{"id":49308,"date":"2020-08-30T13:56:11","date_gmt":"2020-08-30T13:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?p=49308"},"modified":"2021-12-22T14:55:39","modified_gmt":"2021-12-22T14:55:39","slug":"sri-lankan-romola-sebastianpillai-nurtures-irish-culture-in-darwin-by-conor-byrne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/sri-lankan-romola-sebastianpillai-nurtures-irish-culture-in-darwin-by-conor-byrne\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lankan Romola Sebastianpillai nurtures Irish culture in Darwin-By Conor Byrne"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #00ffff;\">Sri Lankan Romola Sebastianpillai nurtures Irish culture in Darwin-By Conor Byrne<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-49309 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Darwin-Irish-Dance-Association.jpg\" alt=\"Darwin Irish Dance Association\" width=\"600\" height=\"399\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Some of the teachers at Rince na h\u00c9ireann Darwin Irish Dance Association&#8217;s leprechauns class started this young.<cite class=\"_21SmZ _3_Aqg _1hGzz _1-RZJ P8HGV _16dJg\" data-component=\"Figure__cite\">(ABC Radio Darwin: Conor Byrne)<\/cite><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Source:<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 20px;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2020-08-29\/sri-lankan-a-president-of-darwin-irish-dancing-school\/12603092\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ABC<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Irish dancing evokes a stereotype of ginger hair, fair freckled skin, and strong Gaelic heritage, but not in one of Darwin&#8217;s Irish dancing schools where Sri Lankan migrant Romola Sebastianpillai has been the matriarch for 14 years.<\/span><\/p>\n<section class=\"vB11C _1tnlo _1w6Cw _1pc-9 _2EbnQ\" role=\"contentinfo\" aria-label=\"key points\" data-component=\"KeyPoints\">\n<h2 class=\"_3mduI _2gTdF _1deB8 jwLlj _1O6ck _1GKnS _2o9MN _1-RZJ\" data-component=\"Heading\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Key points:<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"W8pqX\" role=\"list\" data-component=\"List\">\n<li class=\"\" data-component=\"ListItem\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Romola is not who you&#8217;d expect to run an Irish dancing school<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-component=\"ListItem\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">She was voted unanimously as president 14 years ago<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-component=\"ListItem\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">She thinks she was elected because she wasn&#8217;t Irish<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">This, in a small city of three Irish dance schools, and where 7.3 per cent of people claimed Irish ancestry in the 2016 ABS census \u2014 the third highest after Australian and English ancestry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">She was elected unanimously in absentia when Rince na h\u00c9ireann changed from a private school to an association.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;I think I was elected because I was maybe non-Irish,&#8221; the 75-year-old president said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;I got the shock of my life.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Her love of Irish dancing started as a girl in a boarding school in Columbo when she was selected to &#8216;do the jig&#8217; on St Patrick&#8217;s Day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;It was run by Irish nuns and they were really great,&#8221; she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;They gave us a great grounding for life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;I hated going away from home but I liked the convent.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"NVRkN _38pgX _1deB8 jwLlj hsTMN _1GKnS _2o9MN _1-RZJ\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-component=\"Heading\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Dedicated to others<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Volunteering at the dance school has been a large part of Romola&#8217;s life \u2014 between running a committee, spending her weekends ensuring the classes run smoothly, managing 62 dancers, and dealing with enquiries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;I love to see the children dance and I have made great friends,&#8221; she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;I never wanted to be, I never even thought that I&#8217;d be, the president. But I have been for 14 years and I just love it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;It means a lot to me. It has given me a new dimension in life, that I can do anything I want.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">The exposure to some enthusiastic dancing nuns has ensured the next generation of Irish dancers in Darwin has a place to &#8216;ceili&#8217;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;The Irish are very, very happy people and they&#8217;ll accept anybody who&#8217;s willing to put in the hard yards and who&#8217;s willing to take on hurdles,&#8221; she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<aside class=\"_1w6Cw _1pc-9 _2b4MK\" data-component=\"Pullquote\">\n<blockquote class=\"_3imm8\">\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;I&#8217;m very impressed with the Irish because they&#8217;re very loyal people, because that&#8217;s what I am too.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-49310 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Association-president-Romola-Sebastianpillai-with-the-adult-class-at-rehearsals.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Association president Romola Sebastianpillai with the adult class at rehearsals.<cite class=\"_21SmZ _3_Aqg _1hGzz _1-RZJ P8HGV _16dJg\" data-component=\"Figure__cite\">(ABC Radio Darwin: Conor Byrne)<\/cite><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"NVRkN _38pgX _1deB8 jwLlj hsTMN _1GKnS _2o9MN _1-RZJ\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-component=\"Heading\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8216;The driving force&#8217;<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\"><a class=\"_2f8qj FQVx7 _2tPjN _1QHxY\" style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2018-06-11\/queens-birthday-honours-northern-territory-recipients\/9855470\" data-component=\"ContentLink\">Romola was awarded an Order of Australia medal in 2018<\/a>\u00a0for decades of charity work in the Northern Territory, particularly in the Cancer Council, Regional Luncheon Committee, Penguin Club, and the Darwin Film Society.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">She also earned the Fair Go and the Pride of Australia medals in 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">School committee member Josephine Davison said Romola is the &#8220;driving force&#8221; of the school.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;She is one of those people that unites a lot of people,&#8221; Ms Davison said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;She looks upon the students as part of her family. And one of the main things is that she&#8217;s very fair and encouraging to students.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;One of the best parts of the school for me is seeing my daughter come as a very young dancer, and she&#8217;s now one of the teachers, or the helpers, and has been with the school for probably ten years.<\/span><\/p>\n<aside class=\"_1w6Cw _1pc-9 _2b4MK\" data-component=\"Pullquote\">\n<blockquote class=\"_3imm8\">\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;She pushes us in the direction she wants us and we try our best to help.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-49311 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/the-associations-leprechauns-class.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There are 14 children are enrolled in the association&#8217;s leprechauns class.<cite class=\"_21SmZ _3_Aqg _1hGzz _1-RZJ P8HGV _16dJg\" data-component=\"Figure__cite\">(ABC Radio Darwin: Conor Byrne)<\/cite><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"NVRkN _38pgX _1deB8 jwLlj hsTMN _1GKnS _2o9MN _1-RZJ\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-component=\"Heading\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">The legend lives on<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Romola and her late husband Bertie \u2014 a well-known anaesthetist \u2014 arrived in Darwin in 1976 after stints in the United Kingdom and Alice Springs \u2014 not Ireland.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;My husband wanted to give his family a good home and educate his children abroad,&#8221; she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;We had many more opportunities in Australia than we did in Sri Lanka.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;We loved Darwin and really enjoyed our time here.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Romola&#8217;s next challenge is to maintain the lush garden her husband built from the day they bought the house in post-Cyclone Tracy Wagaman when it was a dusty block, until the day he died earlier this year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;My husband was a carpenter, electrician, gardener, everything, rolled in one,&#8221; she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;He well and truly nurtured the garden.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;I&#8217;m determined to do him proud, to do what he loved, and that is to look after his garden.<\/span><\/p>\n<aside class=\"_1w6Cw _1pc-9 _2b4MK\" data-component=\"Pullquote\">\n<blockquote class=\"_3imm8\">\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">&#8220;I love it and I will carry on.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-49312 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Romola-Sebastianpillai.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"580\" height=\"387\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"body\" class=\"_3Zp4A\">\n<div>\n<figure id=\"12598762\" class=\"_2w-Eq _1w6Cw _1pc-9 _357jP\" role=\"group\" data-print=\"inline-media\" aria-labelledby=\"dls-id-3335\" data-component=\"Figure\"><figcaption id=\"dls-id-3335\" class=\"_21SmZ _3_Aqg _1hGzz _1-RZJ P8HGV _2FwWh\" data-component=\"Figure__figcaption\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Romola Sebastianpillai has led a busy life and is not slowing down.<cite class=\"_21SmZ _3_Aqg _1hGzz _1-RZJ P8HGV _16dJg\" data-component=\"Figure__cite\">(ABC Radio Darwin: Conor Byrne)<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"NUK6c\">\n<div class=\"XmEo3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/aside>\n<\/aside>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sri Lankan Romola Sebastianpillai nurtures Irish culture in Darwin-By Conor Byrne Some of the teachers at Rince na h\u00c9ireann Darwin Irish Dance Association&#8217;s leprechauns class started this young.(ABC Radio Darwin: Conor Byrne) Source:ABC Irish dancing evokes a stereotype of ginger hair, fair freckled skin, and strong Gaelic heritage, but not in one of Darwin&#8217;s Irish [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":49309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[29226,29228,29227],"class_list":{"0":"post-49308","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-aside","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-articles","8":"tag-conor-byrne","9":"tag-darwin-irish-dance-association","10":"tag-romola-sebastianpillai","11":"post_format-post-format-aside"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.7.1 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Sri Lankan Romola Sebastianpillai nurtures Irish culture in Darwin-By Conor Byrne<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Irish dancing evokes a stereotype of ginger hair, fair freckled skin, and strong Gaelic heritage, but not in one of Darwin&#039;s Irish dancing 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