The ‘Johnny-come-lately’ who became a stalwart of Feis Doire Colmcille

However, by his own admission his first foray into the competitive aspect of the feis was an inauspicious one.

“The first time I was supposed to be a competitor, I say supposed to be, was when I was in a school choir at Rosemount Boys’ Primary School under Freddie Campbell. I had no confidence, which might surprise people, and I chickened out of even going into a choir.

“But, when it came to dancing, I was never actually a dancer. I’d never danced, I went to ceilis and things like that. I worked with Donald O’Doherty, who now has passed away and who was the husband of the late Mary McLaughlin. Donald said to me one day when I was about 16, ‘Johnny, Mary wants you call down to the dancing class, she wants to see you’. I thought I was a great dancer at the ceilis and of course I went down to see what this was about. She needed a dancer for a 12-hand-team and I had to stand in the senior class and learn my 1-2-3s and my sevens. Talk about an embarrassment,” Johnny laughed.

After this baptism of fire into the world of Irish dancing, Johnny found himself quickly becoming a dedicated part of the McLaughlin School of Irish Dancing and all that that entailed.

He continued: “Dancing in that 12-hand team, I was a nervous wreck and I mean I was a total and utter nervous wreck. That was that, then the 12-hand developed into the eight-hand team, and the eight-hand went into the four-hand teams. This particular eight-hand team had won the Ulster Championship four years in a row and here was I coming in as ‘Johnny-come-lately’ to fill in and defend in Derry, the Ulster Championship which was being held in the Lourdes Hall. It was a lot of pressure, but we won. Then the four-hand was also successful. That year, Barry Doherty and I had won the All Ireland and we went from that All Ireland right through to the following All Ireland and we were only beaten once. And when we were beaten it was by one of our own McLaughlin four hands containing Con McLaughlin and Seamus Quigley at the next Ulster championships. But, we went back to the All Ireland the next year and retained it. Even through all that, I still didn’t have any great confidence.”

With a string of Derry, Ulster and All Ireland titles under his belt Johnny’s late entry into the dancing world was indeed very fruitful. Moreover, his involvement cultivated a love of taking part that would lead to many more years of becoming part of the stage management at Feis Doire Colmcille.

“My involvement in the organisation end came about from two good friends of mine; the late Patricia Sharkey (Noble) and David Noble who were involved in the feis. Eithne McCloskey was looking for someone to do the stage at the verse speaking, it wasn’t even the dancing end of it. I remember an incident which took me back to my own lack of confidence. It was a wain who was standing timorously at the side of the stage in the Little Theatre in St Columb’s Hall. I remember saying to him, if I give you 10p will you do it?

“I ended up sitting out on the stage with my back to the people and the 10p held up, but the wain did it. That was the thing I saw the most even when I became involved in the dancing end of it. I was still encouraging the wain that wasn’t winning and it all reflected back to my own experience. I would have joked with them back stage and kept it light-hearted and that was my reason to be there, to encourage others.

“Before I became involved I remember going into watch Derry Feis in the evening sessions and I have this memory of this woman sitting on stage all in black.

“She was so regal looking. I couldn’t figure out who she was. I discovered afterwards it was the late Mrs Edward Henry (Rose) O’Doherty, the woman that was actually responsible for the feis. She had been left a very young widow with the responsibility of a family but she still had time to care for others in the area because they didn’t have a platform. So, out of her dream she touched on everybody else’s dream if you look at it that way.

“The other things about the feis are the friendships that we have all made and that have lasted a lifetime, and the people that we have lost since then. If you look at the McLaughlin family alone – their house was like a cottage industry with the making of feis dresses and the embroidery to get everything done for Derry Feis.”

Derry’s former dancers would unanimously agree that while world championships, Ulster and All Irelands without doubt hold massive prestige, for them Easter week in their own city was the fulcrum of their year. Johnny McCallion does not deviate from that belief.

“There’s no question about it, it was the big one. I look at Derry Feis and I was delighted that I was so involved in presenting the Bridie McLaughlin Cup to the feis committee. That cup came out of tragedy. It was the wish of the McLaughlin family that every young person that came through would have the opportunity of dancing for it. There’s an inscription on it which is ‘it’s not the winning that’s important it’s the taking part.’ That epitomises that the feis was open for everybody,” Johnny said.

Friday nights in years gone by at the feis meant one thing for the Irish dancing community – it was senior championship night. In the Guildhall, the atmosphere was one mixed with excitement and trepidation. After a week of qualifying through other competitions senior dancers were thrust straight into the spotlight that came with the blue riband event.

The standard of competition was and is of the highest calibre and the championship itself consisted of three rounds culminating in those who made it through to the final round having to perform their chosen set dance.

However, at Derry Feis there still was a final hurdle to get over in that the three championship adjudicators got to choose one of two set dances for each competitor that they had submitted before the competition began. For many years it was Johnny McCallion’s duty to ask each adjudicator in turn which dance they would like to see.

“I hated the Friday lottery of having to stand and say this competitor chooses between that set dance or another set dance knowing that someone was going to get the set dance they didn’t want. People might not believe that but it really used to do my head in. To me it was unchristian and I was totally against it. I thought it was hateful for the competitors, for the young people who had practised and they knew which set dance they preferred.

“But, the craic in the corridor was great and you had so many people giving of their time. I actually took a week’s holiday’s every year to do it. I remember starting a new job and the first thing I said to them was, by the way I’ll be off Easter week every year. That was it, end of story,” Johnny laughed.

Johnny’s own family also became heavily involved in the feis. His wife Sally was also a dancer and daughters Catherine and Mary followed their father into the McLaughlin School.

Johnny added: “My son Edward entered once and won the boys’ under 10 solo singing and then said he was retiring undefeated. Emmett also sang, but the girls were very much involved. It has gone down through the family. Both my sisters Marion and Nuala danced and my late brother Kevin danced.

“Out of it all, it was the friends that we made and the friends that we’ve lost and the memories that we have that are most the important thing about the feis and no one can take those away. Over the last hundred years the feis has given a lot. I’ll go back to Rose O’Doherty who saw the need for a platform and fought for it, provided it and cemented it. Between Rose and Fr McGettigan they put the foundation there and I hope they like what’s been built on it.”