Flora Lynagh Medal
Flora Lynagh was well known in the early Irish dancing circles in Brisbane as the mother of Vicki Lynagh, a dancer and then teacher, and the grandmother of Brighid Mackness (née Cox), who followed in her mother’s footsteps.
Flora Lynagh believed that dance and music should always be enjoyed wholeheartedly and that dancers should find great joy and fulfillment from their dancing. To Flora, the synergy of both music and dance was the epitome of a well-rounded Irish Dance performance. She dedicated many years to providing live accompaniment and great encouragement to dancers in Brisbane when Irish dance competitions were in their infancy in Queensland. With no previous knowledge of traditional Irish music, when asked to play for dancers at the Queensland Irish Association, Flora spent countless hours learning the tunes by ear from vinyl records. This was a testament to her work ethic in mastering her craft.
In 1997, AIDA Queensland as a means of encouraging dancers' participation and acknowledging their efforts, created the “Flora Lynagh medal “ in Flora’s honour. This is presented to dancers as a “Best and Fairest” award. The award endeavours to acknowledge dancers' consistent effort and achievement over the year of competition. All dancers who compete at open level throughout the year at relevant feisanna, are awarded points relative to their placings at each competition. The dancer in each double age group who accumulates the highest points, receives the honour of being awarded the Bronze Medal for their age category. Further to this, the dancer with the highest points in Queensland will receive the highly prestigious recognition of being awarded the overall Gold Medal. The medal encourages Flora’s philosophy, that dancers should love and enjoy their dancing, be involved in every opportunity and to always try their best.
In recognition of Flora’s great love of the Hornpipe, by request of her family, the Gold Medal recipient each year is asked to perform a Hornpipe in her memory and honour.
The presentation of the Flora Lynagh Medal, held at the Queensland Premierships each year, is not only a celebration of dancers' great achievements, but also a reminder of the objectives of AIDA Queensland, to promote and foster a dedication to and love of Irish Dance.