Liam Costello: West Pennant Hills Irish dancer touring Australia as part of Eireborne show

A kids birthday party kickstarted this 19-year-old’s love of Irish dancing — now he is the only Australian to be crowned the World Irish Dance Champion and is back home touring the country as part of an innovative show.

West Pennant Hill’s Liam Costello, aged 19, has already made his mark in the world of Irish dance, with his third consecutive crowning as World Irish Dance Champion in Belfast seeing him become the first Australian to achieve such a feat.

Now he is back home, touring the country as part of “Eireborne”, a production bringing Irish dance back to the original concept of live performance with live dancers all set to a live band performing classic hits from Irish bands such as Van Morrison, U2, The Cranberries and Sinead O’Connor.

The Hills Shire Times caught up with Liam Costello when he was on a break from training to talk about his incredible success, Eireborne, and where his love for Irish dancing all began.

Costello grew up in West Pennant Hills and Cherrybrook, attended West Pennant Hills primary school and still lives in the area. When he has a chance to take a break from his rigorous training routine, he helps out at his parent’s bathroom and plumbing supplies business, Thrifty Plumbing Supplies.

It was at a kid’s birthday party at West Pennant Hills where Costello’s love for Irish dancing all began.

West Pennant Hills’ own Liam Costello. Picture: Jim Lee.

“I had a birthday party, when I was like four or five, and my parents saw I was really into dancing there because I was just dancing all throughout the party,” he said.

So his parents signed him up for Jazz dance lessons at Carlingford School of Dance — where Costello still trains.

Costello in action, performing his role in the production of Eireborne. Picture: Jim Lee.

Picture: Jim Lee.

“It was after our first concert, I would’ve been five then, and I remember there was a recording of all the performances,” Costello said.

“I saw the Irish dance section and just fell in love with the precision and execution of movements, it appealed to me so much because of the broad range of styles it encapsulated.”

After watching this performance, the West Pennant Hills boy immediately signed up for Irish dance lessons and joined Carlingford’s Scoil Rince Creer (its Irish dance school).

From here, Costello only went from strength to strength, first travelling overseas in 2013 to compete in the World Irish Dance Championships, where he placed 16th.

Liam Costello has only gone from strength to strength. Picture: Jim Lee.

But after many subsequent attempts, and countless hours of training, Costello finally managed to clinch the title in 2018 and has held onto it ever since, winning his third Irish Dance world championship in April at Belfast.

“Winning the World Championships for the third time was truly amazing,” he said. “It was just the best way to come out of Covid, making the world feel normal again.”

He also has multiple All Ireland, North American, NSW and Australian championships under his belt.

But Costello said his first big success is the one which stands out in his mind — winning his first All Ireland championship back in 2016.

“Basically it felt like I was winning an Olympic medal,” he said. “I remember feeling just speechless, I had dedicated so much of my life to dance and for it to finally come through — it was just so special.”

Now Australians can catch Costello as he crosses the country as part of the cast of Eireborne, which kicked off its national tour in Melbourne on July 29.

The teenager said the reception so far had been incredible and he was really excited about how the show could bring Irish dance to a new audience.

“Eireborne is a new and unique concept, it’s high energy and immersive, which is shining a modern light on Irish dance, one that is very different to the traditional Riverdance,” he said.

“I’m really excited about it and how this performance will help bring Irish dance back to a 21st-century audience, with its combination of dance styles all backed by a six piece band and two amazing singers.”

After crossing the country on their 19 show run, Eireborne will be live in Sydney at The State Theatre on August 19.