Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Andrew Byrne

Irish granny, 89, grooves to Garda Jerusalema challenge to get through lockdown

An Irish granny moved and grooved to the new Garda Jerusalema dance challenge - picking up thousands of fans on social media.

May Kenna, 89, put on the uplifting performance at her home in Moneystown, Co Wicklow, after officers challenged the nation to dance to South African hit by Master KG.

Members of An Garda Siochana from across Ireland put on a show with an impressive performance of the dance in response to a challenge posted by Swiss police.

An Irish radio producer based in Portugal, Frankie Shanley, also known as Frankie Beats, put the challenge to Gardai in mid January.

He said: "Police officers in Switzerland decided to do something special for its people in these dark times. Just Amazing!

"@Gardainfo? Will you accept the challenge if enough people retweet this?"

Gardai smashed the challenge and to keep the positive vibes moving, challenged the public to take the floor.

They said: "We have stepped up to the Swiss police #JerusalemaChallenge.

"Gardaí across Ireland answered the call to give the public we serve a lift in these challenging times.

"Now that An Garda Síochána stepped up to the challenge, the public now have the floor.

"So making sure to stay home and in your bubbles. Post your challenge using #GardaJerusalema we want to see what you can do while staying safe."

And step up is exactly what May Kenna and many others have done this week after the video was viewed over four million times.

May lives with her daughter Annemarie Gilmore, her son-in-law Joe, and her grandkids Mia, Padraig and Tadgh.

Annemarie said her mum is missing the social life she enjoyed pre-pandemic, explaining that May was an active member of Moneystown ICA, Roundwood, Laragh and has enjoyed trips and catch ups with friends at bingo, mass and different shopping trips.

She said her mother "loved watching the Garda Jerusalema video on the TV" and shared the clip with her friends and family showing her mother in action.

She then posted the video online and it has been viewed over 40,000 times with thousands of comments and shares.

Annemarie added: "Her grandkids think it's great having a famous nanny!"

Garda Mary Gardiner, the officer who started the dance challenge, is believed to have contacted May about her video and has "made her day".

If you have a Jerusalema challenge video, you can send it to us on Facebook.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.