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Frances O’Hara was born on 3 January 1949 in Belfast as the eldest daughter of Seamus and Phoebe O’Hara. Her paternal aunt, Ann O’Hara, was a dancer with Patricia Mulholland’s Irish Ballet, and it was through this connection that Frances was initially auditioned and accepted into the Irish dancing classes. The weekly lessons took place in Patricia Mulholland’s house in Nevington Street, a short walk from Frances’ home in north Belfast. Her brothers and sisters all followed her to Patricia Mulholland’s classes, but it was Frances who had the grace and enthusiasm to continue dancing through her teens and early twenties. She became part of the Irish Ballet and danced in a range of roles in ballets such as The Children of Lir, Phil the Fluter’s Ball and Cúchulainn. In 1967, she travelled with the company to the Isle of Man to participate in the Viking Festival. She made lifelong friendships through Irish dancing, and also maintained a close relationship with Patricia Mulholland. It was Frances and her friend and fellow dancer Sheelagh Gilligan who organised a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Irish Ballet in 1976.

In 1987, Frances married Robert Clark Buchanan and emigrated to the Cayman Islands, where she worked as an attorney in a private law practice. She later worked in Geneva, Switzerland for the philanthropic Oak Foundation. She and her husband retired to Ireland in 2013 to the village of Castlerock near Coleraine, where she became an active committee member of the Castlerock Community Association. She died in Coleraine on 27 May 2020.

Brian Bunting was born in Belfast in 1946. He attended St Mary’s Christian Brothers Primary School and later the Grammar School in Barrack Street, Belfast. At the age of 7, his parents sent him to the Patricia Mulholland School of Irish Dancing. In 1954, he was part of the junior support cast in Cúchulainn, the first major Irish Ballet produced by Patricia Mulholland, with Norman Maternaghan (Maen) in the lead role. Over the subsequent years Brian also danced in the later Irish Ballets produced by Patricia Mulholland, including The Dream of Angus Óg, The Oul’ Lammas Fair, The Mother of Oisín, The Children of Lir, Phil the Fluter’s Ball, Celtic Anthology, and the Variety Market. In 1958, Brian won the inaugural Junior Northern Ireland Championships (Boys). He was part of the team of Patricia Mulholland dancers that performed at festivals in the Royal Albert Hall, London and Cork (1962), Royan in France (1964), and the Isle of Man and Leeds (1967). Brian joined the Northern Ireland Civil Service in 1963. Owing to work and family commitments, he left the dancing school and stopped Irish dancing in 1968. He retired from the NICS in 2005.

Rosemary Butcher was a British choreographer and dancer known for her minimalist style.

The title Earl of Ormonde is one of the oldest titles in the peerages in the British Islands. It was first granted in 1328 to John Butler (d. 1338). The 19th Earl of Ormonde, James Wandesford Butler (1777-1838), held the office of Lord Lieutenant of county Kilkenny between 1831 and 1838 and the office of Militia Aide-de-Campt to King William IV from 1832 to 1837. In 1825, he was created 1st Marquess of Ormonde. The last holder of the titles was James Hubert Theobald Charles Butler, 7th Marquess of Ormonde (1899-1997), upon whose death the marquessate became extinct and the earldom became dormant. The family's main seats were Cahir Castle in county Tipperary and Kilkenny Castle in county Kilkenny.

For a full biography of James Butler please refer to the Dictionary of Irish Biography, https://www.dib.ie/biography/butler-james-james-butler-i-a1308.

Róisín Cahalan was born and raised in Limerick. She trained at the Nolan School of Irish Dance for ten years and later at Scoil Rince Dal gCais under the direction of Anthony Costello. She is a five-time Munster Champion and has placed in the top three at the All-Irelands and British Nationals. Her highest placing at the World Championships was second.

After retiring from competition, Róisín attended the University of Limerick, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business and a postgraduate degree in computer studies. Upon completion of her academic studies, she became a computer programmer in Dublin. Róisín put her career on hold when she joined the Riverdance Liffey Company in August 1996. She moved to the Lagan Company in January 1998 and returned to the Liffey Company in August 1998.

The department store of Cannock and Company Limited was established in 1850 by George Cannock and John Arnott and went into liquidation in 1984. For a full history of the company, please refer to Finbar Crowe, 'The History of Cannocks', Old Limerick Journal 18 (1985), pp. 5-9 and Old Limerick Journal 19 (1986), pp. 13-17.