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In the run-up to St Patrick's Day, we proudly present our 12th annual Murphia List, in partnership with Kerrygold, showcasing the Irish talent contributing to the creativity of London's food and drink scene.
Chefs
NEW - Sasha Brent
Head Chef - Crispin
Originally from North Kerry, Sasha built her experience working in some great Irish kitchens, including Listowel Arms Hotel, Ballymaloe House and Momo Restaurant in Waterford, before moving to the UK. In London she joined chef Lewis De Haas at Crispin, which serves up a modern European menu in the heart of Spitalfields. Each of these places helped shape her approach to cooking, which is about combining strong culinary foundations with a relaxed, produce-led style. As an altruistic side quest, she’s also worked with Chefs in Schools, a charity which works to bring nourishing food into school kitchens and inspire the next generation to think differently about what they eat.
NEW - Lawrence Barrow
Pop-up chef and Great British Menu 2026 contestant
Hailing from Ballymena in County Antrim, Lawrence has been cooking in and running kitchens in London since 2020. His first job in the city was a stage at Tom Aikens’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Muse, before a stint leading James Cochran's restaurant 12:51. Working under the Michelin-starred chefs Lee Westcott and Jason Atherton further shaped and honed his culinary skills. Most recently, he’s held pop-ups and residencies with his concept Hearth and Tine, which champions Irish ingredients and Irish hospitality. Think Carlingford oysters with elderflower and burnt chilli, or Irish cheese served with pine cone and linseed. This year, he’s appearing in Great British Menu for the second time, representing Northern Ireland.
Follow Lawrence on Instagram at @lbarrow4
NEW - Denis Shankey
Head Chef - Portland
Raised in Dublin, Denis is the third and final Shankey brother to make it onto the Murphia List. Having made his way to London at the age of 22, Denis cut his teeth under the watchful eye of Shaun Searley at the Quality Chop House. He then moved to the group’s sister restaurant Portland in 2022, with executive chef Chris Basset. After a short hiatus helping his brother Eoghan set up the Hackney restaurant Shankey's, and some time spent with Adejoké Bakare at Michelin-starred Chishuru, Denis returned to Portland and progressed to head chef in 2025. And in March this year Denis joined his fellow Michelin-starred chefs at this year’s star ceremony in Dublin to celebrate the restaurant maintaining their Michelin star for an impressive 11th year.
NEW - Beth O’Brien
Senior Sous Chef - The Fat Badger
Beth is Dublin-born and studied French and Spanish at Trinity College Dublin before training at Ballymaloe Cookery School. From there she went on to complete a Masters in Food Business at University College Cork. Since then, she’s worked in restaurants and bakeries in Ireland, the UK and New Zealand, including Ballymaloe House, Pophams Bakery, and Mor Bakery in Auckland. She has also appeared in print, writing a well-received baking column in the Irish Times. Beth is now working as Senior Sous Chef at the critically-rated Fat Badger pub in Notting Hill under Head Chef George Williams, who’s also Ballymaloe-trained.
Follow Beth on Instagram at @bethcooksthings
RETURNING - Fionnan Flood
Group Head Chef - Richoux Restaurants
Now heading up this restaurants at revived French bistro group Richoux, Fionnan credits his mother and grandmother back in Graystones, County Wicklow for sparking his interest in cooking. Since moving to London in 2007 he learned his craft working for Gordon Ramsay at The Maze Grill and Richard Corrigan at Lindsay House before running the kitchens at the swanky Arts Club and Riding House Cafe. At Richoux, he's bringing their vision to modernise French brasserie food to life.
Anna Haugh
Chef Patron: Myrtle Restaurant, owner The Wee Sister and new MasterChef judge.
Anna Haugh began her career in her home town of Dublin at L'Ecrivain with Derry Clarke. She then moved to London, where she worked for Shane Osborne at Pied a Terre, Philip Howard at The Square, and then for the Gordon Ramsay Group. In 2019, she opened her own modern Irish restaurant Myrtle in Chelsea, followed by The Wee sister, a wine bar featuring wines made by Irish people around the world. She’s worked on numerous shows for the BBC and is the new judge alongside Grace Dent on MasterChef for 2026.
Follow Anna on Instagram @haughser
Christina Blevins
Head Chef - Row on 5
Born in Lurgan, County Armagh, the first restaurant Christina worked in was Deane’s Meat Locker in Belfast, under head chef Simon Toye and Michael Deane. Following a move to London, she started at Jason Atherton’s Little Social before moving to Outlaws at The Capital with Nathan Outlaw and Tom Brown. After seven years working under another Murphia List name, Clare Smyth at her restaurant Core, Blevins became head chef at the much talked-about Row on 5. The restaurant is Jason Atherton’s flagship UK offering, which recently got upgraded to two Michelin stars in this year’s guide.
Follow Christina on Instagram at @Christinablevins_
Luke Ahearne
Chef/Partner - Motorino
Hailing from Clonmel, chef Luke Ahearne got his first taste for restaurant work interning at Neven Maguire’s MacNean’s House & Restaurant in Cavan. After running his family’s cafe followed by time at Garrett Byrne’s Campagne in Kilkenny, Luke then set his sights on London. He moved to The Clove Club which was then ranked 26th best restaurant in the world before transferring to its sister restaurant, Luca. At just 29 years old, he became Head Chef at Corrigan’s Mayfair, followed by the critically-acclaimed Lita, which won a Michelin star less than a year after opening. He’s now running the kitchen at Motorino in Marylebone, which he opened with Stevie Parle last October.
Follow Luke on Instagram at @lukeahearne
Clare Smyth MBE
Chef Patron: Core by Clare Smyth, Owner: Corenucopia
Born on a farm in Country Antrim, Clare Smyth MBE moved to England at the age of 16, building a career that included working with Gordon Ramsay for 13 years. Her first solo restaurant, Core opened in August 2017 in Notting Hill. The restaurant is an elegant, fine dining restaurant, which also has a standalone bar, Whiskey & Seaweed with a focus on whiskey from the UK and Ireland. Clare is the first and only British female chef to hold three Michelin stars. In 2025 she opened Corenucopia, a luxury bistro in Chelsea and her next big project is Coreus, a fine dining seafood focused restaurant at the Waldorf Astoria Admiralty Arch, which will open in 2026.
Follow her on Instagram @chefclaresmyth
Kate O'Sullivan
Head of Pastry - Osteria Vibrato
Kate grew up in Greystones in County Wicklow. As a student at the Dublin Institute of Technology, she left the course early after getting a job working in the pastry section of the luxury Powerscourt Hotel. Pastry skills proved to be her ticket to London, where she moved through the kitchens of 34, Sexy Fish and The Ivy while working for Caprice Holdings. Following time as Head Pastry Chef at Noble Rot and head chef of Baudry Greene, she’s now the Head Pastry Chef at the hot new Soho spot Osteria Vibrato, where her made-to-order amaretti biscuits are already becoming a must-have.
Follow Kate on Instagram at @kateos2
Paddy Maher
Head Chef - Island
Chef Paddy hails from County Meath and started in hospitality young - taking his first kitchen job at just 16. In the intervening years, he worked in a series of well-known Dublin restaurants including Orwell Row and Row Wines. But it was a stint back in 2021 as the head chef of super-cool Greek hangout The Peligoni Club where he met the chef who offered him his current role. Tom Brown of Michelin-starred Cornerstone in Hackney was at Peligoni for a guest chef series and the pair got on like a house on fire. That led to Paddy becoming Head Chef first at Pearly Queen and, following that, Head Chef of Tom’s restaurant Island in King’s Cross.
Follow Paddy on Instagram at @maher_
Conor Gadd
Chef, Co-Owner- Trullo and Founder of Burro
At sixteen, Belfast-born Conor found himself working under the inspirational Michelin-starred chef Paul Rankin at the city’s Roscoff restaurant. Following university, he went to Ballymaloe, where he was further inspired by its produce-driven, ingredient-led cooking. From there, he moved to London, working at Terroirs before joining Trullo in Islington to learn the business side of restaurants.
He worked his way up to Head Chef, a position he held for over a decade before becoming Chef Co-Owner. Today, Conor oversees all aspects of Trullo. This month, Conor will open Burro, his first solo venture in Covent Garden, inspired by the cooking and hospitality that have defined Trullo - traditions he sees reflected in both his native Ireland and beloved Italy.
Follow Trullo on Instagram at @trullo_restaurant
Patrick Powell
Culinary Director, One Club Row and The Knave of Clubs
Originally from Killala, Co. Mayo, Patrick's career spans both sides of the Irish Sea and started under the tutorship of acclaimed Irish chef Derry Clarke at the Michelin-starred L'Ecrivain in Dublin. Following time at Cutler & Co. in Melbourne, Patrick moved to London where he worked with Anthony Demetre at Wild Honey and Nuno Mendes at Chiltern Firehouse as Head Chef. In 2019 he opened his first restaurant, Allegra in Stratford, followed by The Midland Grand Dining Room in 2023. In 2025 he oversaw the opening of two huge hits The Knave of Clubs pub and One Club Row restaurant. Powell is now focusing on a new project in central London and working on a separate project in LA with Irish restaurateur Sean Martin
Follow him on Instagram @ppowellchef
Richard Corrigan
Chef Patron of the Corrigan Collection
Dublin-born, but raised in Meath, Corrigan is one of the leading forces among the Irish in London’s hospitality industry. He runs Bentley's in Piccadilly, the eponymous Corrigan's in Mayfair and Daffodil Mulligan in Old Street, which saw him partner with John Nugent and Tony Gibney. Most recently, he opened The Portrait Restaurant on the top of the National Portrait Gallery which enjoys killer views over London. All of Corrigan’s restaurants are supplied with vegetables, fruit and salads from his Irish estate, Virginia Park Lodge in Cavan.
Follow him on Instagram @chefcorrigan
Hugh Corcoran
Chef and co-owner - The Yellow Bittern
Belfast-born Hugh has barely been out of the headlines since opening his restaurant in King’s Cross. In setting out his stall - no online bookings, cash only, drinkers preferred but no wine list - he stirred up a social storm that shows no signs of settling down. Joining him in his endeavour as co-owners are fellow Irishman Oisín Davies and royal adjacent Frances Armstrong-Jones. Corcoran trained up in the Basque Country and plied his trade in Paris at restaurants including Delicatessen before making the move to London. Despite the controversy, The Yellow Bittern has forged its own path and eighteen months later is settling into its stride.
Diarmuid Goodwin
Pop-up chef
Diarmuid grew up just outside Belfast but it was the time he spent on his grandparents’ dairy farm in County Tyrone that really kickstarted his love affair with cooking and produce. After joining the hospitality business at the tender age of 15, working at Nick’s Warehouse in Belfast, he moved to London to apprentice under Angela Hartnett, working for her for seven years before time spent with Bruno Loubet and then at Trullo in Islington. Having run Sager + Wilde’s Bethnal Green restaurant, he has done a series of pop-ups across the UK and Ireland, and his freelance work has included collaborating with Mam Sham for a dinner to celebrate Sigrid’s album launch and his next pop-up is in London this May with Irish food magazine Guzzle.
Follow Diarmuid on Instagram at @diarmuidg94
Niamh Larkin
Executive Pastry Chef - CUT by Wolfgang Puck at 45 Park Lane
Born and raised on a farm in Co. Limerick, Niamh’s love of food was cultivated from an early age. She worked at the local hotel The Dunraven Arms where she had her first experience in a professional kitchen. At 19, she packed her bags and moved to London to work at the prestigious Dorchester Hotel. After that, she was part of the opening team at Coworth Park, Ascot. She moved back to London to open a sister property and she's now the Executive Pastry Chef at CUT by Wolfgang Puck at 45 Park Lane. She can’t make this year’s Murphia List party because she’s in LA cooking at the Oscars.
Follow Niamh on Instagram at @niamhlarkin_pastry
Max Rocha
Chef Owner of Café Cecilia
Max is the chef and owner of Café Cecilia, an East London neighbourhood restaurant serving simple and European-inspired food. Having previously worked at restaurants such as The River Café and St John Bread & Wine, Max’s cooking takes inspiration from what’s in season around him. Dubliner Max’s greatest influence is the cooking of his mum Odette and the food he grew up with in Ireland. Café Cecilia has been a runaway success since opening, garnering glowing reviews from the critics. Max is also a cookbook author, having published the Café Cecilia Cookbook with Phaidon.
Follow Max on Instagram at @cafececilialondon.
Kenneth Culhane
Head Chef: The Dysart
Originally from Lisselton, North Kerry, Roux scholar Kenneth has a wealth of experience behind him having worked for Patrick Guilbaud in Ireland, Tetsuya Wakuda in Sydney and Jean Georges Vongerichten in New York. He’s now at the bucolic restaurant The Dysart in Richmond, which has held its Michelin star for six years. In 2024, Kenneth received the top honour of being elected as an Academician of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts and also appeared on Michel Roux’s TV series Roux down the River on the Food Network.
Follow him on Twitter @kennethculhane
Nick Fitzgerald
Chef/Patron: Tacos Padre
Originally from Dublin, Nick is also half Spanish - his mother hails from Asturias in the north of Spain. A longtime fan of all things Mexican, his restaurant career eventually took him to Mexico City, where he joined the team at Pujol, one of Mexico’s most celebrated restaurants. Now he has his own taqueria in London's Borough Market. Tacos Padre is a very modern taqueria with a focus on traditional cooking techniques, exploring Mexico through its different regional cuisines. They change the menu on a regular basis and take in the seasonal produce directly from Borough Market.
Follow Nick on Instagram @nicholaspfg
Colin Kelly
Head Chef: The Twenty Two
Hailing from Tullamore, Colin began his career at Dublin's L'Ecrivain before deciding to move to London 'for one year'. That was 21 years ago. In that time, Kelly spent eight years with Anthony Demetre, where he became Head Chef at Wild Honey. Then, alongside Tom Slegg and Alan Christie, he opened the highly-rated Picture restaurant on Great Portland Street and Picture Marylebone, followed by a stint as Executive Chef at the Corrigan Collection. Colin is now Head Chef of Mayfair hotel, restaurant and members' club The Twenty Two where he's teamed up once again with Alan Christie to run the kitchen. It’s very much an A-lister hangout with recent guests including Paris Hilton, Kylie Jenner and Tom Cruise.
Follow the Twenty Two on Instagram @the22.london
Fiona Hannon
Head Chef- Daffodil Mulligan
Born in Bray, Country Wicklow, Fiona came early to the hospitality trade, starting as a kitchen porter in a local hotel during the school holidays when she was 15. She moved to London to work for Richard Corrigan, where she took the position as demi-head de partie at Corrigan's much-lauded Lindsay House. From there, she helped open Corrigan's Mayfair, was Head Chef at Bentley's and is now at Corrigan's East London restaurant Daffodil Mulligan, running the kitchen there. Referring to her long-term working relationship with Corrigan as a 'life sentence', she says he gives her "the freedom and space to get on with my job."
Follow Daffodil Mulligan on Instagram at @daffodilmulligan
Brian Hennessy
Head Chef - Winter Garden Restaurant
Cork man Brian is the newly appointed Head Chef of the Winter Garden Restaurant at The Landmark London, having joined from another glitzy five-star London hotel, The Ritz where he was Sous Chef in John Williams’ Michelin-starred kitchen. His Michelin-level experience extends to Ireland too, where his earlier positions include a year at the one-star Campagne restaurant in Kilkenny. He has exciting plans for the Winter Garden, which he intends to turn into a destination restaurant.
Follow Brian on Instagram at @Brian_hennessy95
Dave McCarthy
Head Chef: Scott's
From Midleton, County Cork, Dave caught the restaurant bug working in a family-run restaurant and moved to London when he was 22 to work at The Ivy. He stayed there for two years before moving to Harvey Nichols to work for Henry Harris as Chef de Partie. From here he moved to J Sheekey under Tim Hughes where he worked for nine years. In 2006 he was in the team that helped to relaunch Scott's and has been Head Chef here since 2009.
Follow Dave on Instagram @maccer73.
Restaurateurs
Daniel Haugh
Co-owner and Manager - Myrtle
It’s a family affair for Daniel Haugh who works alongside his cousin, chef Anna Haugh, at Myrtle in Chelsea - a restaurant he’s now also part owner of. Born in Tallaght, in Dublin, his earliest food memories and inspiration came from family holidays, but he credits his wine education to Ely Wine Bar in Dublin where he began his first job as a waiter before later joining the management team. He moved to London to work at Myrtle where he continues to develop the warm Irish hospitality that the restaurant has become known for.
Follow Dan on Instagram at @Haughdan
Lynsey Coughlan
Co-Founder - INIS
Dubliner Lynsey’s first role in food was a Saturday job at a local deli in Dublin, teaching her very quickly that she wanted to work with food and with people. She then spent four years working in high-end food retail in Australia before heading to London, where she worked for top butcher The Ginger Pig for a decade and eventually became its head of operations. In 2023, she opened local restaurant INIS with her partner Lindsay in Hackney, where the pair have lived for the past ten years. It serves up seasonal British and Irish food. She’s also a consultant at Borough Market, advising on animal welfare and provenance.
Follow Lynsey on Instagram at @lynseycoughlan
Eoghan Shankey
Co-owner- Shankeys
Hospitality is in Eoghan’s blood, having been raised in Dublin pubs by his bartending father, Fintan. A move to London saw him honing his skills at the iconic cocktail bar Milk & Honey before founding Síbín, a hospitality and cocktail consultancy. He’s now co-owner (with head chef Sacha Henry) of Shankeys, an Irish/Indian restaurant serving Irish booze and Indian food in a converted bookies in Hackney. The restaurant opened in 2022 and aims to celebrate Irish and Indian culture through food, drink, and warm hospitality. In 2024, Eoghan and Sacha teamed up with Muireach (Eoghan's brother) to open The Raglan, a pub with a warm Irish welcome in E17.
Jay Bradley and Ian Duignan
Co-founders - BÓHA London
Dubliners Jay and Ian are part of a glittering team behind Chelsea bar and restaurant BÓHA London, which also includes Made In Chelsea stars Harvey Armstrong and Sam Holmes. It’s a unique spot on the King’s Road, serving what they describe as an elevated Irish and British cuisine in the heart of Chelsea. And if there’s one thing you should expect to find plenty of at the bar it’s great Irish whiskey, which makes sense as Jay and Ian are CEO and CCO respectively of luxury spirit company, Craft Irish Whiskey.
John Devitt
Owner: Koya
Dubliner Devitt opened Koya in 2010 after being inspired by a Parisian restaurant devoted to the udon noodle, having cunningly spotted that London was undersupplied in decent noodle joints. Koya Bar followed pretty smartly after and both developed an almost fanatical fan base. Koya has evolved over the years, joined by Koya City at the Bloomberg Arcade and Koya KO in Broadway Market in East London.
Robin and Sarah Gill
Restaurateurs and chef: Sorella, Darby's and Bottle & Rye
Both from Dublin, this powerhouse restaurant couple are now responsible for a boutique group of restaurants across London. Robin earned his stripes working at La Stampa in Dublin, The Oak Room with Marco Pierre White and under Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons. Their first restaurant, The Dairy in Clapham, was a massive success and led to the opening of Sorella in the same area. In 2019 they opened Darby's in Embassy Gardens right beside the American Embassy along with a bakery and grill in Brentford, Rye by the Water. The pair scored again with the opening of their Parisian-inspired wine bar Bottle + Rye in Brixton and have just opened the Basque-inspired spot Bar Brasso, beside Darby’s.
Follow Robin on Instagram @robin.gill.food and Sarah on @sarahmurfgill
Brian Hannon
Restaurateur: Super 8 Restaurants
Dubliner Brian Hannon came to London as a graduate working for Bass and ended up running over 400 sites for them. He then spent two years as Selfridges Food & Restaurants director before teaming up with Ben Chapman to open Smoking Goat. They now co-own the Super 8 Restaurants group, which includes Kiln and the upcoming Impala in Soho. Super 8’s partnership with Tomos Parry covers Brat, Brat x Climpsons Arches and Michelin-starred Mountain. Hannon is also a founding board member of the Soho Business Alliance, supporting predominantly independent hospitality and retail operators throughout Soho.
Follow Super 8 on Instagram @super8restaurants
David Moore
Founding Director: Pied à Terre
Moore was born in Monaghan and got his first taste of the trade working in his mother's hotel. Having graduated from Blackpool catering college, he landed a job front of house at Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons, where he honed his skills. Moore opened Pied à Terre in 1991 at the age of 26, achieving a Michelin star in its first year; a 33-year run with Michelin puts Pied à Terre as London’s longest-standing Michelin-starred restaurant. The restaurant comprises three private dining rooms, including a first-floor Chef's Table and Cookery School and has garnered plaudits for its particularly inventive plant-based offering.
Follow him on Twitter @davidpied
John Nugent
CEO: Green & Fortune
In his early career, John was MD of Corrigan Restaurants and CEO of the London caterer, Searcy’s. In 2008, he launched Green & Fortune with the opening of Kings Place in Kings Cross. There, he set up Rotunda Bar and Restaurant as well as Kings Place Events. Amongst other venues, his company is also behind the hospitality operation at Central Hall Westminster. Later this year they’ll launch a myriad of facilities at the new London Museum in Smithfield, including a new bar operation, a restaurant and cafe. He is also a partner with Richard Corrigan and Tony Gibney in Daffodil Mulligan and its downstairs bar, Gibney's London as well as being a founder of Patina Bakery in Edinburgh and investor in other restaurant projects.
Follow Green & Fortune on Instagram @greenandfortune
Emma Moran
Founder - Emerald Eats
When Emma started Emerald Eats she had one mission — to bring the legendary Irish chicken fillet roll to the UK. Her timing was perfect and the street food stall in East London was an immediate hit with both Londoners and homesick expats. It's now a full-scale catering company, bringing true Irish hospitality to offices, stadiums, racing events, festivals and Six Nations fixtures, delivering authentic flavours for Irish occasions abroad.
Follow Emma on Instagram at @emerald_eats_
Pubs and bars
NEW - Nick and Peter O'Halloran
Co-founders - Nancy Spains
Founded by Kerry-born brothers Peter and Nicholas O’Halloran, Irish-inspired pub Nancy Spains burst onto the London scene in early 2024 with the opening of their flagship Shoreditch venue, named after London’s first Irish woman landlady. That was swiftly followed by the opening of another pub in Monument. Both have been immediate hits, going viral for their live music scenes as well as the epic queues that snake down the streets with punters desperate to get in. While many restaurants and pubs in the City of London have been slow to rebound after Covid, Nancy Spains is a standout success story. For them, it’s all about building on that success, without losing touch with the pubs’ authenticity.
Follow them on Instagram at @nancyspains
Oisin Rogers
Co-owner and pub landlord - The Devonshire.
Sligo-born Oisín’s life in London can be traced through the hugely popular pubs he’s run from The Ship in Wandsworth to his tenure at the Guinea Grill, where he turned the venue from a traditional mainstay to a cult destination. Of course, now everyone knows him as the landlord of The Devonshire, which has been an unqualified hit from Day 1 of opening and has had everyone from Ed Sheeran, Scarlet Johansson and Margot Robbie to Bono and Timothee Chalamet through its doors. Famous for Guinness, the Devonshire wines and a remarkably busy restaurant, the Devonshire has become a stalwart of the city's drinking and dining in a short space of time
Photo: Mike Taylor
Follow Osh on Instagram @mcmoop
Muireach Shankey
Co-owner- The Raglan
Born and raised in Dublin but now living in London for over a decade, Muireach has worked his way up from serving in the dive bars of Shoreditch, to most recently running Clapton’s famous Crooked Billet through more Euros tournaments than he cares to remember. In October, he opened The Raglan pub in Walthamstow, along with his brother Eoghan and chef Sacha Henry, co-owners of Shankey’s restaurant in Hackney. Serving up great pints of Guinness, Achill oysters and a mix of Indian and Irish-inspired dishes, The Raglan is bringing the best of Irish hospitality to London’s East End.
Follow Muireach on Instagram at @theraglan_e17
Nobuko Okamura
Wine Manager - Farm Shop Mayfair
Born in Dublin to Japanese parents, Nobuko studied languages in Japan and France before embarking on a career in wine where she studied at the Université du Vin in the Rhone Valley in France. She’s worked in fine dining restaurants and hotels in Australia and the Middle East before finally settling in London. Some of her previous roles were at La Petite Maison London, Coya Mayfair and Fortnum & Mason. She’s been Wine Manager at Artfarm’s Farm Shop Wine Bar in Mayfair since it opened in 2024, where she and her team have curated a strong and ever-evolving wine list of around 200 bins.
Gearoid Devaney
Founder - The Black Book
Gearoid left his hometown of Belfast nearly 30 years ago to immerse himself in the world of wine - working in the vineyards of Bordeaux and as a sommelier in Michelin-starred restaurants in London and Paris. Now director of Burgundy importer Flint Wines, Gearoid is also co-owner of Cabotte, a Burgundy-centric restaurant in the City and The Black Book, a wine bar in Soho. One of only 220 Master Sommeliers and the only Irish one, Gearoid also sits on the Board for the Court of Master Sommeliers, setting exam papers, teaching and guiding the next generation of sommeliers through the programme.
Follow Gearoid on Instagram @gearoiddevaney
Aaron Wall
Owner - Homeboy, Co-Owner - The Prince, Partner - Without Papers
Dubliner Aaron is the owner of Homeboy Bar in London. Open since 2018, Homeboy has been nominated for Top Best New International Cocktail Bar and Top 10 Best International Cocktail Bar in Europe. They also say they pour the best pint of Guinness in London (a hotly-contested category!). Aaron has in the last 12 months invested in the people who have worked with him in the past, developing the Without Papers Bar in Shoreditch with ex-Homeboy manager Massimiliano Bosio and partners. Recently, Aaron opened The Prince Bar in Old Street with Will Hawes, his longtime friend and also an ex-manager of Homeboy.
Follow Aaron on Instagram @themightyirishmanawall.
Ciarán Smith
Owner - The Bottle Cocktail Shop & Bar
Dublin-born and Wexford-raised, Ciarán Smith is the founder of The Bottle Cocktail Shop & Bar, which opened in Islington in 2021. Known for its annually rotating menu of inventive drinks, the venue delivers a distinctive cocktail experience. A Top 50 Cocktail Bars UK award-winner, Smith has built a team of skilled bartenders whose creations can be enjoyed in the cosy bar, taken home through a range of bottled cocktails, and which are now supplied to hospitality groups and corporate clients across the UK.
Follow Ciaran on Instagram @ciaran_bcs
Conor Daly
Head of Commercial Operations - Ardent Pub Group
Greystones-born Conor moved to London after studying at Trinity College, Dublin. Having worked in hospitality throughout school and college the decision to move to London came after a meal at Robin Gill's The Dairy in Clapham ended up with a job offer to work at the highly rated restaurant. Conor’s now part of Ardent Pub Group, formerly part of highly rated restaurant group JKS, for whom he opened The Cadogan Arms in Chelsea, The George Public House in Fitzrovia and The Hound in Chiswick. Right now, his days are spent looking after the commercial operations of the pub group.
Follow Conor on Instagram @conor_daly_49
Cafes and bakeries
James Hennebry
Co-founder - Rosslyn Coffee
Rosslyn is a collection of eight award-winning, independent speciality coffee bars serving London’s Square Mile. All eight sites are now comfortably amongst the busiest in the world and Rosslyn will be adding more to their portfolio this year. Kilkenny-born James began his career in the music industry with Live Nation before swapping his late nights for early mornings. Having honed his coffee skills in Melbourne, James relocated to London to work with Caravan Coffee Roasters. In 2018, alongside his business partner Mat Russell, James launched Rosslyn in the City of London.
Follow James on Instagram at @rosslyncoffee and @j_hennebry
Sarah Fox
Head pastry chef - N5 Kitchen
Top baker Sarah grew up in Dublin, where she started learning how to bake courtesy of lessons from her talented grandmother Helen. She went on to study Culinary at the Dublin Institute of Technology before starting her career in the pastry kitchen at the city’s iconic Shelbourne Hotel. From there, she moved on to No Messin’ Bakery in Stoneybatter, where she learned to appreciate local and seasonal produce from Hilary Quinn. She made the leap over to London in 2022 and baked in popular bakery Pophams for 2 years, where she fell in love with viennoiserie and recipe development. She’s now working for N5 kitchen in Highbury, running the pastry section.
Follow Sarah on Instagram at @sarahfox2
Ciara O'Shea and Ken Nally
Owners - F. Mondays
Ken is from Wicklow, where he grew up on his dad's trout farm in Annamoe. Born in Tipperary to a family of butchers (her brother Darragh is also on this list), Ciara is a makeup artist by trade and uses her world travels as inspiration for the grocery and coffee store that she and husband Ken opened in Brixton nearly a decade ago. F Mondays has a stellar reputation in Brixton for being a great spot to sit and have a coffee with friends or buy something special to have at home. They also have a second site on Brixton’s Coldharbour Lane.
Follow them on Instagram @fmondayscoffee
Dee Rettali
Owner - Fortitude Bakehouse
Artisan baker Dee was born in North Cork but has lived and worked in London since the late Eighties, helping to pioneer the organic food movement in London and developing award-winning businesses like Patisserie Organic and the Fernandez & Wells group. In 2018, she opened her own bakery, Fortitude Bakehouse, a craft bakery in Bloomsbury where her groundbreaking techniques have seen the bakery become a huge viral hit. Dee published her first baking book Baking with Fortitude in 2021 which won the prestigious André Simon award. In 2024, she opened a new baking site down the road from her current bakery to meet demand.
Follow Dee on Instagram @fortitudebakehouse.
The producers
NEW - Kevin Boyle
Owner - Wine Vistas
Dubliner Kevin has been living in London since 2004, although he says he’s not altogether sure how that happened. Having previously worked in the tech industry, he switched to wine a year ago and ended up picking up The Devonshire wine account, which swiftly became almost a full-time job. The London-based company also supply wine to Dishoom, but it’s The Dev’s account that really propelled them to fame. Demand for the pub’s own-label white, red and rosé was so great at one point that Kevin had to air-freight pallets of the wine in from Portugal last year just so the supplies didn't run out. His newest project is a new wine label, Rumblefish, along with creating more own-label wines for projects in the UK, US and Denmark.
Follow Kevin on Instagram at @winevistas
Steve Ryan
Food Photographer - Founder of Root + Bone, 40FT Brewery and Acme Fire Cult.
Steve Ryan is a food & drink photographer and entrepreneur from Kilkenny. He moved to East London in 2010, where he founded Root + Bone magazine (2013) and 40ft Brewery (2015) in Dalston, where he is currently Managing Director. In 2022, he opened Acme Fire Cult together with chef Andrew Clarke. His photography clients include Guinness, Jamie Oliver, Tabasco and British Airways.
Follow Steve on Instagram @_steveryan_
Simon Lamont
Owner - Rocks Oysters
Dublin-born Simon Lamont's Rocks Oysters is one of London's best-known oyster wholesalers, focusing on low-yield independent farms from Britain and Ireland, supplying some of London’s most exciting restaurants. They’ve been seen at everything from the National Restaurant Awards and Meatopia to our own Murphia List party. You can also find them shucking London’s briniest at Canopy Market in Kings Cross every weekend.
Follow him on Instagram @RocksOysters.
Front of House
NEW - Xander Fallon
Maître D’- Impala
Xander’s first taste of the hospitality world was in his hometown of Cashel, working in a pub selling ice cream from a hatch to American tourists. After moving to London for university, he started working at popular Hackney bar Off Broadway. An encounter with chef Tomos Parry at nearby Climpson’s Arch led to him working at Brat; he was also part of the opening team at Mountain in Soho. For the past few years, he’s made a point of working at many of North and East London’s most interesting restaurants, and his next big project continues that theme. He will be running the front of house at Impala by ex-Kiln chef Meedu Saad, hotly touted as one of the biggest restaurant openings of the year.
Follow Xander on Instagram at @xander.fallon
NEW - Ciarán Bagchus
Assistant Head Sommelier - Bonheur by Matt Abé
Hospitality was not County Antrim-born Ciaran’s initial career or calling in life; he first studied Philosophy and Theology to train as a priest in the Catholic Church. Part of his studies took place in Ribera del Duero, an area he now considers ‘my wine heartland’ and eventually he joined hospitality as a way to connect people instead. He began his career alongside fellow Murphia Listee David Moore at Pied à Terre, working his way up from Chef de Rang to Head Sommelier in just three years. After that, he moved to Gordon Ramsay’s empire, first at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, then moving to help open Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High. That’s where he met Matt Abé, for whom he now works as Assistant Head Sommelier, at Bonheur which just got two Michelin stars a scant three months after opening.
Follow Ciaran on Instagram at @21ciaran.b
NEW - Michael Hagan
Head Concierge - Four Seasons London
Michael was born in Dublin, but it was the childhood years in Newtownforbes, County Longford, that he says shaped him. His career in London has spanned a wealth of luxury hotels, being part of the team who worked at 47 Park St in Mayfair and Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London. Fifteen years ago, he joined Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane, where he has been ever since, heading up the concierge team for the past six years. That means doing everything he can to give his luxury clientele a personalised service, whether that means securing bookings at top restaurants or building exclusive experiences.
Jason Patrick Glynn
Hospitality is in the bloodline for Galway man Jason who hails from a family of fourth-generation publicans. He started his career at the age of 18 in Dublin, working at one of the city’s best-known pubs The Stags Head and moved to London to continue his bar career with positions at The Sun Tavern, Scout and Three Sheets under his belt. Following that he worked in restaurant management at Crispin, St. John and Daffodil Mulligan before moving to Soho pub The Sun and 13 Cantons. The pub has always had a strong food offering and currently hosts Mamapen, the city’s only Cambodian restaurant. Jason’s still championing Irish brands with Beamish, Galway Hooker and White Hag on the taps.
Follow Jason on Instagram at @jasonpatrickglynn
Sean Devoren
Director of Butlers - The Dorchester
With more than 40 years of experience under his belt, Limerick man Sean has worked at almost all of London’s grande dame hotels. The first was Claridge’s where he joined fresh from Rockwell Catering College in Tipperary. He later made a name for himself at The Savoy where he played a pivotal role in the television documentary of the same name. He’s now at The Dorchester, where his job sees him taking responsibility for the hotel’s butler department who are the first port of call for the hotel’s demanding guests.
Sean McDermott
Head Doorman - Scott’s
It’s a long way from Cappawhite in Tipperary to being the person holding the door open for London’s celebrities but doorman Sean has seen it all in his years at the frontline of London’s restaurant industry. Back in the Ivy’s heyday in the Nineties, Sean was the man running the gauntlet of paparazzi. From there he moved to The Wolseley under Corbin & King and from 2008 has been the first person you see when you arrive at Scott’s in Mayfair. He’s the elder statesman of Caprice Holdings.
Niall Harte
General Manager - One Club Row
Sligo-born Niall grew up with hospitality in his blood - both sides of his family were in the business and his first job was as a Kitchen Porter in his aunt's restaurant. Having moved to London to study, he supplemented his student loan working at bars across the city and three years later made that his business. Senior positions followed at The Camberwell Arms & Leroy before taking over as General Manager at Michelin-starred Lyle’s in Shoreditch. Last year, he moved to New York to lead the team at Estela but he's been lured back to London again with the GM position at Shoreditch restaurant One Club Row alongside fellow Murphia List name Patrick Powell.
Follow Niall on Instagram at @niallharte
Michael Lynch
Head Butler - Claridge’s
Michael hails from Rathcannon, outside the village of Athlacca in Limerick. He studied at the Rockwell Hotel and Catering School in County Tipperary and first joined Claridge’s in 1976. Homesick for Ireland, he left after three months but realising that he missed the hotel (and a certain North London football club), he returned to London the following year and has been part of the Claridge’s world ever since. For Michael, “Claridge’s is a place where dreams come true. It is more than a job for me. It is a lovely place to work" and he is known for his attention to detail. A firm favourite with guests and staff alike, Michael’s fame spread when he featured in the original ‘Inside Claridge’s’ BBC documentary which aired in 2012, and ‘The Mayfair Hotel Megabuild’ show.
Follow Claridge's on Instagram at @claridgeshotel
Olivia McGowan
Assistant General Manager - Bonheur by Matt Abe
Born in Enniscrone in Sligo, the daughter of one of the town’s two butchers, Olivia and her siblings were all roped in to help with the local golf club dos at the weekends. So it’s perhaps no surprise they all became involved in hospitality. She spent her early years working in Dublin before moving to London where she built her experience within a number of respected dining rooms. Her career has been shaped by time spent in Michelin-starred restaurants. Known for a calm, attentive style of service, she believes the finest hospitality lies in the details, where precision and genuine warmth meet. Working with chef Matt Abé was a natural progression, offering the opportunity to operate at the highest level of hospitality, and Olivia is currently Assistant General Manager at the new two-Michelin-starred restaurant Bonheur by Matt Abé.
Follow Olivia on Instagram at @oliviagrew
Isabella Condon
Assistant Restaurant Manager - The Dorchester
Last year’s Rising Star, Limerick-born Isabella was brought up in the hospitality industry, working with her family at Marguerite's Bakery & Restaurant in Newcastle West. She graduated from Shannon College of Hotel Management in 2022, joining the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park London before being appointed junior assistant manager at the hotel’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant Dinner by Heston in 2024. She was named the 2025 Gold Service Scholar, a prestigious UK-based Front of House hospitality competition which gave her a slew of interesting opportunities to further her career. And late last year she parlayed all that to become Assistant Restaurant Manager at The Promenade restaurant at The Dorchester.
Follow Isabella on Instagram @isabella_condon
Behind the scenes
NEW - Stephen Moran
Director of Marketing & Communication - Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch
Stephen graduated from university in his hometown of Galway before heading to the Shannon College of Hotel Management. His early career was spent working on marketing campaigns and brand strategies for some of London’s leading hotels. Over his career so far, he’s worked everywhere from the Intercontinental Park Lane to Hotel Cafe Royal and The Doyle Collection. Now he’s playing a pivotal role in the opening of the much-anticipated Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch. This will be Waldorf Astoria’s first London hotel and sees them opening in one of London’s most iconic historical landmarks, a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace.
Follow the Waldord Astoria London on Instagram at @waldorfastorialondon
Paul McKenna
Born in Armagh, Ireland, Paul grew up within the industry in a family of pub owners and restaurateurs. He’s now the man behind Red Branch Hospitality, working on restaurant and bar projects for a wide range of clients including Clarkson’s Farm for Amazon TV and Guinness, where he’s advising them on food strategy, mainly at their Dublin storehouse. He’s also a partner in the Allsopps brand, which runs The Blue Stoops in Kensington and has a flagship London site in the works. Another line of business is as advisors to Poon’s, which last year opened in Somerset House, and Kimpton hotels, with a yet-to-be-announced but exciting restaurant operator in the offing.
Follow Red Branch Hospitality on Instagram at @redbranchhospitality
Shayne Brady
Founder and Creative Director – STUDIO Shayne Brady
Born in County Kildare, Shayne’s had a passion for art and design from an early age. Having trained in Dublin, he moved to London co-founding his first design studio at the age of 29. Over the last decade, he has been responsible for the design of some of London’s best-known restaurants, including Bob Bob Ricard Cite and The Maine. He also collaborated with fellow Irishmen Richard Corrigan on the design of The Portrait Restaurant at the National Portrait Gallery and The Savoy on the design of Gallery. Under his new solo company, STUDIO Shayne Brady he is currently working with Jeremy King on his next opening, Simpsons In The Strand, and Daniel Boulud at the Admiralty Arch Waldorf Astoria. He will also be returning as a guest judge on the BBC’s Interior Design Masters show.
Follow BradyWilliams on Instagram at @bradywilliamshospitality
Richie Corrigan
Managing Director: The Corrigan Collection
From an early age, Richie Corrigan has had hospitality in his blood - working at his dad Richard Corrigan's restaurants during his school holidays, doing everything from pot-washing at Lindsay House to being a waiter at Bentley’s. Following a stint as Assistant GM at Corrigan’s Mayfair overseeing the launch of Dickie's Bar, he moved to Hong Kong, where he worked as Restaurant Manager of Michelin-starred Belon. He’s now across the whole Corrigan Collection, including Corrigan’s Mayfair and The Portrait Restaurant in London, along with Virginia Park Lodge in Ireland
Follow Richie on Instagram @richiecoggs
Joe Warwick
Head of Hospitality - The Public House Group
A County Down native, Joe has worked as a restaurant critic, magazine editor and reporter for the BBC Radio 4 Food Programme. He helped spawn the World’s 50 Best franchise and the bestselling international restaurant guide, ‘Where Chefs Eat’. For his second rodeo, after nearly 20 years out of the game, he returned to working FOH with a CV that includes Sola, Bouchon Racine and Cubitt House. Now with the Public House Group, he’s helped launch a series of their hugely popular pubs, The Hero in Maida Vale, The Fat Badger in Notting Hill and, most recently, The Hart in Marylebone.
Follow Joe on Instagram @joe_warwick_
Shane McHugh
Group Wine Buyer - Goodman Restaurant Holdings Ltd
Mayo-born and Roscommon-raised, Shane arrived in London in 2014 after years working in hotels in Ireland, the UK and USA. He started out at Vinoteca Marylebone, followed by a Michelin star-led odyssey which included working for Jason Atherton, Gordon Ramsay and Adam Handling. Having joined just to "help out", Shane went from helping out in July 2019 to becoming Group Wine Buyer for Goodman's holding company, overseeing buying and wine operations for the three Goodman steakhouses as well as Beast.
Follow Shane on Instagram @corkageandcraic.
Tommy Cummins
Ops Manager - The Umbrella Project
Tommy is a proud Galwegian. Having grown up in an Irish home of music, poetry and the arts, he decided the pub game might be a bit of fun. After rising through the ranks at some of Galway’s best-known bars and clubs he decided he head to London in 2013, where after a brief flirtation with the world of bourbon, he landed at The Sun Tavern - which he would go on to manage - where he was able to share his passion for Irish whiskey and poitín. Since then, he has managed Discount Suit Company and The Umbrella Workshop, and now heads up operations at The Umbrella Project.
Follow Tommy on Instagram at @umbrellaproject
Seán Deane
Market Specialist - Bord Bia UK
Hailing from Galway, Seán has built an international career in hospitality and food and drink, rising from pulling pints in his local pub to becoming an ambassador for Ireland abroad. He began with Jameson Irish Whiskey, where he worked in the growing markets of Belgium, Cameroon and Ghana, before joining the Irish food board, Bord Bia. After an initial posting in New York, he moved to the UK, where he now works at the forefront of promoting Irish food and drink to the world’s leading chefs and hospitality operators. In recognition of his influence and leadership, he was named a Rising Star in Hospitality by Restaurant Marketer & Innovator in 2025.
Fergal Lee
Director of Operations - The Wolseley
Fergal first came to London in 1996 after graduating from the Galway Hotel School in Ireland. He worked for both Forte Hotels and O'Neill's Bars for several years before heading to top seafood restaurant J. Sheekey in 2001 and then moving to The Wolseley's opening team. He opened The Delaunay as Assistant General Manager and was appointed General Manager there before returning to Piccadilly and The Wolseley in the role of General Manager where he headed up the opening team of The Wolseley City.
Darren McHugh
Head of Operations - Tom Sellers’s HiStory Hospitality
Dublin-born Darren heads up operations at chef Tom Sellers’s HiStory Hospitality, which currently includes the two Michelin-starred Restaurant Story, Story Cellar and Dovetale. Summer 2026 will see the opening of a new restaurant - MOR - set within the Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate in Cornwall. Prior to this, he oversaw restaurant ops for MJMK’s chef-led projects which included KOL, Lisboeta and AngloThai. Almost eight years as General Manager of The Ledbury was preceded by stints working with Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley along with Adam Byatt at Trinity Restaurant. He used to be an actor and writer working across theatre, film, television and radio.
Follow Darren on Instagram at @darrenlmchugh
Molly Hutchinson
Founder - MIAM Management & Sarnie Party, Event Director of Meatopia
From Dublin, Molly has been working in food-focused events for over 15 years. She founded MIAM Management, a creative culinary agency which represents and manages a growing roster of chefs including Lee Tiernan, Brad Carter and Ruben Dawney. Molly also produces and directs Meatopia, the annual live-fire celebration in Tobacco Docks and founded Sarnie Party in 2024, a festival dedicated to celebrating the humble sandwich.
Follow Molly on Instagram @mollyhutchinson
Sinead Mallozzi
CEO - sketch
With a background in hotel management - at one point she was the youngest and only female London hotel General Manager - Sinead, who's from County Clare, moved into events when she created London's first ice rink at Somerset House. Now as CEO of the sketch empire in London, including its three-Michelin-starred restaurant, she does charity work for Place2Be, and also for Hospitality Action. During lockdown, she wrote a coffee book on sketch which was released in 2024.
James Goggin
Founder - Barrel Aged Consultancy
James first entered hospitality back home in Carlow, working in bars, hotels and clubs from the age of 16. But it was New Zealand where he fell in love with the cocktail industry in particular. Moving to London, after a short stint at Happiness Forgets in Hoxton, he became an ambassador for Maverick Drinks, training up hundreds of bartenders. That was followed by a position as head of sales for Danish distillers Empirical. He judges whisky, cognac and rum for the IWSC, World Drinks Awards and Spirits Masters and is a keen advocate of Irish spirits in the UK market. He now runs his own consultancy business.
Follow James on Instagram @barrelagedgoggin
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