St. Patrick's Day doesn't sneak up on the dancing Fabro twins. New Year's Eve fireworks are still exploding near their Makiki home when their parents first start to plan the teen duo's annual marathon of Irish step dancing.

By the time the holiday of all things Irish arrives — like it will Monday — 13-year-old Caleigh and Delia will have danced their way through January, February and the first two weeks of March.

This year is no different. The teens' schedule on the sainted day includes six performances and a parade.

"Everyone wants the girls to come and perform at their functions," said their mother, Lorraine Suankum. "They are performing every weekend, so not everyone can have a ball on St. Patrick's Day. I can't fit everyone in."

The twins are the stars of their family music and dancing group, Celtic Keiki, but everyone in the family finds a way onto the stage. Their younger brothers sing and dance, their stepfather backs them on guitar, and Mom's the emcee.

And they're an unusual sight, a Hawai'i-style Mulligan stew: Mom's of Irish heritage by way of New York, the twins are half Filipino, and their stepfather is a Mississippi blues musician who was born in Thailand and raised in Chicago.

Suankum, an interpreter for deaf students in the public schools, books her daughters at preschool events, seniors homes, malls, libraries, parties and weddings.

"They get invited to a lot of parties," she said. "We love to party. Any time there is a whistle or a fiddle or a flute, we are dancing."

The twins are too in love with the Irish music and dance to notice the hectic pace.

"How we dance is mostly about having fun, enjoying ourselves and having the time of our lives on stage," said Caleigh, the younger of the fraternal twins by a minute.

The girls, who are eighth-graders at St. Theresa School in Liliha, have become emissaries of Irish culture in Hawai'i, where an estimated one in 20 people has a tie to Ireland.

"They represent Irish culture well," said Bill Comerford, secretary of The Friends of St. Patrick Hawai'i. "They are probably the forefront of the whole Irish community here."

The Friends, which sponsors the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade through Waikiki, has been trying for the last three years to re-shape the Irish image in Hawai'i by planning activities throughout the year, he said.

The twins are a big part of that effort, said Comerford, owner of three pubs that feature Irish music.

"Most people's association with the Irish is with the pub scene," he said. "The girls show the energy and the vibrant culture that actually exists in Ireland."

The Fabro twins got their dancing start "in the womb," their mother said.

"They have been dancing since they were babies, but taking lessons since they were 6," Suankum said. "I think they were supposed to be 7, so I had to lie."

But over four years, the twins learned only three dances, said their mother, who finally decided that the only way to learn step dancing was to visit Ireland.

With the help of several Irish clubs, which held fundraisers, the girls were able to travel to Ireland for five weeks in summer 2005.

"It was grand," said Suankum, rolling the "g" and "r" in an Irish old-country style.

By immersing themselves in Irish culture, the twins were transformed, Suankum said. They took Gaelic lessons, learned to play traditional drums and fiddles and watched Irish step dancing every day.

It was a big break.

"In Ireland, the kids do it on the street," Suankum said. "They are not taking lessons in formal settings. It's fun. The steps were being taught to them by children."

When they came home, they started teaching their friends and they now help with the family's dance school.

Irish step dancing blends high steps, rigid posture and synchronized moves with other dancers.

"The point is to get off the ground," Suankum said. "We leap up in our dancing. It's a rigid dance. We're not warm and comfortable."

But the twins insist it isn't hard to learn, even if the closest you've ever been to Ireland is a pub.

"It is really skipping and hopping," Delia said. "Think of the steps and be happy and flow with the music."

Her sister said Irish music leaves her no choice but to dance. But keep in mind, she calls it "barn dancing on acid."

"It's just something in your blood," Caleigh said. "When you hear the music, you go crazy and you can't get enough of it. It's like marching-band music. You have to get up and march or do whatever just to get your energy out."

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com.