About Us

The late Maureen McDade McGrory founded the McDade School of Irish Dance in 1962. Maureen began step dancing as a teenager. Her father, Jimmy McDade, was the leader of “The All-Ireland Orchestra,” which played at most of the main Irish events in the Philadelphia area, and Maureen often tagged along with her father to listen to the band and watch the dancing. Though a native-born American, Maureen became fascinated with the dancing and begged her parents for lessons. Her request was granted, and she began studying with the late Sean Lavery, who was one of the leading dancers and teachers in the Philadelphia area. After the death of Sean, Maureen decided to begin a school of her own and children began coming to her home for lessons. Maureen continued to teach over the next three decades in the Philadelphia area, training many champion dancers. She truly loved the art of Irish Dance.

Maureen passed away in 1993 after battling cancer. Maureen McDade McGrory’s legacy lives on through the many Irish Dancing teachers who learned from her over the thirty years she taught. Maureen McDade McGrory was inducted into the North American Feis Commission Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame in 2004.