The Cashel Academy Difference
Preserving Irish Heritage and Giving to Communities Around Us
From our original roots to today, Cashel Academy carries on our goals of preserving Irish heritage through music and dance while giving back to the communities around us through our performances and family events. We are a family oriented dance school; our parent organization works closely with our teaching staff to provide a school community that pushes the creative envelope while retaining the traditional spirit of Irish dance.
Cashel Academy’s History
Our beginnings were with the Shamrock Club Irish Dancers in the early 1980s. In 1982, our first dance master, Dennis Dennehy, TCRG, ADCRG, began weekly trips from Chicago to Milwaukee to teach our dancers, at the then Cashel Academy of Irish Dance and his wife Marge Dennehy, TCRG, ADCRG, taught our ceili teams. Mr. and Mrs. Dennehy retired from teaching and were succeeded by their daughter Kathy Dennehy, TCRG, ADCRG. Our teaching staff grew in 1995 when Laura Gottschlich, a Cashel trained dancer, earned her TCRG. In 1998, Kate Habel, one of the first students of the school, earned her TCRG, and joined our teaching staff. In 2003, Maura Starr Heck, a former Cashel student, earned her TCRG as well and joined the team. In 2011, the addition of Alyssa Harling, T.C.R.G. and great niece to Dennis and Marge Dennehy, has resulted in a strong staff of five talented teachers with deep ties to the Dennehy legacy.