‘My toes will be broken when it’s all over’ – McGahern

Funnyman Kevin McGahern has praised the people of Cavan for their support in helping him progress to the quarter-final of RTE’s Dancing With The Stars.

“The support I’ve gotten from people is unbelievable. People have been calling to the house at home in Gowna, wishing us well. It’s been great. Loads of people from all over Cavan have been in touch - from Arva, Mullahoran, Cavan Town and more. It’s the most popular show I’ve been on by a long shot. It’s getting more viewers than the Late Late Show. It’s a new experience for me, to be getting that support has been unbelievable,” he told The Anglo-Celt this week.

The Gowna native says that being from Cavan is a massive advantage when it comes to garnering support from the public, especially from rural areas.

“Everyone who is left, apart from Panti Bliss, are from Dublin or Derry, which are big places. If you’re from one of these places and you’re in a competition, it doesn’t really benefit you. When Cavan people are in something, they all want to see each other do well. I don’t know what my votes are like, but I’ve a funny feeling that I’m getting great support from here.”

Kevin will make a few high-profile appearances over the coming weeks, as he hopes to consolidate his place in the standings.

“The standard is so high, anyone could run away with it. I’m down for St Patrick’s Day, I’m doing the Grand Marshal the St Patrick’s Day parades in Cavan and I will be in Arva. My toes will be broken when it’s all over.”

In his most recent appearance on the show, which saw contestants dance to the RTE Concert Orchestra, Kevin along with his partner Laura Nolan were first to appear as they danced the Foxtrot to Elton John’s Rocket Man.

While they received a high score of 24 out of 30 for their routine Kevin said that being the first to dance in the show was both a blessing and a curse.

“It’s good get up first and get it over with so you can relax but, if you don’t get the scores you were hoping for, you spend the whole evening thinking about what the other people’s scores are. Because you don’t want to be in the dance off. The judges are more warmed up, they tend to give lower scores at the start of the night.”

The judges praised Kevin’s performance last Sunday evening of the foxtrot, with Loraine Barry saying: “The footwork was excellent!” Brian Redmond praised the emotion of the dance saying: “The thing I love about foxtrot is sentiment and I think you both captured that sentiment - well done.”

Arthur Gourounlian was equally complimentary and praised Kevin’s progression as a dancer: “You have blossomed to this beautiful gentle dancer and you deliver week after week for me. The way you swayed across the dance floor was magical.”

Kevin said that performing to a live performance of the RTE Concert Orchestra was a “magical” experience.

“The live Orchestra was gorgeous. The RTÉ Concert Orchestra need to be appreciated more. Having them behind you, gave me a big lift. They’re powerful, you can feel it in your bones, I wish we could do it every week. It’s magical.”

With the competition stepping up, Kevin says the pressure is mounting, leading to long days of intense training. However, he is determined to put is best foot forward and stay in the competition as long as possible.

“They’re constantly sewing in my trousers, weight is dropping off me week by week. Next week is a team dance, we’re split into two separate teams, so we have learn a group dance on top of our individual dances. It will be interesting, it means more training. I’m training from 9am to 6pm,” he revealed.

“I’m determined to stay in and go as far as I can go.”