A TROUPE of Clydebank dancers will look the part when they compete in the World Irish Dancing Championships later this month thanks to a fundraising auction.

Stewart School of Irish Dance, which runs classes in Duntocher, Kirkintilloch and Bishopbriggs, will have competitors at the championships held at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow from March 24 to April 1.

And the dedicated performers will be kitted out in new tracksuits after two bottles of special edition Clydebank whisky were donated to the school by Provost William Hendrie and auctioned off by a parent.

The whiskies, one with a Clydebank coat of arms on the label and the other with an image of the QE2, sparked a bidding war on social media.

They were eventually sold for £100 each to an anonymous whisky collector and seller Joanne Matchett said she was “overwhelmed” by the reaction.

She told the Post: “I was thinking it’s only some bottles of whisky. We are trying to raise funds for the girls’ tracksuits, so they don’t have to pay out.

“Our parents are great supporters of our fundraising. They all come together and support the kids in the class.”

The school also held a ceilidh fundraiser in Kirkintilloch on Saturday evening, as they look to kit out some 35 girls going to the world championships.

Joanne’s daughter Aimee, a 16-year-old St Peter the Apostle High School pupil, is one of the performers heading to the competition.

She hones her craft under the guidance of teachers Adrian and Eulalia Stewart, and Joanne said it’s an event which they have worked towards for some time.

She added: “The girls get nervous because it’s a big thing for them. It’s a lot of training and hard work.

“It’s blood sweat and tears but it’s what they work hard for. It’s a busy, busy time.

“Irish dance is completely different from years gone by. My daughter goes to a personal trainer every week to keep up her strength and fitness.

“You need core strength and upper body strength. It’s an energetic high pace sport.”

The competition sees dancers come together from all across the world, including countries such as America, Canada, Germany, Ireland and England.

And Joanne said with every world championships, the performers make new friendships that go the distance.

“The kids make friends from all over the world,” she said. “They keep in contact on social media. My daughter speaks to her friends in Ireland all the time.

“You get to know people in your age group but you meet other age groups as well.”

Stewart School has 10 solo qualifiers, as well as an under-13, under-16, under-19 and a senior ladies team all competing at the world championships.