do irish dance shoes have a hard shank?

Question

you know, like ballet shoes so you can do pointe?

Answer 1

Irish dancing soft shoes, or ghilles, used when dancing jigs and reels are similar to ballet shoes. They are made of soft leather with the instep sometimes strengthened but they do not have a block in the toe like a ballet shoe. The hard shoes for dancing the hornpipe also made of leather have tips made of fibreglass or resin on the heels and toes to produce a louder sound when dancing.

Answer 2

Yes New Irish dance shoes have a thicker part at the top of there shoes so that they can go up on there toes. It isn't necessarily as hard as a ballet point shoe but still lets you go up onto your toes.
Hope this helped.