Dancing Derry Feis sisters raising money for young girl's brain stem treatment

A very special young woman will be the guest of honour for the inaugural Irish dancing Veterans’ Charity Champion competition at Derry Feis this Easter.

Miss Rubie McKeown (12) and her “amazing” mammy, Tanya, will be in the city’s iconic St Columb’s Hall on Thursday, April 24, cheering on dancing Derry sisters, Rachael Kavanagh and Shauna Doherty.

Shauna, the Irish dancing co-ordinator of Feis Dhoire Cholmcille, explained: “I am delighted that Rubie and Tanya are coming from Belfast for our first ever Veterans’ Charity Champion competition.

“The thinking behind the competition is that we are inviting adult dancers, with absolutely no Irish dancing experience necessary, to take part in a sponsored dance and raise money independently for a charity of their choosing.

“I am going to practice what I am preaching,” smiled Shauna. “I will be dancing with my wee sister, Rachael. We will be doing the two-hand dance we won the Feis’ Centenary competition with in 2023. 

“I must stress, Rachael and I will not be taking part in the actual Veterans’ Charity Champion competition; ours will be an exhibition dance purely to open the competition but, like all of the other dances, we will be sponsored.

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“All of the money Rachael and I raise will be going towards the “Get Rubie to Mexico to get brain stem treatment” online fundraiser. 

“Back a million years ago when I was an Irish dancer, Tanya was our World Champion. She is the most beautiful dancer that you have ever seen. She is amazing and she has a wonderful family. We stayed in touch over the years and,  particularly through the power of social media, I have had the opportunity to be as amazed watching her going through life now as I was 20 years ago,” said Shauna.

Shauna described her friend as “a champion then and a champion now”.

She added: “I have watched her wee daughter, Rubie, over the past 12 years going through some really, really, really hard times.

“At the moment Tanya feels like there is an opportunity for her to explore medical treatment for Rubie in Mexico, which is not available in Britain. Rubie is eligible for the treatment and I want to help Rubie and Tanya if I can. 

“I think Irish dancing gets a bad rap. People are very very quick to jump the gun and talk about the glitter and the glue rather than the camaraderie and the lifelong friendships that exist within Irish dancing, not to mention the fact feiseanna up and down Ireland and elsewhere are raising hundreds of thousands of pounds annually for charities. 

“So, for a lot of different reasons but mainly because wee Rubie is all the motivation I need to get on stage and show myself up like the rest of them, I will be opening the Veterans’ Charity Champion competition, with our Rachael,” said Shauna. 

According to Shauna, Rubie was only given six hours to live when she was born; she has no control over her limbs or speech and is wheelchair bound. 

“The £10,000 cost of the treatment is way beyond the means of Rubie and her family, and I want to do everything in my power to help,” she added.

Speaking to The Derry News, Tanya thanked everyone who had already donated to the fundraiser as “every little helps”. 

The GoFundMe page “Get Rubie to Mexico to get brain stem treatment” raised almost £1,500 towards its £10,000 target in just two weeks. 

The brain stem treatment they are hoping Rubie will receive is not yet available in Britain but the family will also be asking for a possible future trial. 

“We have never been given any payout for Rubie’s disability. We always have to fight for anything she has ever had or needs; we will do anything to ensure she has this brain stem treatment,” said Tanya.

“Rubie was starved of oxygen at birth due to meconium aspiration - when a newborn breathes a mixture of meconium and amniotic fluid into the lungs around the time of delivery. Her diagnosis is Grade 3 Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE).”

According to Tanya, the treatment in Mexico could help Rubie to have control over her movements and limbs. It might also make the noises she makes different and more meaningful. 

“Rubie might have more forms of interaction,” said Tanya. “Anything will be an improvement. 

“We will do anything to help our girl be more comfortable and yes, if it doesn’t work, we can always say at least we tried,” said Tanya.

“We actually do have some fantastic entries for the  Veterans’ Charity Champion competition,” hinted Shauna, “but, it is all top secret at the minute. 

“We have some fantastic and famous faces taking part for a range of different charities in Derry, from men’s addiction recovery services to the Bud Club. Some brilliant things are happening. 

“This is going to be the competition to watch.”

Donations can be made to “Get Rubie to Mexico to get brain stem treatment” at the following link: https://gofund.me/b2061aaa.