There was undeniable joy and pride across Laois on Sunday night, as Laois Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins won season nine of Dancing with the Stars.

As the Portlaoise apprentice and her professional partner Leonardo Lini lifted the coveted Glitterball trophy, the audience were on their feet with delight.

Katelyn's family rushed onto the dance floor in delight, celebrating her fantastic win.

"I can't believe it, what a year it's been," Katelyn said.

"Life is just not real, every day it surprises me, what a past seven months I've had," she said.

"Winning the Rose of Tralee and this, two massive wins I've had this year. I could have never imagined that this would be my life, and I'm so happy to have shared it with Leonardo," she said.

Leonardo expressed his delight at sharing the fantastic win with Katelyn.

"This has been one of the best experiences of my life, and I have to thank you for that," he told an emotional Katelyn. 

"You are the most important part of that," he said.

In the epic final, Katelyn and Leonardo faced off Ireland AM presenter Eric Roberts and his partner Arianna Favarro, Singer-songwriter Tolü Makay and her partner Maciej Zieba, and The Traitors Ireland star Paudie Moloney and his pro partner Laura Nolan.

The Laois Rose of Tralee's first dance of the night was a reprise of her third dance in the series; an American Smooth to ‘Whistle While You Work’ by Rachel Zegler. 

Katelyn and Leonardo's first performance was an American Smooth to 'Whistle While you Work' by Rachel Zegler. The pair earned 40 points from judges. 

"That was outstanding- from beginning to end, it was a full on production. That was absolutely unbelievable," judge Karen Byrne praised.

Judge Oti Mabuse praised the performance as 'absolute perfection', praising Katelyn for keeping the traditional quick step, while introducing a bit of Irish Dancing to the performance. 

"From head to toe, it was absolute perfection. You used the entire floor," she said.

Judge Arthur Gourounlian also praised Katelyn's performance.

"I have to say you are phenomenal to me," judge Arthur Gourounlian said.

"You are a chameleon, you can take any style of dance and embrace it. You have elevated beyond belief and absolutely smashed it- I loved it," Arthur said.

Judge Brian Redmond said that Katelyn's performance was 'simple perfection'.

"Judging your dancing is easy, everything is in the right amount at the right time. It's never too much or not enough, it's so simple and it's perfection. Well done," he said.

Katelyn's second dance brought tears to the judging panel, who praised her for her honesty and authenticity.

The couple performed a second 'Showdance' routine, a freestyle performance that allowed them to combine different dance styles to showcase the creativity, skills and storytelling abilities they’ve learned throughout their journey. Katelyn and Leonardo danced to 'Ordinary' by Alex Warren.

A section of Katelyn's dance was muted to show the audience her own hearing levels. 

"Thank you so much for sharing that with us, it just shows us what an incredible young woman you are, and an amazing dancer," host Jennifer Zamparelli told Katelyn.

"Moments like that don't happen very often, what you did was so much more than the final, than the show," judge Karen Byrne said.

"It was just something so important to show young children at home, that is why we absolutely love Dancing with the Stars for giving this opportunity to tell your story on national television," she said.

Judge Oti Mabuse was teary eyed praising the performance.

"You let us feel what you feel, into your world, and hear what you hear. I will remember this forever," she said.

Similarly, Arthur and Brian Redmond were also choking back tears.

"All our celebs have been amazing, but you took my breath away. You are a true representative of what dance is," Arthur said.

Judge Brian Redmond praised Katelyn for her dancing, along with her exceptional character.

"I have an eleven year old daughter at home watching, if she turns out to be like you as a young woman, I'll be really proud," he said.

The duo were awarded top marks for the performance. 

Take a look back on Katelyn's Dancing with the Stars journey below!

WEEK 1

Reigning Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins and Leonardo Lini danced a tantalizing Tango to The Fate of Ophelia by Taylor Swift.

They scored 31 points - the highest score for the first episode. Watch our video of the performance here.

Pictured: Katelyn Cummins and Leonardo Lini in DWTS episode one. Photo credit: Kyran O'Brien

WEEK 2

Week two saw our Laois Rose and pro partner Leonardo kick off the show with a jive to APT. by Rosé and Bruno Mars.

After topping the scoreboard last week, Katelyn and Leonardo set the bar high with a score of 28 points. 

See our coverage of the performance here. 

Week 3 movie night

Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins and Leonardo Lini danced an American Smooth to ‘Whistle While You Work’ by Rachel Zegler from Snow White.

Movie night saw Katelyn and Leonardo dance an American smooth to 'Whistle While you Work' by Rachel Zegler from the live action Snow White movie. They scored 45 points.

They scored 35 points.

Watch our video of the performance here.

WEEK 4 Country night

Katelyn and Leonardo donned their cowboy boots for Country Night, dancing a Quickstep to ‘Hit the Diff’ by Marty Mone. They received 30 points.

Watch our video of the performance here.

Pictured: Leonardo and Katelyn's Country Week performance. Photo credit: Kyran O'Brien

Interview: Laois Rose Katelyn Cummins opens up ahead of Dancing with the Stars final

Week 5 dedicated dance night

Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins dedicated her dance to her parents, Noel and Siobhan. She and partner Leonardo Lini  performed a contemporary ballroom dance to ‘Never Enough’ by Kelly Clarkson. The emotional routine honoured her parents’ unwavering support throughout her life, particularly with challenges she faced growing up with a hearing impairment.

Watch our video of the performance here.

FRIGHT NIGHT WEEK 6

Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins and her pro partner Leonard Lini dancing a chilling Cha-cha-cha to ‘Break My Heart’ by Dua Lipa.

Watch our video here.

Boy band vs girl groups week 7

Week Seven was Boy Bands vs Girl Groups, Katelyn Cummins and Leonardo danced a Rumba to “No Matter What” by Boyzone.
They received 39 points.

Watch the performance here.

100th episode special

After scoring three tens the previous week, Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins and partner Leonardo Lini danced a Viennese Waltz inspired by season three winner Mairéad Ronan’s semi-final performance to You Are the Reason by Calum Scott and Leona Lewis.

Photo credit: Kyran O'Brien

Mairéad Ronan gifted Rose of Tralee winner Katelyn Cummins some motion sickness bands as she took on Ronan’s semi-final Viennese Waltz. Back in 2019, Ronan got full marks for this performance, and Cummins was determined to do the same.

“I don’t even know what to say… that was a piece of magic,” an emotional Karen Byrne commented.

“I think the best compliment I can give is that I think every girl in the country wants to be you tonight,” Nicky Byrne added.

Watch our video of the performances here.

Orchestra night

Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins and her partner Leonardo Lini closed the show with a Salsa to the traditional Latin number “Ran Kan Kan” by Tito Puente.

They scored 35 points.

In addition to their individual performances tonight, all six couples competed in the first ever ‘Orchestra-thon’, a dance marathon that had everyone on the floor simultaneously dancing to Chuck Berry’s ‘Roll Over Beethoven’.

For the first time ever, the marathon had six couples taking part, one more than its usual five, meaning even higher judges’ scores were available to the celebs. Katelyn earned 3 points.

Watch the performance here.

Semi Final

Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins and partner Leonardo Lini fought for a place in the final with a century-old Charleston from the 1920s to ‘Charleston’ by Bob Wilson & His Varsity Rhythm Boys.

The pair earned 40 points, with judge Oti Mabuse hailing it as 'the dance of the season'. Judge Brian Redmond gave the pair his first standing ovation.

Photo credit: Kyran O'Brien

The pair then time traveled to the decade she was born, the 2000s, performing a Samba to Beyoncé’s iconic ‘Single Ladies (Put a Ring On it)’, alongside pro dancer Alex Vladimirov.

In their second dance, the pair earned a fantastic 38 points.

In total, the pair earned 78 points in the semi-final, earning their place in season nine's grand finale.

Watch the performances here.

Footage credit: RTÉ's Dancing with the Stars Ireland.