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High Kicks and High Stakes: Sky Arts announces new series, The Battle of the Irish Dancers

25/04/2025

Friday 25 April 2025

Hot on the heels of the Irish Dancing World Championships in Dublin this month, Sky is today announcing a brand-new series charting the drama and devotion of Ireland's most loved artform. New Sky Original, The Battle of the Irish Dancers, coming later this year, follows a cast of dedicated dancers and their teachers on the road to the Championships, spotlighting a dance form which requires the strength, endurance and agility of an Olympian.

Airing on Sky Arts, the three-part series celebrates Irish dancing as a life-enhancing art form requiring the skill and discipline of a professional athlete. Follow the dancers as they strive for excellence in the biggest competition of their careers and discover how a small island produced a pastime that became a global phenomenon, making its mark on Australia, America, Asia and Russia and finding its way to Broadway and the West End.

The Battle of the Irish Dancers is produced by Big Mountain Productions. Jane Kelly and Philip McGovern serve as executive producers, Muireann McGinty is the series producer and Edel O'Mahony is the series director. The series was commissioned by Phil Edgar-Jones, Executive Director of Unscripted Originals at Sky for C cile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Sky Studios & Chief Content Officer for Sky. The Commissioning Editor for Sky is Barbara Lee.

The Battle of the Irish Dancers airs later this year on Sky Arts, Freeview and NOW in the UK and Sky Arts and NOW in Ireland

For UK press enquiries, please contact molly.wyatt@sky.uk

For Ireland press enquiries, please contact cara.mcallister@sky.ie

About SkySky connects and entertains millions of people across Europe. At the heart of everything we do, is a belief that people deserve better. For decades, we've shaken up every category we entered to give people what they love, to make life a little easier and to provide great value. That's how we bring millions of customers the joy of a better experience in TV, broadband and mobile.

In TV, we offer the best sports coverage, unmissable TV and the smartest ways to stream and aggregate the TV you love. In broadband, we power homes and businesses, with a fast, reliable connection. In mobile, we bring people closer, with plans at unbeatable value. And now, you can even keep your home connected and protected, through our smart insurance. We design our products to fit seamlessly into your life, with service whenever and however you need it.

That's how we do better for customers. And we believe in better for society too. We power the cultural economy in the UK and beyond, making award-winning news, original sport, and entertainment. We contribute billions to UK GDP, creating and sustaining thousands of jobs and sharing both our journalism and our coverage of the arts, free of charge. We are cutting emissions and making recyclable, energy-efficient products, and we give back, through free internet access and digital skills for under-served communities and young people.

Sky is owned by Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company.

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