☘️CIBCA comes of age - and raises money for Irish Dance

CIBCA Committee
Nov 20
2 min read

Dancers at the CIBCA 30th Birthday Party provided an amazing show.

On November 5, CIBCA held its 30th Birthday Party in McCarthys Bar. More than sixty guests gathered to enjoy freshly poured pints, tasty snacks and to listen to fond memories. As they approached McCarthy's, they were greeted (from far-off) by the sound of piper Chip Doehring playing a welcome on the pipes. The evening was officiated by the Ambassador of Ireland to the Czech Republic - His Excellency Alan Gibbons. In addition, the event was graced by the presence of the first Ambassador of Ireland to the Czech Republic - Her Excellency Marie Cross and former Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Ireland - Her Excellency Hana Mottlová. The event was also attended by several past CIBCA Presidents and Committee Members including Paul Dubsky snr., Paul Dubsky jnr., Eoin Hanley and Frank Haughton. Paul Dubsky snr. recounted his memories of the early days of CIBA (as it was known before the second "C" was introduced), and Eoin Hanley provided photographic evidence of how members' appearances have changed over time!

A highlight of the evening was the dance performance choreographed specially for the event by Kristián Fišl, with a troupe including dancers from Coiscéim, Rinceoirí, Simply Dance and TJ Academy of Irish Dance, and the ensuing fundraising raffle in aid of sponsoring hopefuls to complete in the World Irish Dance finals in Chicago in 2026. The raffle raised an impressive 23.000,-Kč, thanks to the generosity of those present, and those who kindly donated prizes (CIBCA, the Embassy of Ireland, Realtime Technologies, Marta Širůčková and McCarthy’s)