Karen Byrne (born 30 May 1992) is an Irish dancer and choreographer. She is known as being a judge and, previously, a professional dancer on the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars.
Early life Byrne was born in Ballyfermot in Dublin. She has been dancing since the age of six.
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. 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.
In 2018, Byrne was partnered with singer-songwriter, Jake Carter. On 25 March 2018, Carter and Byrne were named the winners.
In 2019, Byrne was partnered with TV presenter and style entrepreneur, Darren Kennedy. They reached the fifth week of the competition, finishing in ninth place.
In 2020, Byrne partnered with Olympic gold medal-winning boxer, Michael Carruth. The couple reached the fifth week of the competition, meaning Byrne finished in ninth place for the second year in a row.
In 2022, Byrne partnered former professional cyclist, Nicolas Roche. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals, after a dance-off against Ellen Keane and Ervinas Merfeldas.
In 2023, Byrne partnered former rugby player, Shane Byrne. 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. SeriesPartnerPlace1Des Cahill5th2Jake Carter1st3Darren Kennedy9th4Michael Carruth9th5Nicolas Roche6th6Shane Byrne7th7Jason Smyth1st
Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance
DancePartnerHighestPartnerLowestAmerican Smooth Jake Carter 25 Michael Carruth 12Cha-cha-cha Jake Carter 24 Des CahillShane Byrne 12Charleston Jake Carter 30 Bernard O'Shea1 13Contemporary Ballroom Jake Carter 30 Jason Smyth 24Foxtrot Nicolas Roche 21 Des Cahill 16Jive Jake Carter 28 Nicolas Roche 11Paso Doble Des Cahill 18 Michael Carruth 14Quickstep Jake Carter 21 Shane Byrne 17Rumba Jake Carter 26 Jason Smyth 18Salsa Shane Byrne 21 Des Cahill 14Samba Jason Smyth 28 Michael Carruth 11Showdance Jake CarterJason Smyth 30Tango Jason Smyth 27 Michael Carruth 13Viennese Waltz Jake Carter 28 Nicolas Roche 16Waltz Jason Smyth 21 Nicolas Roche 17 1 These scores was awarded during Switch-Up Week.
Series 1
Celebrity partner Des Cahill; Average: 16.7; Place: 5th
Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResultRedmondBarryBenson1Foxtrot / "Moondance"55616No elimination2No dance performed - - - -3Paso Doble / "Malagueña"66618Safe4Salsa / "Soul Bossa Nova"45514Safe5Tango / "Jealousy"57618Safe6Cha-cha-cha / "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"444Safe7Samba / "Mas que Nada"555No eliminationSwitch-Up Week with Aidan O'Mahony8Viennese Waltz / "The Marino Waltz"67619Safe9American Smooth / "Uptown Girl"566Safe10Jive / "Do You Love Me"The Ballroom Blitz / "The Ballroom Blitz"6Extra617PointEliminated
Series 2
Celebrity partner Jake Carter; Average: 26.3; Place: 1st
Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResultRedmondBarryBenson1Salsa / "Reggaetón Lento (Remix)"667No elimination2No dance performed - - - -3Quickstep / "Knee Deep in My Heart"77721Safe4Cha-cha-cha / "The Power of Love"88824Safe5Contemporary Ballroom / "Sign of the Times"999Safe6Charleston / "Lollipop"355No eliminationSwitch-Up Week with Bernard O'Shea7Tango / "La cumparsita"89926Safe8Viennese Waltz / "You'll Never Walk Alone"9910Safe9Jive / "Rock Around the Clock (Swing Cats Remix)"Team Dance / "On the Floor"91091091027Safe10Charleston / "Friend Like Me"Swing-a-thon / "You Can't Stop the Beat"10Extra10510PointsSafe11Rumba / "Slow Hands"American Smooth / "Let's Face the Music and Dance"9888992625Bottom two12Contemporary Ballroom / "Sign of the Times"Jive / "Rock Around the Clock (Swing Cats Remix)"Showdance / "Mad World"1091010910101010Winners
Series 3
Celebrity partner Darren Kennedy; Average: 16.5; Place: 9th
Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResultRedmondBarryBenson1Tango / "Sharp Dressed Man"55616No elimination2No dance performed - - - -3Jive / "Fun, Fun, Fun"45514Safe4Charleston / "I Wanna Be Like You"66618Safe5Salsa / "María"66618Eliminated
Series 4
Celebrity partner Michael Carruth; Average: 12.5; Place: 9th
Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResultRedmondBarryBenson1American Smooth / "I'm Shipping Up to Boston"34512No elimination2No dance performed - - - -3Samba / "It's Not Unusual"34411Safe4Paso Doble / "Eye of the Tiger"45514Safe5Tango / "Gold"44513Eliminated
Series 5
Celebrity partner Nicolas Roche; Average: 17.4; Place: 6th
Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResultRedmondBarryGourounlian1Jive / "Blinding Lights"344No elimination2No dance performed - - - -3Viennese Waltz / "Unplayed Piano"55616Safe4American Smooth / "Singin' in the Rain"66719Safe5Samba / "Fantasy"55515Safe6Quickstep / "Hey Brother"66719No elimination7Waltz / "Love Ain't Here Anymore"56617Safe8Tango / No dance performed - - - -Given bye9Tango / "Trumpet Tango"77721Safe10Foxtrot / "I Love Paris"Team Dance / "Cuba"797979Eliminated
Series 6
Celebrity partner Shane Byrne; Average: 18.5; Place: 7th
Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResultRedmondBarryGourounlian1Quickstep / "Help!"65617No elimination2Cha-cha-cha / "Hey Baby"345123Paso Doble / "Born to Be Wild"55515Safe4Tango / "Wreck-It, Wreck-It Ralph"66618Safe5Salsa / "Cuban Pete"77721Safe6Viennese Waltz / "We Are the Champions"788No elimination7Jive / "Land Of 1,000 Dances"67720Safe8American Smooth / "Luck Be a Lady Tonight"778Eliminated
Series 7
Celebrity partner Jason Smyth; Average: 22.2; Place: 1st
Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResultRedmondBarryGourounlian1Foxtrot / "They Can't Take That Away from Me"56617No elimination21Paso Doble / "Run to You"566173Contemporary Ballroom / "Show Me What I'm Looking For"888Safe4Rumba / "With These Hands"66618Safe5Salsa / "Don't Stop Dancing"66618Safe6Viennese Waltz / "Daughters"67720No elimination7Samba / "Rhythm Divine"88723Safe8Waltz / "Watermark"777Safe9Jive / "Runaway"Team Dance / "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)"7981081023Safe10Tango / "Disturbia"Scare-a-thon / "Dead Ringer for Love"9Awarded929Points2729Safe11Samba / "Rhythm Divine"Showdance / "Go the Distance"9101010910Winners
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. Since their time on the show together, Byrne has been dating her Series 2 partner, Jake Carter. The couple announced their engagement on 9 March 2025.
References