Salsa by the Lee

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Salsa by the Lee Hosting regular fundraising salsa socials in Cork city, Salsa by the Lee aims to support good causes

Folks, I've just lodged €1170.25 to the Uisce for Gaza account, money which will be used to bring clean drinking water t...
12/10/2026

Folks, I've just lodged €1170.25 to the Uisce for Gaza account, money which will be used to bring clean drinking water to the people of Gaza. It costs around €280 to deliver 1 truck, so together we've hopefully managed to provide enough for 4 trucks, for people who desperately need it. It's a stain on our collective humanity that this genocide has continued unabated for 3 years, with the tacit approval, and occasionally enthusiastic support, of the rest of the world. Hopefully this money will help save lives. For more information on the work of Uisce for Gaza, or to donate, please see: https://www.idonate.ie/crowdfunder/UisceForGaza

The scale of the destruction in Gaza beggars belief, and only the most evil, venal, or stupid could still try to deny what's happening. These are 2 screenshots of the same random location in Gaza on Google Earth, one showing the imagery from August 2023, with the most recent showing the rubble that remains of that same place. The only bright spot in the darkness of the last 3 years has been the brave actions of individuals and groups refusing to stay silent in the face of the injustice - Italian dockworkers refusing to load mu*****ns bound for use in the genocide, the tireless work of Francesca Albanese advocating for the people of Palestine in the face of threats and sanctions, UK protesters disrupting the factories creating the weapons. For most of us, the power we have comes as consumers, and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement operate targeted boycotts of companies profting from or driving the genocide. For more information, please see: https://bdsmovement.net/

Huge thanks to our amazing teachers for their 2 fantastic and vibrant workshops - both a Dominican Bachata class and a last minute Merengue class. It's a genuinely life-affirming experience to witness the joy their group get from the dance and the bond they share, and it's a sincere privilege for me to have them share their energy, enthusiasm, and passion with us.

Thanks to everyone who came to support yesterday, it was day 4 in a row of Cork dance events, and a dark wet evening, but ye made Crane Lane a warm haven of light and dancing. Thanks everyone for help on the door and moral support at various stages. Undying thanks to my beloved Crane Lane for hosting us, sin é, xoxox

An unedited selection of photos from the distant past of February 2019. A lot of faces that have left Cork, or dancing, ...
08/10/2026

An unedited selection of photos from the distant past of February 2019. A lot of faces that have left Cork, or dancing, or both, and some stalwarts that keep the flag flying. To play a version of Where's Wally, see if you can spot a rueda in the background of one of the pictures. I would've planned to post this within 2 weeks, rather than 7.5 years later, and these fundraisers are probably the thing I do the best, so you can Draw some Conclusions about the rest of my commitments

Folks, on Sunday we raised a tremendous €820 for the Nepal Flood Appeal, money which will go directly towards helping t...
29/09/2026

Folks, on Sunday we raised a tremendous €820 for the Nepal Flood Appeal, money which will go directly towards helping the 93000 people affected by the flooding in August. For more information on their work, or to donate, please see https://donate.redcross.ie/nepalfloods

Thanks to the wonderful Donna for once again doing the beginner's class, thanks to my beloved for hosting us, and thanks everyone for the help on the door, planned and unplanned. It's great to know that while I'm roaming around inside like a free-range headless chicken, everything is in safe hands.

Most importantly, thanks to everyone for coming, dancing, and making such a great atmosphere. There's been a few occasions where people have brought visiting family on the Sundays, to see them dance, and show them part of their life in Cork, and it's always a very sweet thing to see.

A chairde, on Sunday we raised a spectacular €1125 for the Red Cross Colombian Earthquake Appeal, money which will go di...
09/09/2026

A chairde, on Sunday we raised a spectacular €1125 for the Red Cross Colombian Earthquake Appeal, money which will go directly to helping people affected by the tragedy. For more information, or to donate, please see https://www.redcross.ie/latest-appeals/colombia-appeal/

Huge thanks to the amazing Daniela for her high-octane Salsa Colombiana class. I'm so lucky to be able to rely on fantastic artists in putting together these events, and Daniela's classes are always full of energy and enthusiasm. Daniela is teaching with Latin Dance Studio Cork every night, and they're just kicking off a new cycle of dancing this week!

Massive thanks to my beloved Crane Lane, and everyone there, for hosting us and taking care of me, without them none of this would be possible. They've allowed us to raise a load of money for charity, and created a space where we can go and dance, and talk ráiméis, and no words will ever express the gratitude I feel

Finally, thanks as always to everyone for coming, and dancing, and donating so generously. There's a really beautiful sense of community at these things, with people always welcoming new people and dancing with them, looking after the door if I'm otherwise engaged, and generally just bringing immaculate vibes to the whole affair. No words can express my gratitude to ye either.

Sin é, oíche mhaith, xoxox

Folks, yesterday we raised a spectacular €1055 for the Irish Refugee Council, money which will be used in their work sup...
10/08/2026

Folks, yesterday we raised a spectacular €1055 for the Irish Refugee Council, money which will be used in their work supporting refugees in Ireland. In recent years there's been a concerted international movement to demonise refugees, and migrants generally, often unfairly blaming them for the results of local policy failure. By supporting the Irish Refugee Council, we're supporting an important voice for marginalised people in Ireland, and also directly helping refugees

Huge thanks to Emmet for another wonderful bachata class! Emmet is teaching bachata every Wednesday at 20:30 in Ballincollig, you can get more details at https://www.socialdanceballincollig.com!

Massive thanks to my army of ferocious bouncers, who kept an eagle eye on the door any time my attention was diverted. Huge thanks as always to my beloved Crane Lane for hosting us. Yesterday brought us just over the 10k mark for money raised for charity this year (€10268.10), and none of it would have been possible without the support of Crane Lane, Cork, and all who sail in her.

Finally, once again my deep gratitude to everyone for coming and creating such a wonderful atmosphere at these gigs. There's so many options for dancing in Cork and further afield, not to mention the opportunities provided by the good weather, and yet ye come and pack the dance floor. Buíochas ó chroí libh go léir!

Folks yesterday we raised an absolutely incredible €1630.10 for the UNICEF Venezuela Earthquake Appeal, an incredible ac...
06/07/2026

Folks yesterday we raised an absolutely incredible €1630.10 for the UNICEF Venezuela Earthquake Appeal, an incredible achievement for an afternoon's dancing. The money will go to help UNICEF's response to the tragedy. For more information on the appeal, or to donate, please see https://www.unicef.ie/donate/venezuela-earthquake-appeal/

Huge thanks to our fantastic teachers yesterday! It's a phenomenal privilege to be able to call on such amazing talent in putting these gigs together, and Aina and Marco really epitomise this.

I want to pay special tribute to Aina, who was teaching with us for the last time for the foreseeable. Aina has been a huge support, always saying yes when I ask her give her time and expertise.

The same with Marco, who has been a great asset to the events from even before he started teaching in Cork. He now runs Latin Dance Studio Cork, they're having their monthly party next weekend, with masterclasses from Tania Cannarsa and Angelo Gioffre

Yesterday was an amazing day, people left beaches, barbecues, and b**r gardens to fill the dancefloor and raise money for Venezuela. This capped off a huge weekend of fundraising for the cause, with Rovigo's gig on Friday, and Angelica's in Dublin on Saturday. While these tragedies are devastating to witness, the outpouring of support is something that always warms my heart.

Thanks everyone for coming, thanks to my deputy bouncers for keeping strict control of the door, and being a lot more polite about it than I typically am, and thanks as always to Crane Lane for hosting us. It's a pleasure to run these, meeting people I haven't seen in ages, and people I see each week. Next gig in a month-ish xoxox

Folks yesterday we raised €665 for Cork Simon, money which will go towards helping them in their vital work supporting p...
18/05/2026

Folks yesterday we raised €665 for Cork Simon, money which will go towards helping them in their vital work supporting people experiencing homelessness in and around Cork. Just recently they marked 55 years of their soup run. For more information on their work, or to donate, please see https://www.corksimon.ie

Thanks everyone for coming! It was another busy weekend of dancing in Cork, and miserable weather to boot, but the room was warm and welcoming and the dancefloor was full till the end. One of the many things I love about these gigs is seeing people I haven't seen in ages, and yesterday was no exception! Thanks as always to Crane Lane for hosting us!

15/05/2026

A chairde, at the end of March we held a fundraiser to benefit people living in Tawila Camp, Darfur in Sudan, raising an incredible €1245, and now I have an update. Generally we donate to charities and the money goes into general funding to support their mission, but this time we can see the direct result of our fundraising. I don't speak the language, but around 2:13 in the video you can hear Cork getting a shout out, always a great source of pride. Also I like the name Damien and Friends, I might change the name from Salsa by the Lee.

Following the news around any of the issues that we fundraise for can be incredibly disheartening, but I think it's important to keep in mind that while we can't fix all the problems in the world, we can help to improve the lives of some people. The money we raised made a direct and tangible difference here for these families, and as always I'm hugely grateful for the continued support and trust I get in putting these gigs together. Special thanks to Alison and Gerry for arranging this, and to the spectacular Alina for teaching the class on the day. Mo ghrá sibh go léir xoxox

Folks, yesterday we raised a simply spectacular €1285, money will go towards helping UNRWA fulfil their mandate supporti...
27/04/2026

Folks, yesterday we raised a simply spectacular €1285, money will go towards helping UNRWA fulfil their mandate supporting the people of Palestine. This brings the total we've raised for different charities active in Palestine to just over €10k since May 2023 (€10246). Having watched the people of Palestine progress from living under apartheid to trying to survive genocide is deeply depressing, all the more so when public opinion is overwhelmingly on the side of saving Palestinian lives. We've seen across the West that governments have been quicker to try to delegitimise and outlaw solidarity with the Palestinians than to meaningfully act to put an end to the genocide. I think it's important that we keep trying to do what we can, be that through donating where possible, pressuring our politicians to act, or observing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement - it's vital that we keep the sense of hopelessness from turning to apathy.

I'm hugely grateful to everyone who made yesterday such a success:
* Our wonderful teachers: Donna, Josue, Sara, and Laura - as always I'm very lucky to have such great support putting on these gigs, and bringing a wide variety of styles to the dancefloor!
* My first home, Crane Lane, Cork, for hosting us
* My army of helpers for minding the door freeing me up to pursue my passions of roaming around twiddling k***s, plugging stuff in and out, and talking ráiméis
* Finally, to everyone for coming and donating and filling the dance floor - despite the good weather, despite the busy weekend of dancing, we still had a full house, and I can't articulate how grateful I am for the continued support and trust

Folks yesterday we raised a spectacular €1015 for the Sexual Violence Centre Cork, money which will help them in their w...
09/03/2026

Folks yesterday we raised a spectacular €1015 for the Sexual Violence Centre Cork, money which will help them in their work supporting survivors of sexual violence. For more information on their work, or to donate, please see https://www.SexualViolence.ie

Huge thanks to the wonderful Oscar for his fantastic musical interpretation workshop! We're very lucky in Cork to have passionate, talented people in the scene, and I'm doubly lucky to be able to call on their support in putting these gigs together.

Deep gratitude as always to my beloved first home Crane Lane, and all who sail in her, for hosting us!

We had another full house yesterday, and the dance floor was packed till the end. I am, as always, hugely appreciative of the great turnout these events get - there's hardly 10 minutes on the calendar without some dance event these days, and I'm honoured to have your continued support!

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