World Irish Dancing champion hails late Athlone grandmother

A World Irish Dancing Champion has credited her late Athlone-born grandmother as the inspiration for her recent dancing success.

Nancy Timon, the granddaughter of Athlonian Margaret Timon, who passed away earlier this year, has been hugely successful in the world of Irish dance this year, culminating in her World Irish Dancing Championships victory in April.

The 21-year-old said her grandmother, who was originally from Dernasee in Bealnamulla, encouraged her to pursue Irish dancing when she was just five years old. Her father Michael used to sit Nancy on Margaret's lap and she would then put some Irish music on.

“Apparently, I just tapped my feet to the beat every time she put Irish music on and she said to my Mom that I had to get into Irish dance.”

Margaret even took Nancy to her first dance class, she said.

For the first five years Nancy did Ceilí dancing and became the youngest winner of the Great Britain Championships for Ceilí dancing.

Nancy said that she started dancing solo when she was eleven and won her first premium a year later. “In the first few years I wasn't qualifying for the Worlds and I was ready to give up but nanny (Margaret) kept pushing me to keep going."

Nancy added initially she was only coming in 50th place in the World Championships but then “suddenly I started putting everything into it so I was practicing everyday and I started making my way up to tenth.”

A week after Margaret passed away, Nancy placed second in a competition which made her realise that she could win the World Championships if she kept pushing.

Nancy's mother, Jayne, said that she recently visited Athlone with her in-laws to scatter the ashes of her late mother in-law and that lots of Nancy's cousins were waiting to see her to congratulate her on her world championship win earlier this year in Montreal.

“She knew her Nan was with her on the stage and she totally smashed it.”

Speaking about her incredible work ethic, Nancy stated: “I was doing about six lessons a week before the lead up to the Worlds, about three hours every day practicing and when I got to the Worlds I was ready.” She said that “everything went well” on the first day of the World Championships last April but that on the second day she slipped in the first round.

“I was really worried then that that would be it, that I wouldn't be able to push because where there's such a big competition if anything goes wrong you get a zero across the board.”

Despite Nancy's concerns she won the World Championships and said that it was “the best feeling in the world.”

“I still can't believe it to this day. It doesn't feel real, it doesn't feel like it actually happened.”

“After Nanny died, that was what gave me the push to try everything. I had to put everything I had into it to win it for Nanny so I think that she's be very proud,” said Nancy. Following Margaret's passing, Nancy got a new sash to add to her dress in her grandmother's honour so that Margaret is on stage with her every time she dances on stage.

Nancy added: “We came over for my Nan's birthday and we went to the church in Athlone and the castle and we scattered some of my Nan's ashes in the Shannon River.”

Nancy said that most of her family still live in Athlone and that she visits Ireland about four times a year.

Margaret Timon (née Hughes) moved to London, England in the 1960s with Athlone man Patrick Timon. They were married for 20 years before Patrick passed away. Margaret, who worked as a childminder, married William Bishop ten years later. She had twelve children and about 93 grandchildren in total.

Nancy has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from MidKent College in Kent, England and is planning to join the family's engineering business in the near future.

She has also danced in Michael Flatley's high-energy Lord of the Dance show in Taiwan which she said was an “incredible” experience. Nancy added that she had to rehearse for twelve hours a day before doing the show in the evening.

The talented young dancer admires Mr Flatley along with her dance teacher Deborah Whelan, who was a world champion dancer. “When they give you advice you know that they're giving it to you because they want you to do well.”

Nancy is also an aspiring Irish dance teacher and has completed six out of twelve teaching exams already.