Alan Ruddock
Alan Ruddock was an Irish Martial Arts pioneer, teacher and writer. He introduced both Aikido amp Karate to Ireland and was the founder of the Aiki no Michi and its interpretation of Aikido. Ruddock was one of the few western Aikido practitioners and only Irish national who studied directly under the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba .
Alan Thomas Ruddock was born in Dublin in 1944. At age thirteen he found a book on Judo and from there his martial arts interest developed, he soon heard about Karate but there were no dojos or instructors at that time in Ireland so he trained with school friends . He built a makiwara in the garden and practised on concrete paths.
Source: Wikipedia