O'Brolchain, Ester, ballet dancer and ballet teacher

Ester O'Brolchain was born in Dublin. She studied ballet with Valentina Dutko and later with Patricia Ryan at her National Ballet School. In her early teens she moved to Tunbridge Wells to train at the renowned Legat School. She returned to Dublin to perform with the National Ballet Company. Following a knee injury in 1962, which halted her dancing career, she moved to Italy to study opera production at the Rome Opera House. She later opened her own ballet school in Italy. In 1996, she returned to Dublin and became assistant artistic director at the College of Dance, teaching ballet and dance history. She returned to Italy in 2010.