Ashley Murphy, an Oxford Middle School eighth-grader, was recently awarded a scholarship for her dedication to the Irish culture and heritage demonstrated through Irish dancing.

Murphy received the $500 Richard Mahigan scholarship, which is awarded annually by the Cape Coral Irish American Club to promote Irish culture and heritage.

Murphy first began Irish dancing lessons at 7 years old while her family was living in Japan.

She resided with her parents, Sanae and Greg, in Yokohama, Japan from 2008-2013.

It was there, while she was attending St. Maur International School, that she first became interested in Irish dancing.

“My grandma and my aunt used to Irish dance. I thought it would be cool to try, and I ended up loving it a lot,” said Murphy.

Murphy worked her way through several levels of the World Irish Dancing Association (WIDA), a non-profit organization devoted to promoting　Irish dance through competitions, examinations and workshops.

After returning to Michigan with her family, Murphy continued her pursuit of competitive Irish dance at Shannon Irish Dance Academy in Rochester Hills.

Murphy frequently volunteered to dance at venues like The Renaissance Festival, senior centers, weddings, and community centers.

“We would go around, volunteer to perform places. Every weekend we would go to pubs, weddings and parties… On St. Patrick’s Day especially, we went from really early in the morning to late at night. We were just exhausted by the end of the day,” Murphy said.

At her final WIDA competition, held in New York in 2015, Murphy took high scores, which qualified her to perform at WIDA’s highest level, Worlds.

“When you go to Worlds, it’s a lot more serious. You go to Ireland for the competition. Practice is more than four times a week… So before it became too serious, I decided to take a rest from Irish dancing and try new things like soccer and lacrosse, and track and field, and piano,” said Murphy.

Although Murphy is no longer actively involved in Irish dancing, she said she often looks back fondly at her time spent performing and that she is excited to have received a scholarship for it.

“I was really happy. I was glad that I was able to experience Irish dancing, because not many people do this kind of Irish dancing… but it’s really fun. I thought it was really cool that I could dance for many people and do community service,” Murphy said.

Murphy plans to attend the University of Michigan after graduation, in hopes of becoming a surgeon.