before.
“It’s exciting and we’re both very lucky to be a part of it.”
Callum: “It’s definitely more theatrical and more of a production.
“It’s still full of Irish dance and music but it’s very different to what you would know already based off any other dancing show.
“It’s really taken it to this whole new level.”
You danced with different schools but both come from success in competition dancing..
Alliyah: “There’s nothing better than the Irish dancing world and the Irish dancing competitions.
“We danced for different schools but both of us being from Birmingham, we’re definitely a great region so we knew how to party together.”
Callum: “There was always the element of friendship, especially with the culture in Birmingham.
“Everyone was friends.
“Everyone was in the same bubble so it didn’t really matter who was competing against who on the day because there was always just such a big buzz around the friendship within the schools.”
Alliyah: “And it’s the same with the tour.
“You’re touring around the world with some of your best friends, you live with them constantly so they’re almost like family now.
“And the show is just great.
“We just can’t wait for everyone to get on the road now and for everyone to see it.”
You’re both from renowned dancing schools..
Callum: “I think, especially in Birmingham and probably even the world, the Scanlon and Carey were two of the top tier schools that you could have ever gone to and it was great.”
Alliyah: “And I think it shows in the show.
“The level of dancing and dancing capability is immense, the standard and the cast are world class, and the musicians, every single person on this tour is world class.”
Director Ceili Moore told us recently that she doesn’t have to put pressure on the dancers because the dancers are so elite and have such high standards..
Alliyah: “It is a really healthy environment.
“There’s definitely a great mix of hard work and having the craic in the show.
“I think everyone knows how high their own capability is and so do Ceili and Brent so they know how hard to push us but we also know how hard we have to push ourselves and that’s at the same level so it works well. We push ourselves to the limit and they also push us to our own limit.”
Callum: “And we’ve all worked with each other for years now.
“Some of us have been in the company for three years or even more so everyone has that understanding around each other of how everyone works.
“We love a laugh and a joke. It’s being able to have the craic but then we know the fine line when it’s, ‘Okay, right, this is where we really need to knuckle down’.
“I think that’s what actually makes it work so well is the fact that we we can have the laugh and the joke.”
Alliyah: “And there’s a lot of elements of the show that is meant to be fun and the craic so it works well that we’re all big personalities and we can bring that to the stage.
“We can involve the audience in the craic that we have and everyone that has come to watch us in the past can also see how close and how much fun we have on stage which I think is such a big part of this show.”
Do you play different characters at different parts or what?
Callum: “Yes so every number is a different part of Ireland’s history.
“The whole show is based around the story of Ireland so it’s set right from the beginning of the culture with all the Irish folklore of Na Fianna.
“Then it goes on through more of the historical moments such as like the Viking Invasion, the famine, the Easter Rising.
“And then it takes us right up to present day Ireland and each number, there’s so many different characters portrayed.
“There’s so many different elements of dancing.
“It’s not just Irish dancing in the show, there’s a bit of modern, there’s a bit of contemporary, it’s like a real big fusion of everything.”
Alliyah: “There’s so many different aspects to it.
“There’s definitely a lot of different characters and a lot of acting that goes into it.”
You must be looking forward to bringing the show to London..
Alliyah: “To dance at the West End is, I think, every dancer or performer’s dream so the fact that we’re able to do it is so crazy, we’re so lucky.”
Before that of course you take it to Galway and Tralee..
Alliyah: “It’s the first time A Taste of Ireland has ever been to Ireland so it will definitely be special, especially as we’re taking it through their history.
“I think it will definitely touch a good few people in the audience.”
Callum: “And there’s obviously going to be so many dancers in the audience as well.
“When we’re in America and Australia and stuff, it will only be the odd show where there might be dancers in whereas in Ireland, where obviously it all started, it’s going to be such a buzz. It’s going to be such a good crowd already, we can tell.”
When did you both start dancing?
Callum: “I started when I was seven which nowadays is pretty late.
“But you start for fun at first.
“I got dragged along to the class.
“My sister and my cousins all done it and I think mum just wanted me out of her hair to be honest.
“But then you get into the classes and you just fall in love with it straight away.
“And then obviously me and Alliyah were both very lucky to climb through the competitive ranks and do quite well in competition and then as you get older, you realise that you can actually turn this into a career and you can keep going.
“Ever since then, I’ve never looked back.
“It’s like one of the best jobs in the world to have, 100%.”
Alliyah: “Yeah, I started when I was five and I was always with the Scanlon School.
“The whole of my dad’s side is completely Irish so my nan and my grandpa, actually similar to Callum, forced me in because the boys all did Gaelic but they wanted a dancer, so they forced me into it.
“I always danced for fun.
“Even now I would say throughout my whole career, I always danced for fun.
“Obviously, it got a lot more intense as you got older but it was still always the fun element and just the dancing itself that I always loved.”
Callum: “I think Irish dancing has evolved so much, even with competitions and the shows.
“The whole standard as well.
“I’d say it’s definitely similar to the Olympics.
“The standard it’s reaching nowadays is crazy.
“It just seems to keep rising.”
Alliyah: “To win a world title would be the same as winning an Olympic gold medal.
“The amount of work, I have other athletes in the family and it’s similar, if not more amount of work and pressure and it’s all the same aspects that go into it all.”
Ceili Moore said, ‘You have to be as pretty as a ballerina but also as fit as a footballer or an Olympian’ which is true, isn’t it?
Alliyah: “Yeah, you have to think about your face and your feet and your arms and your posture.
“You’ve got to be so super powerful but then also land light on your feet.
“You’ve gotta be strong but you’ve also got to look nice.”
Callum: “I think it’s definitely evolved since Riverdance.
“Now there’s so many other Irish dancing shows that are coming up, especially A Taste of Ireland.
“The show has evolved so much even within the three years that I’ve worked in the company.
“I’ve seen such a huge growth in the show and even the cast.
“Every year the cast gets stronger and stronger.
“The calibre of dancing on the stage is definitely one of the best going around and the dancing that we do is so hard. We don’t stop. It really is the best of the best.”
Alliyah: “You have to be an immense dancer to even be able to do the steps in the show, let alone the performance side of it.
“I think it’s definitely an insane show to come and see whether you know dancing or not.”
Have you had strong reactions from the diaspora when you have gone to places like America and Australia?
Callum: “Anywhere in the world, everyone has that little bit of Irish in them.
“The old show was something different to your typical Irish dancing show, it always has such good reactions from the crowds.”
Alliyah: “It’s always the standard ovation.”
Callum: “Yeah, there’s so many chances for the audience to actually get involved into the show, really breaks the fourth wall and I think it is just something really different that Irish dancing has never done before.”
Éireann by A Taste of Ireland is at Peacock Theatre, London Thursday 28 August- Sunday 31 August.
For more information and to book, click here.
For booking for London dates, click here.
