Gearóid Farrelly has become the latest contestant to be eliminated from Dancing with the Stars Ireland. The gay comedian exited the show on Sunday, February 23, after losing out to actor Danny O’Carroll and pro partner Salome Chachua in the dance-off.

Swapping stand-up for sequins, Farrelly had been competing alongside Stephen Vincent in the season’s only same-sex pairing. Although initially reluctant to join the show, it turned out to be “the most incredible experience” and he “never wanted it to end”.

Speaking to GCN earlier in his Dancing with the Stars Ireland journey, Gearóid said, “It’s all so unexpected. I didn’t think I would love it as much as I do…I went into it with no expectations. I figured I would be the first one out.”

Despite his concerns over taking part, he saw the value in being in a same-sex pairing. “Because I was dancing with a man, it was a different motivation,” he began.

“This is on television every Sunday night and this is an opportunity for parents to say to their child who they think might be gay or might be queer, it’s a moment for parents to go, ‘You know if you’re gay, that’s grand, don’t worry about it’. That was my motivation, to have that on telly for as long as possible.”

When asked if his younger self could have ever imagined him doing something like this, Farrelly replied: “No, oh my god, the idea of it is incredible…The idea of two male-presenting (people) on screen doing it, I think as a kid I would have been so excited to see that because when I came out, I felt like I was the only gay person in the world.”

Farrelly also credited Stephen as one of the big reasons why it had been such a good experience.

At first, the comedian was nervous about being paired with a straight man. “The first dance we had to do together was the Tango, and the Tango is a ballroom hold, so you’re literally going in and you’re just dumping your crotches into each other,” he laughed.

 

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“The first day I was like, ‘Oh holy God, woah, woah, woah’. I was fine but my understanding of straight men was that they’re not into gay men coming in and doing that. I just felt very vulnerable and exposed.

“…He had to sit me down the next day and say, ‘This is totally fine. I dance with men all of the time…There’s no issue here’.”

Steven instantly calmed all of Gearóid’s worries, and from there, they “clicked”.

Together, the pair enjoyed eight weeks of fabulous routines from a ‘Disco Inferno’ Cha Cha Cha to an ‘Everybody Hurts’ Viennese Waltz and even an Oliver Twist-themed American Smooth. Unfortunately, they bowed out on Orchestra Night after a nervy Charleston but certainly didn’t leave empty-handed.

 

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“We got a good friendship out of it and that’s worth more than the glitterball for me,” Gearóid said. They also received a huge amount of praise and supportive messages from those who felt empowered by their same-sex partnership.

Overall, it’s safe to say that Gearóid achieved his goal of showing Dancing with the Stars Ireland viewers that “two men or two women dancing together is exactly the same as a man and a woman dancing together”. He can leave the contest with his head held high, knowing that “the happiest few months” of his life also had a hugely positive impact on many others.