Flatley announces wife's death in Instagram tribute
Michael Flatley has confirmed that his wife, the dancer Niamh O'Brien, has died at the age of 52. The choreographer, 68, who created the Irish dancing troupe Riverdance, announced the death in a post shared on social media on Monday evening. In the post, he said his heart was broken and that he had lost his beautiful wife and best friend. He described her as his gorgeous bride of twenty years who had gone to the Lord in Heaven, and as the most loving mother, wife and person, adding that their lives would never be the same without her. He asked people to keep Niamh, Michael St James and their family in their thoughts and prayers.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7][S8]
Flatley also posted a series of images with his message, among them a shot of his wife mid-dance, a picture from their wedding day, and one featuring their son Michael St James, who arrived in 2007. The pair had spent two decades as husband and wife and had appeared on stage together in Lord Of The Dance, the Irish dance production Flatley founded.[S1]
From Eurovision interval to global dance phenomenon
Raised in a working-class Irish-American household in Chicago, Flatley became a household name after Riverdance was staged in a seven-minute slot during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. The following year brought a full-length Dublin show, and he went on to launch his own production, Lord Of The Dance. He likewise devised, produced and directed further shows such as Feet Of Flames and Celtic Tiger, later moving into cinema.[S1]
He took both directing and acting duties on the 2018 espionage thriller Blackbird, in which he portrayed Victor Blackley, a onetime MI6 agent pulled back into the spy world he had walked away from. Eric Roberts, Patrick Bergin and Ian Beattie also appear in the cast. The Times had questioned the dancer earlier this year about his Nineties sex-symbol image and about building a life with Niamh O'Brien. He described having a lovely wife and a great son, and said he had savoured every kiss, every glass of Château Latour '82, every shift in an Aston Martin and Ferrari, every private jet trip and each of the residences he called his string of pearls, designed by Peter Inston.[S1]
