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06 Sept 2025

WATCH: 7-year-old Kildare girl that was told she wouldn't walk beats the odds

Inspirational

WATCH: 7-year-old Kildare girl that was told she wouldn't walk beats the odds

Ava O Donovan from Kildare Town

An amazing young girl from Kildare Town has gone viral.

A video of 7-year-old Ava O Donovan, born with spina bifida, dancing the ‘Cha Cha’ has reached over 128k views on Facebook.

Her dance teacher, Fiona Hutton, posted the video calling her an ‘inspiration’ to everyone.

When she was three days old, Ava’s parents were told she would never walk.

Ava, a student at St. Brigids Primary School Kildare Town, proved all the odds wrong and danced at the All-Ireland Ballroom and Latin Championships in Carlow two weeks ago.

Her mother, Sonya O Donovan, is amazed at the response to the video.

“I didn’t think it would take off like it did!"

She said Ava only started dancing in the last two months, but her four siblings all danced and Ava would’ve always gone along to watch.

“She’s very tomboyish, Liverpool Football Club mad. The fact we got her into a dress was a big thing”.

One of Ava’s kidneys had failed shortly before, and the Thursday before the Championships she had surgery, but still went on to dance the following weekend.

She performed the ‘Cha Cha’ and came sixth overall.

“She has such a bubbly personality that attracts people, she is not afraid of anything!”, added Sonya.

Ava will travel to The World Championships in Paris in December with her brother Jack, who is dancing, and is considering competing herself!

WATCH the video below:

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