Ms Carol Carberry:

A whole generation will lose out if they are out of dancing for 12 months. They will never come back and they will have lost great opportunities. Once they are gone, that is it. They have lost their fitness, motivation and confidence. When the world gets back to whatever normality will be and shows open again, such as Lord of the Dance and Riverdance, many of our young adults will get those opportunities to see the world and take our culture worldwide. As well as that, in time, they would like to train as teachers and pass on our culture. In my day, there were none of those shows or opportunities. It is wonderful that Irish culture has now been brought to the world stage but if a whole generation loses out, it is not fair. They are the future. I have had my chances, such as they were in those times, but we need to look after our young people and ensure that they feel that there is something to look for. It is wonderful that they are back in school. I never thought I would hear a child saying that it is great that school is on again, although they were probably sorry after a few weeks. In the dark winter evenings, young people need something that they can look forward to and are involved in, that they get satisfaction from, rather than roaming the streets in groups and getting up to no good.