Ballet star has Cork in her heart, thanks to her Shandon gran

For London ballet dancer, Jeanette Jones, Cork has a special place in her heart thanks to her family’s Shandon roots.

Jeanette, 24, will be performing in The Nutcracker at the Cork Opera House in a Cork City Ballet production.

She has come full circle, graduating in classical ballet at the London Studio Centre and returning to Cork city where her grandmother, Irene Ellard, was born upstairs in The Old Reliable pub in Shandon.

The property remained in her family until the late 1980s when it was sold. It’s still standing, just around the corner from the Firkin Crane, and within the sound of Shandon’s famous bells.

Irene, who left Cork at 18 to train as a nurse in London, is now aged 87 and still lives there, in reasonably good health.

Jeanette Jones, who is starring in The Nutcracker at Cork Opera House next week. She says of Cork: “The people are so friendly there, much friendlier than London”

“My nan had an interesting life,” says Jeanette. “While working as a nurse, she met my grandad who was from China. He had been sent to Ireland to finish his medical training.

“They met each other in a hospital in Dublin, fell in love, and moved to Hong Kong in the 1960s.”

The couple had three children, including Jeanette’s mother. Jeanette’s grandfather, Eugene So, 97, is no longer with Irene and lives in Hong Kong.

“My nan was the third child out of four,” says Jeanette. “My nan’s mum ran the pub when her husband died. (Irene was just seven at the time.)

“When my nan’s mum died, it went to the oldest son, Cyril. When he died, his wife sold it.”

Irene Ellard (second from left) and her sister Anne, and their daughters Lisa (Jeanette’s mother) and Michelle

This is the third time that Jeanette has performed in a Cork City Ballet production since graduating in 2024.

The company puts on one big show a year, employing freelance dancers from around the world.

Jeanette was “lucky to get a soloist role in Sleeping Beauty in 2024,” she says, “the fairy of the enchanted garden. I had a lovely yellow tutu and I also had a little role in the prologue. That was a lovely surprise.

“I was in Swan Lake the following year in Cork, in some corps de ballet roles.”

Jeanette, who was born and raised in London, has fond memories of holidaying in Cork and West Cork as a child.

“We came over on holidays four times, the first time when I was eight. We went to Skibbereen a few times. We have some relatives in Cork.

“We saw all the sights in Cork city and we always made a visit to The Old Reliable. It’s not what you’d call a trendy young person’s pub. When my nan goes there, she says that nothing has really changed.”

Irene, says her granddaughter, is “not a very nostalgic kind of person, adding: “She’s very practical and just gets on with things. She is funny and has a great sense of humour.

“If there’s a problem, she doesn’t moan or whinge. She just deals with it.”

What does Irene think of Jeanette’s choice of career?

“I think it was unexpected. But she always saw that ballet makes me very happy and so she’s happy for me. I have one brother and he works in computers.”

As for Jeanette’s mother, “she realised that ballet was all I thought about. She did take me around to see some universities but she could tell I wasn’t really enthusiastic about them. I think she was happy when I went to ballet school.”

Jeanette, whose father co-owns a boat hire company in Henley in Oxfordshire, started ballet when she was just three years of age. “I didn’t really take it seriously until I was about 14,” she says “Then I started to really enjoy it.

“I got into my ballet career quite late for a ballet dancer. It was a bit of a last minute decision. I asked my mother if I could audition for ballet schools. She said ‘yes’, not thinking I’d get in anywhere. When I did get in, she couldn’t say ‘no’ to me.”

Jeanette Jones and her nan Irene Ellard. 

Jeanette spent her first year training in Glasgow at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and then transferred to London for her second and third years.

“I really enjoyed my three years of training,” she says. “Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to have done lots of short term contracts and tours with different companies.

“When I moved to Glasgow, it was right in the middle of covid so socialising was difficult. But doing ballet was a nice way to cope with the pressures of covid.”

Ballet is a very disciplined art form, but that doesn’t bother Jeanette. “I think I have the kind of personality where I thrive being quite strict in a disciplined environment,” she says.

How does she remain fit?

“Everyone is different. Personally, I find that ballet practice is enough to keep me strong and fit.

The Ellard children in 1944, Cyril, Rita, Eileen and Anne.

“My personal struggle during my entire ballet life is the fact that I’m not a very naturally flexible person. I always have to keep on top of stretching every day at home. For some people, it comes very naturally to them. They’re born able to do the splits. That’s not the case with me.”

Jeanette loves Cork, and is looking forward to her visit.

“It is such a great city, big enough that there’s plenty to do with lots of lovely restaurants and bars,” she says.

“The people are so friendly there, much friendlier than London.

“And the city is surrounded by such great countryside, and you can go to places like Kinsale and Skibbereen.”

One of the features of Shandon that Jeanette loves is the Dragon of Shandon at Halloween, leading the annual community-led Samhain parade.

She feels at home in the area and says that more cafés to hang out in would enhance this quintessential part of Cork.

The Nutcracker, directed by Alan Foley with choreography by Yury Demakov, is at the Cork Opera House from November 5-7, with shows at 8pm – please note that the 2.30pm matinee on the Saturday is sold out. Tickets: €36, €42, €48. See https://www.corkoperahouse.ie/