Olivia Lawlor-Murphy
Born in Waterford, Ireland, Olivia was encouraged by her mother (herself a champion Irish dancer) to join her five sisters at Irish dancing classes. It was from here that Olivia’s passion for Irish dancing was born. Olivia attended classes at the McGrath School and later was fortunate to study under Brendan O’Brien ADCRG.

At 17, Olivia moved to Cork city, where she studied Chemistry and Mathematics at University College Cork. Irish dancing took a back seat for a time while Olivia continued her studies. When she moved to London a few years later, she attended and helped at the classes of Tony Tyrrell.

Olivia qualified as an Irish dancing teacher (TCRG) with An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha and set up the Lawlor School in 1990. Considerable success followed with pupils winning no less than 6 Southern England Oireachtas titles. Top ten places at World, All-Ireland, Great Britain and North American championships were soon to follow. In March 2005, Olivia with husband James Murphy TCRG joined forces with good friend and colleague Tony Tyrrell TCRG and Scoil Rince Ard Ri was formed.

Tony Tyrrell
A visiting Dance Master to the National School in Abbeyleix, Co Laois, first introduced Tony Tyrrell to Irish dancing at the age of 10 years. He then danced for Maura Bonham (now Shanahan) and later at the Dooley School in Co. Kilkenny. Tony went on to win at championship level in both county and provincial events.

Tony moved to London in the 50s where he danced for Mrs Ryan in north London. It was in the late 50s that he gave up Irish dancing to pursue a career in in general and later psychiatric nursing. In 1971, he was invited by the Dartford Irish Club to teach Irish dancing to the local children. It was from this small class that Tony was to produce winners of every major title in Irish dancing. He also instilled a love of dancing in all he taught, evidence of which can be seen in the number of teachers and adjudicators in London, who have been taught by Tony.

Tony toured extensively with Bob Geldof in the 1990s, promoting his hit single “The Great Song of Indifference”. He was the first Irish dancer to appear on the BBC’s Top of the Pops. Many other TV appearances followed. Tony is now an active teaching partner at Scoil Rince Ard Ri, where his considerable experience and knowledge are in evidence.

James Murphy
One of England’s best known dancers in the 1970s and 80s, James Murphy comesfrom a family steeped in Irish traditional music and dance. His father, a founder member of Comhaltas Ceoltori Eireann, was an accomplished fiddle player, while his brother and sisters were also champion dancers.

James was a pupil of the incomparable Ted Kavanagh for 20 years, enjoying many successes as a solo dancer, including winning the Great Britain and All-England titles. He represented southern England on each of the first 8 years of the World Championships, consistently producing successful performances which helped him to achieve 2 nd place.

For 11 years of his dancing career, James was a member of the world famous Ted Kavanagh senior figure and ceili teams. During his period in the teams, they were victorious on 5 occasions at the World Championships and were never placed outside the top 3.James made regular appearances on both British and Irish TV and radio. He spent several years with various dance troupes performing throughout Britain and Europe.

Having retired from active dancing, James qualified as an Irish dancing teacher (TCRG) with An Coimisiun le Rince Gaelacha. During this time he met and married Olivia. They are the proud parents of young Conor Murphy, himself displaying an aptitude for Irish dancing which is not surprising given his pedigree. A graduate in English and History from the University of London and an ex-secondary school teacher at The London Oratory, James is now applying his considerable expertise to the success of the Ard Ri dancing school.