Daire Nolan (born 1 December 1968) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

dancer and choreographer best known for his work in '' Lord of the Dance'' and '' Feet of Flames''. Nolan has been dancing since the age of ten under the guidance of his parents Rose and Tony Nolan in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

and is no stranger to the international stage. He is undoubtedly the most famous "baddie" (evil stage character) within the

Irish dance Irish dance refers to a group of traditional dance forms that originate in Ireland, encompassing dancing both solo and in groups, and dancing for social, competitive, and performance purposes. Irish dance in its current form developed from vari ...

world since he was the original "Dark Lord" in Michael Flatley's show, '' Lord of the Dance''. He later played the role in Flatley's show, '' Feet of Flames''. He left the show in 2001. Twice World champion and three times All-Ireland champion, Nolan has performed throughout Europe and in the United States of America, South Africa, Canada, Israel and Australia. He has also appeared on numerous television shows including ''

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'' and ''

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'' in the USA, and ''

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'' in Britain. Nolan performed on Michael Flatley's tribute programme on RTÉ's '' The Late Late Show'' special during 2000. He has also performed with

The Chieftains The Chieftains are a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous wi ...

in the past and at the Oscars in Los Angeles in 1998. After leaving ''Lord of the Dance'' Nolan joined the cast of ''To Dance on the Moon'' a production which has already played to in excess to 1 million people throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan. Both Nolan and his brother Cian has played a major role in the development of this production, as well as ''Legend of the Knight'' and ''Dance of Desire''. A past under-20

Munster Rugby Munster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Mumhan) is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU's Munster B ...

player and All Ireland

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

and

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

champion, Nolan has since retired from stage dancing and now resides in Limerick with his wife Carol, his two daughters Fia and Alva and his son Shay. He currently works in Element Six in Shannon. Nolan and his brother Cian are dance choreographers for all Ceol Chiarrai productions. In January 2009, he was chosen as the Irish judge for the American dance show, '' Superstars of Dance''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nolan, Daire 1968 births 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Living people Performers of Irish dance Irish male dancers People from Limerick (city)