In Memory of Sue Fay Healy, Beloved Irish Dance Teacher
June 10, 2025 | Ottawa, ON – The Irish Dance community in Canada and beyond is mourning the loss of longtime teacher, adjudicator, and studio founder Sue Fay Healy, who passed away peacefully on June 8, 2025, at the age of 67.
Originally from Dublin, Ireland, and a proud Canadian for more than 30 years, Sue Fay Healy built a lasting legacy in the Ottawa area. She was the founder of the Sue Fay Healy School of Irish Dance, established in 1989, which has trained generations of dancers at all levels. A certified TCRG and ADCRG with An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha, Sue’s influence extended across North America and internationally.
SFH Irish Dance was her life’s passion, her family shared in a public tribute. She was deeply proud to have brought so much Irish Dance and culture to Ottawa over the years. As her family and as part of the SFH community, we will continue to honour her legacy and make her proud — every step of the way.
A competitive dancer in her youth, Sue toured professionally across Europe and competed at major championships including the Leinsters, All Irelands, Worlds. Later, as an adjudicator, she judged at major feiseanna across North America and beyond, including the World Championships. She co-chaired the Eastern Canadian Oireachtas and led the 2007 North American Irish Dance Championships in Ottawa — events that brought thousands of dancers and families to the region.
But her most lasting influence came from her teaching.
Sue created something incredibly special here in Ottawa — more than just a dance school, said former student Ainsley Smith. She built a home, a family, and a legacy rooted in passion, tradition, and love... She saw potential in all of us, even when we couldn’t see it ourselves.
Her students remember her as firm but fair, someone who pushed them not for accolades, but because she believed deeply in their ability to succeed.
She was someone you never wanted to disappoint, said Tatiana Barr, whose daughter Niamh trained under Sue. She demanded their best, not for her sake, but because she knew what they were capable of. She taught one of the hardest — and most important — lessons of all: resilience.
Sue also fostered community through two annual Irish Dance competitions hosted by her school: the Capital Feis, held each May during Ottawa’s Tulip Festival since 1992, and Feile Nollaig, a Christmas-themed feis that celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2024. Both events draw dancers and families from across Eastern Canada and beyond.
Sue was married to her husband, Fran, for 45 years. Together, they raised three children — Andrew, Francis, and Jennifer — and built a life rooted in family, tradition, and cultural pride. Jennifer followed in her mother’s footsteps and now teaches and adjudicates at the family’s Ottawa-based dance school.
The Healy family expressed deep thanks to the staff at May Court Hospice, and to the local and international Irish Dance communities for their support.
A celebration of life will be held in the coming weeks — just as Sue wished: full of music, laughter, joy, and “a bit of craic.”
Her legacy lives on in every dancer she taught, in the competitions she helped shape, and in the family and community who will carry her love of Irish Dance and culture forward for years to come.