Karen Byrne

Last updated
Karen Byrne
Born (1992-05-30) 30 May 1992 (age 31)
Occupation(s) Dancer
Choreographer
Known for Dancing with the Stars (Irish series)
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Partner Jake Carter (2018–present)

Karen Byrne (born 30 May 1992) is an Irish dancer and choreographer. She is known as being one of the professional dancers on the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars.

Contents

Early life

Byrne was born in Ballyfermot in Dublin. [1] She has been dancing since the age of six. [2]

Dancing with the Stars

In 2017, Byrne was announced as one of the professional dancers for the first series of Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with RTÉ broadcaster, Des Cahill. [3] Despite being in the bottom half of the leader board throughout the entire competition, they reached the quarterfinals of the competition eventually finishing in 5th place. [4]

In 2018, Byrne was partnered with singer-songwriter, Jake Carter. [5] On 25 March 2018, Carter and Byrne were named the winners. [6]

In 2019, Byrne was partnered with TV presenter and style entrepreneur, Darren Kennedy. [7] They reached the fifth week of the competition, finishing in ninth place. [8]

In 2020, Byrne partnered with Olympic gold medal-winning boxer, Michael Carruth. [9] The couple reached the fifth week of the competition, meaning Byrne finished in ninth place for the second year in a row. [10]

In 2022, Byrne partnered former professional cyclist, Nicolas Roche. [11] They were eliminated in the quarterfinals, after a dance-off against Ellen Keane and Ervinas Merfeldas. [12]

In 2023, Byrne partnered former rugby player, Shane Byrne. [13] They were eliminated in the eighth week of the competition, after a dance-off against Panti Bliss and Denys Samson.

In 2024, Byrne partnered former Paralympic sprint runner, Jason Smyth. On 17 March 2024, Smyth & Byrne were named the winners, despite receiving the lowest scores for several weeks and in the Final.

SeriesPartnerPlace
1 Des Cahill 5th
2 Jake Carter 1st
3 Darren Kennedy 9th
4 Michael Carruth 9th
5 Nicolas Roche 6th
6 Shane Byrne 7th
7 Jason Smyth 1st

Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance

1 These scores was awarded during Switch-Up Week.

Series 1

Celebrity partner
Des Cahill; Average: 16.7; Place: 5th
Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResult
RedmondBarryBenson
1 Foxtrot / "Moondance" 55616No elimination
2No dance performed----
3 Paso Doble / "Malagueña" 66618Safe
4 Salsa / "Soul Bossa Nova"45514Safe
5 Tango / "Jealousy" 57618Safe
6 Cha-cha-cha / "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"44412Safe
7 Samba / "Mas que Nada"55515No elimination
Switch-Up Week with Aidan O'Mahony
8 Viennese Waltz / "The Marino Waltz"67619Safe
9 American Smooth / "Uptown Girl"56617Safe
10 Jive / "Do You Love Me"
The Ballroom Blitz / "The Ballroom Blitz"
6
Extra
6
1
7
Point
19
20
Eliminated

Series 2

Celebrity partner
Jake Carter; Average: 26.3; Place: 1st
Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResult
RedmondBarryBenson
1 Salsa / "Reggaetón Lento (Remix)"66719No elimination
2No dance performed----
3 Quickstep / "Knee Deep in My Heart"77721Safe
4 Cha-cha-cha / "The Power of Love"88824Safe
5 Contemporary Ballroom / "Sign of the Times"99927Safe
6 Charleston / "Lollipop"35513No elimination
Switch-Up Week with Bernard O'Shea
7 Tango / "La cumparsita"89926Safe
8 Viennese Waltz / "You'll Never Walk Alone"991028Safe
9 Jive / "Rock Around the Clock (Swing Cats Remix)"
Team Dance / "On the Floor"
9
10
9
10
9
10
27
30
Safe
10 Charleston / "Friend Like Me"
Swing-a-thon / "You Can't Stop the Beat"
10
Extra
10
5
10
Points
30
35
Safe
11 Rumba / "Slow Hands"
American Smooth / "Let's Face the Music and Dance"
9
8
8
8
9
9
26
25
Bottom two
12 Contemporary Ballroom / "Sign of the Times"
Jive / "Rock Around the Clock (Swing Cats Remix)"
Showdance / "Mad World"
10
9
10
10
9
10
10
10
10
30
28
30
Winners

Series 3

Celebrity partner
Darren Kennedy; Average: 16.5; Place: 9th
Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResult
RedmondBarryBenson
1 Tango / "Sharp Dressed Man"55616No elimination
2No dance performed----
3 Jive / "Fun, Fun, Fun"45514Safe
4 Charleston / "I Wanna Be Like You"66618Safe
5 Salsa / "María"66618Eliminated

Series 4

Celebrity partner
Michael Carruth; Average: 12.5; Place: 9th
Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResult
RedmondBarryBenson
1 American Smooth / "I'm Shipping Up to Boston"34512No elimination
2No dance performed----
3 Samba / "It's Not Unusual"34411Safe
4 Paso Doble / "Eye of the Tiger"45514Safe
5 Tango / "Gold"44513Eliminated

Series 5

Celebrity partner
Nicolas Roche; Average: 17.4; Place: 6th
Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResult
RedmondBarryGourounlian
1 Jive / "Blinding Lights"34411No elimination
2No dance performed----
3 Viennese Waltz / "Unplayed Piano"55616Safe
4 American Smooth / "Singin' in the Rain"66719Safe
5 Samba / "Fantasy"55515Safe
6 Quickstep / "Hey Brother"66719No elimination
7 Waltz / "Love Ain't Here Anymore"56617Safe
8 Tango / No dance performed----Given bye
9 Tango / "Trumpet Tango"77721Safe
10 Foxtrot / "I Love Paris"
Team Dance / "Cuba"
7
9
7
9
7
9
21
27
Eliminated

Series 6

Celebrity partner
Shane Byrne; Average: 18.5; Place: 7th
Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResult
RedmondBarryGourounlian
1 Quickstep / "Help!"65617No elimination
2 Cha-cha-cha / "Hey Baby"34512
3 Paso Doble / "Born to Be Wild"55515Safe
4 Tango / "Wreck-It, Wreck-It Ralph"66618Safe
5 Salsa / "Cuban Pete"77721Safe
6 Viennese Waltz / "We Are the Champions"78823No elimination
7 Jive / "Land Of 1,000 Dances"67720Safe
8 American Smooth / "Luck Be a Lady Tonight"77822Eliminated

Series 7

Celebrity partner
Jason Smyth; Average: 22.2; Place: 1st
Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResult
RedmondBarryGourounlian
1 Foxtrot / "They Can't Take That Away from Me"56617No elimination
21 Paso Doble / "Run to You"56617
3 Contemporary Ballroom / "Show Me What I'm Looking For"88824Safe
4 Rumba / "With These Hands"66618Safe
5 Salsa / "Don't Stop Dancing"66618Safe
6 Viennese Waltz / "Daughters"67720No elimination
7 Samba / "Rhythm Divine"88723Safe
8 Waltz / "Watermark"77721Safe
9 Jive / "Runaway"
Team Dance / "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)"
7
9
8
10
8
10
23
29
Safe
10 Tango / "Disturbia"
Scare-a-thon / "Dead Ringer for Love"
9
Awarded
9
2
9
Points
27
29
Safe
11 Samba / "Rhythm Divine"
Showdance / "Go the Distance"
9
10
10
10
9
10
28
30
Winners

1Byrne did not perform in week 2 due to illness. Smyth performed his dance with Juliia Vasylenko instead.

Personal life

Byrne was in a relationship with professional dancer, Wojtek Potaszkin for eight years. [14] Since their time on the show together, Byrne has been dating her Series 2 partner, Jake Carter. [15]

Related Research Articles

Desmond Cahill is an Irish sports presenter and commentator with national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. From 2009 to 2022, Cahill presented RTÉ television's GAA highlights programme The Sunday Game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darren Kennedy</span> Irish television presenter

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<i>Dancing with the Stars</i> (Irish TV series) Irish TV series or programme

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Dancing with the Stars returned for a second series on 7 January 2018 on RTÉ One. Loraine Barry, Brian Redmond and Julian Benson returned to the judging panel for a second year, while Amanda Byram and Nicky Byrne also returned as hosts.

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Kai Widdrington is an English dancer and choreographer. In 2010, he was the Junior World Latin American champion. In 2012, he reached the final of the sixth series of Britain's Got Talent. Between 2017 and 2020, he was a professional dancer on the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars, and in 2021, he became a professional dancer on the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing.

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Dancing with the Stars returned for a fourth series which began on 5 January 2020 on RTÉ One.

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References

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  2. "Dancing with the Stars pro dancers are unveiled". RTÉ.ie. 2016-12-16.
  3. "People loved Des 'Dancing Dessie' Cahill on Dancing With The Stars Ireland". JOE.ie. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  4. "Everyone got emotional after Des Cahill was eliminated from Dancing With The Stars". www.irishexaminer.com. 2017-03-12. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  5. Moonan, Niall (2018-01-12). "No romancing, just Dancing with the Stars for contestant Jake". irishmirror. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  6. "'I'm lost for words!' - Jake Carter is the winner of Dancing with the Stars". Independent.ie. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  7. O'Loughlin, Mikie (2018-11-27). "Darren Kennedy and dance partner Karen Byrne pictured together before Dancing with the Stars". rsvp. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  8. "Darren and Karen eliminated on Dancing with the Stars". RTÉ.ie. 2019-02-03.
  9. "'I'm having a dry January' - Michael Carruth limbering up for knock-out performance on Dancing with the Stars". independent. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  10. "It's A Knockout For Michael Carruth As Boxer Eliminated From DWTS" . Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  11. O’Donoghue, Denise (2022-01-05). "Revealed: First six dancers paired with celebrities for Dancing with the Stars". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  12. O’Donoghue, Denise (2022-03-14). "Dancing with the Stars recap: Quarter-final dance-off sees Nicolas Roche jetting home". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  13. Glennon, Nicole (2022-12-19). "Dancing with the Stars: Pairings revealed as Dr Marie Cassidy, Carl Mullan, prepare to dance". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  14. "'Strictly Curse' Hits Dancing With The Stars Ireland As Jake Carter And Karen Byrne Confirm Romance". Cork's RedFM. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  15. Roantree, Megan (2008-08-27). ""The age difference doesn't come into it," Jake Carter on his relationship with Karen Byrne". VIP Magazine. Retrieved 2018-12-21.