RTE viewers were all left “crying” as Olympian Jack Woolley dedicated his dance to Olympic hero Kellie Harrington on Dancing With The Stars.
The hit RTE show returned tonight with the highly anticipated Dedication Night, where each dancer paid tribute the people who have inspired them the most.
Nine celebrity contestants hit the dance floor for their fifth performance, hoping to impress both judges and viewers.
Brian Redmond, Arthur Gourounlian, Loraine Barry and new judge Karen Byrne were back to give their professional and tough-talking reviews and scores tonight.
For tonight’s show, Irish Taekwondo Olympian Jack Woolley decided to dedicate his dance to two time Olympic gold medal winner, Kellie Harrington.
Speaking fondly of Kellie on tonight’s show, Jack said: “Kellie is my biggest support and inspiration but most importantly she’s a friend.
“Two weeks after coming home from Tokyo Olympic Games, I was assaulted in Dublin City Centre and had to undergo plastic surgery and ended up getting twenty-seven stitches.
“She was the first person that turned up at my house to make sure I was feeling good and just to make sure I was okay.
“It meant a lot to me because I got to see that caring, loving side of Kellie that not many people get to see in the sporting world.”
In the aftermath of retaining her crown in the women’s 60kg division in Paris, Kellie did a bit of serenading as she led the crowd in a rendition of ‘Grace’ – a song synonymous with The Tones.
As Jack told Kellie he was performing to the much-loved song tonight, the Dubliner responded: “There won’t be a dry eye in the building.”
Jack was then left in tears as he explained: “Personally, this song is really important to me too.
“My Grandad had never actually met any of my partners and the first time he met my partner Dave was when Dave sang this song.
“My Grandad came over afterwards, gave me a hug and just said that he loves me and that he was very accepting of Dave into the family and that just meant so much.”
Jack and his pro partner Alex Vladimirov went on to dance an outstanding American Smooth to the heartwarming song.
And there certainly wasn’t a dry eye in the room after the touching performance, that left all four judges on their feet.
Speaking to Doireann afterwards, Jack got choked up as told how he was feeling “overwhelmed”.
The Dublin native said: “She’s just such an amazing person. Taekwondo is an individual sport and it feels lonely at times but she seen that and she took me under her wing.
“Not many people would do that, especially at her level.”
Jack and Alex were happier than ever as they received their first 10’s of the series and a total score of 38.
RTE viewers raced to social media to share their love for the touching performance.
Carmel said: “Omg this dance was breathtaking, they are just simply amazing.”
Becky wrote: “Not a dry eye here at home.”
Maria gushed: “Wow, so beautiful. I’m still crying.”
Richard commented: “What a beautiful dance, was in floods of proud tears.”
Another added: “Amazing and very emotional.”
Galway boss Micheál Donoghue called for reinforcements in Nowlan Park yesterday—and three key figures stepped up to deliver a vital win over Kilkenny.
Declan McLoughlin rattled the net early in both halves and chipped in with a couple of superb points.
But it was commanding displays from Gavin Lee and Pádraic Mannion that truly laid the foundation for Galway’s much-needed victory.
The Tribesmen were reeling from a heavy defeat to Tipperary in Pearse Stadium last week, but they responded in emphatic fashion.
Speaking after the game, the Galway boss said: “We didn’t plan to make as many changes as we did,”
“But the message was clear—when you get your chance, you have to take it, and the lads that came in today did really well.”
McLoughlin certainly made the most of his opportunity.
He had already made an impact as a substitute against Tipp, and within five minutes yesterday, he had Kilkenny goalkeeper Aidan Tallis picking the ball out of his net.
However, Kilkenny had their own attacking ace in Martin Keoghan, who was in electric form, firing over seven points from play to add to the five he scored against Clare last week.
Cian Kenny also contributed three points, while Conor Whelan was lively but struggled against Kilkenny’s physical defence.
Where Galway truly dominated was in midfield and across the half-back line.
Gavin Lee initially dropped deep to nullify Eoin Cody, and between his defensive effort and some uncharacteristic errors from the Ballyhale sharpshooter, Lee won that battle decisively.
The Connacht man also charged forward to land three points, though even he was outshone by the outstanding Mannion.
Between them, Mannion, Lee, and midfielder Tom Monaghan contributed six first-half points, helping Galway to a 1-11 to 0-10 lead at the break—Kilkenny simply lacked that same scoring threat from deep.
Kilkenny boss Derek Lyng acknowledged his side’s struggles in attack but said it wasn’t just down to the forwards.
He said: “At times, we could have played the ball in quicker, and that can be frustrating for the forwards as well.
“It’s an overall thing—we need to be better.”
Galway’s lead stretched to eight points when McLoughlin pounced on a rebound to slot home his second goal, but Kilkenny were never going to roll over.
Billy Ryan and Shane Walsh made a big impact off the bench, with David Blanchfield and Pádraic Moylan also playing key roles as Kilkenny fought back.
Galway endured an 18-minute scoring drought, and when Cody finally converted one of his goal chances with a fierce drive from 15 metres, the scoreboard read 1-19 to 2-15—suddenly, a classic Kilkenny comeback was on the cards.
However, Galway held their nerve. Darren Morrissey burst forward to win two crucial frees, which Jason Flynn converted, and a soaring point from Whelan sealed the win.
Galway boss Donoghue added: “With youth, you get enthusiasm
“Fair play to them—when we needed lads to be brave, to work the ball, and to come off the shoulder, they did that.”
His call to arms had been answered.
KILKENNY: A Tallis; P Moylan (0-1), M Butler, H Lawlor; M Carey, D Blanchfield, Z Bay
Hammond; P McDonald (0-1), P Deegan; M Keoghan (0-7), C Kenny (0-3), L Connellan; L
Hogan (0-1), E Cody (1-6, 0-6f), G Dunne.
Subs: S Murphy for Bay Hammond (24), B Ryan for Hogan (half-time), B Drennan for
Connellan (46), H Shine for Deegan (52), E Lyng for Moylan (61)
GALWAY: D Fahy; D Morrissey, G Lee (0-3), S Morgan; TJ Brennan, F Burke, P Mannion (0-
2); T Monaghan (0-3), C Fahy (0-1); J Fleming (0-1), T Killeen (0-1), J Cooney (0-1); C
Cooney (0-1f), D McLoughlin (2-2), C Whelan (0-1).
Subs: D Burke for Brennan (52), J Flynn (0-3f) for J Cooney (54), K Cooney for C Cooney
(56), S Linnane for D Burke (61-65, blood), S Linnane for Fleming (66), A Burns for
McLaughlin (69)
Referee: Tomás Walsh (Waterford).
ARE you fed up with having split ends?
A woman has shared how she decided to tackle the issue using an £8 device from Shein, but admitted she was “initially scared.”
On her @tinadestruit account, she wrote: “Seeing if the Shein split end trimmer actually works.
“Not gonna lie; was initially scared. Tested it out on a small section first.”
The beauty lover showed how she had a few slit ends before using the device, and carefully ran it through her hair in small sections.
And she seemed happy with the results.
She wrote: “Not sure if you can see the difference but I can feel the difference.”
The shopper also had some tips for other people who praised the finished look in the comments.
She added: “It’s recommended to straighten the hair first before use!
“Just use it on the bottom of your hair; just a few passes each time!
“Won’t thin out your hair.”
Currently Shein has split end trimmers being sold for £8.31, and they come in a range of colours.
Tina’s video seems to have impressed other beauty fans, as her clip has racked up over 139,000 likes.
One person wrote: “I brought this too!!”
Another added: “Your hair is so long and luscious!”
And a third commented: “Omg ur so gorgeous and ur hair is stunning girl.”
But do the devices work and what do experts say?
Cosmetic chemist Ni’Kita Wilson told TODAY Style: “If the blades are sharp then the cuts will be clean.
“But it has a lot to do with user compliance. If the hair is rugged or pulled then it can result in jagged tips.”
Meanwhile, Matt Fugate, celebrity hairstylist for Kérastase, was more wary.
He said: “The ends may begin clean, but as you are cutting dry hair, the blade will dull instantly and start ‘chewing’ the ends instead of cutting them.”
Shein is an online-only fast-fashion retailer, based out of China, that has become a number one shopping destination for many around the world.
The company was valued at $66billion in 2023, dwarfing that of popular high street brands Zara and H&M.
The fashion retailer was founded in late 2008, by entrepreneur and marketing specialist Xu Yangtian, also known as Chris Xu.
Shein is a legitimate selling website and is not a phishing scam.
But you may receive a disappointing order or run into shipping issues if you order from the site, according to reviews.
There have been swathes of quality complaints, which makes sense when looking at the price tag.