THROWING OPEN THE DOORS OF HIS OPULENT FAMILY HOME IN IRELAND MICHAEL FLATLEY REVEALS WHY HE IS READY TO HANG UP HIS DANCE 6 SHOES AFTER 20 YEARS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

HELLO1338p006-019.indd 6 18/07/14 17:46 ‘People don’t realise how different my life is to what it’s like on stage. That’s why I seek this kind of peace and tranquillity. This is our real life’

Michael and his wife Niamh relax in the grounds of the 18th-century CastleHyde in the dance legend’s spiritual home of Ireland. Set in 150 acres, it’s the perfect family hideaway to bring up their seven-year-old son Michael St James (inset above left, with his parents). “People say, ‘Oh, it’s so big.’ I don’t see it like that,” says the 7 star. “Yes it’s a large house, but it’s a home – a family home”

HELLO1338p006-019.indd 7 18/07/14 17:47 ‘It was my dream to have an Irish home. As soon as I saw it, I could feel the little hairs going up on my neck’

t seems fitting that Lord of the IDance Michael Flatley should live in a stately home with a magni!cent staircase, down which both Fred Astaire and Michael Jackson have tripped the light fantastic. When the Irish-American dance superstar bought CastleHyde, a majestic four-storey mansion in Co. Cork, he was delighted to learn that the fabled Hollywood dancer and his sister Adele were regular house- guests in the 1930s. “When I mentioned to Michael [Jackson] that Fred Astaire used to come here for parties and dance down the staircase, the !rst thing he wanted to do was dance down it, too,” says Michael, who over the years has hosted legendary parties for his showbusiness friends from around the world. “So I don’t have to tell you that as soon as he got in the car to go home, that’s the !rst thing I did… just to have it on record that I’d done it too.” Michael and his beautiful wife Niamh have invited !"##$% to spend the day at the lovingly restored 18th- century house, set in 150 acres of pastures and woodland and basking on the banks of the Blackwater river. And to talk about the contrast of their quiet life here as a family with seven-year-old son Michael St James compared with the razzmatazz of Michael’s extraordinary career, as well as his plans for retirement. As he opens the front door, it’s hard not to be dazzled by the giant chandelier glinting in the airy entrance hall over impressive period furniture and a grand piano. As well as the famous stone cantilever staircase, the house boasts numerous reception rooms, packed with paintings, antiques and collectables. Especially V noteworthy are 18th-century

Michael and Niamh stand in the impressive entrance hall to welcome HELLO! into their home. The country house is a haven of tranquillity away 8 from the hurly-burly of showbiz as Michael returns to the stage for his last shows as a dancer

HELLO1338p006-019.indd 8 18/07/14 17:48 9

HELLO1338p006-019.indd 9 18/07/14 17:48 Stairway to the stars: CastleHyde boasts a famous 10 stone cantilever staircase, down which Michael Jackson and Fred Astaire have danced – and, of course, Michael too

HELLO1338p006-019.indd 10 18/07/14 17:49 ‘Fatherhood has made me a better man. I’ve learned far more from my son than he has learned from me’

working !replaces, regarded as priceless. There’s a music room with a Steinway grand piano and a collection of rare flutes (Michael is an accomplished flautist), a full-sized bar where guests can enjoy a Guinness, a fabulous drawing room housing a beautiful chess set, a formal dining room, two climate-controlled wine cellars with a rare collection of French and Italian vintages, and a 20-seat private cinema. “People don’t understand,” says Michael. “They don’t realise how different my life is to what it’s like on stage. That’s why I suppose I seek this kind of peace and tranquillity. This is our real life.” Lining the walls of the corridor that links all the rooms – itself the length of an American football pitch – are reminders of the remarkable success story that saw Michael become the world’s highest-paid dancer, with legs insured for $40million (£23million). There are numerous awards for the Lord of the Dance show he first staged in 1996 and follow-up extravaganzas Celtic Tiger and ; lifetime achievement medals and trophies galore; prize belts for one of his other passions, boxing; and a glass cabinet of dancing shoes, including the pair he wore when he burst onto the scene at the 1994 in Ireland with that electrifying Riverdance performance.

HYDE AND SEEK Michael !rst spotted CastleHyde – the ancestral home of the !rst president of Ireland, – 15 years ago when he was house-hunting by helicopter over an area dubbed the Golden Vale, in the Blackwater valley. “I had a different home in London at the time, Lillie Langtry’s beautiful home on the canal in Little Venice,” says the star, who also owns houses in Barbados and on the French Riviera. “But it was my dream to have an Irish home. And as soon as I saw it, I could feel the little hairs going up on my neck. I’d never seen anything like it and fell in love with the house. I said, ‘Land the chopper,’ and was told, ‘Mr Flatley, you can’t go round landing your helicopter in people’s front gardens.’” But Michael got his way and the rest is history. “It was really derelict at the time with !ve feet of water in the basement because the river kept "ooding. It was a terrible mess. The pool inside was dilapidated and the front wall was falling V Labour of love: Michael has spent millions on CastleHyde to return the house to its former glory and away. It was in ruins,” he says. make it a family home. The giant restoration project means the original cornices and murals are intact in its many rooms, including the drawing room (below left) and entrance hall (below right)

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HELLO1338p006-019.indd 11 18/07/14 17:51 A self-confessed romantic, Michael likes to dress up when he and Niamh have dinner in the magnificent dining room with its ceiling mural (left) and make it a special occasion. “We always have a dance before dinner,” he says

Costing him €4million to buy and an estimated One of Michael’s favourite rooms is the three- ten times that to restore to its former glory, storey library with its painted ceiling mural and keeping its original architecture intact, CastleHyde American walnut shelves, on which stand more is said to be one of the greatest restoration projects than 3,000 volumes, many of them masterpieces Ireland has ever seen. signed by Irish literary giants Oscar Wilde, WB “People say to me, ‘Oh, it’s so big.’ I don’t see it Yeats and Sean O’Casey, and a copy of Ulysses like that. Yes it’s a large house, but it’s a home. A signed by its author, James Joyce. Michael is also family home. My wife and I will often go to the bar the proud owner of Joyce’s trademark gold- and have a glass of champagne. I’ll play music in rimmed spectacles and his prized cigarette case. the music room with my son, who plays the bodhrán “I love to come in here with a glass of red wine [Irish drum], just fooling around on it, so we often in the evening for a read. There is such lovely 12 do that. He does his homework in the drawing energy from these old books. room and we often have dinner in the formal “My wife has to stop me. Especially after a dining room. We make use of the whole house.” couple of martinis. She’ll say, ‘You’re not going for

HELLO1338p006-019.indd 12 18/07/14 17:51 ‘If there is ever a time to get dressed up, it’s for your wife’

married. Their son Michael St James was born a year later. “My wife is one of the smartest people I know. So sincere, so loyal and decent and all the right qualities,” he says as she goes upstairs to change. Waiting for her outside, Michael points out the ruins of the 14th-century castle Carrigneedy (Rock of the Shield), which provide a backdrop to the house. “It’s a Norman castle, which was shot down by Cromwell,” he says as we walk along the banks of the river. As well as a walled rose garden, a meadow of wild !owers provides a favourite family spot on a warm summer’s evening. And as he holds hands with his wife and son, they follow the path, with Michael singing the Wizard of Oz song Follow the Yellow Brick Road. Michael St James laughs, challenging his daddy to a race. It’s clear how much Michael enjoys fatherhood. “I think it’s made me a better man. It’s been very grounding. I have learned much more from my son than he has learned from me. He is very bright. He takes after his mummy.” So is his son showing any signs of following in his father’s extraordinary dance steps? “He dances. He imitates me, !ying around the house with his arms, which is beautiful. He does everything from Michael Jackson to break dancing. He is non-stop. He is a very enthusiastic young boy. Mad into Formula 1, Ferraris and [Irish rugby union team] Munster Rugby. He loves that. And of course he might be the world Lego builder of all time.” But he hastens to add that he hasn’t tried to pass on the skills that he himself learned as an 11 year-old growing up in Chicago with his hard- working Irish immigrant parents. “No, I don’t want to push anything on him. He will "nd his own level there. I will support my son in anything he has a passion for.”

THE LAST DANCE Michael will have a lot more time to do that once he has retired, which he plans to do after a tour that kicks off at the London Palladium in September, followed by 200-plus dates in 15 countries over the next 18 months. Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games is a reworking of the acclaimed 1996 show, with revamped staging and costumes and exciting new visuals. Directed by Michael, with a score by composer Gerard Fahy, it features James Keegan, Morgan Comer and Matthew Smith as the Lords of the Dance, while former Girls Aloud star Nadine Coyle performs the title song. As usual, Michael will be keeping an empty seat at every performance as a tribute to his grandmother Hannah Ryan, who was a champion Irish dancer and his inspiration. He also hopes to fly over from Chicago his 87-year-old father Michael, who, he says, taught him the value of discipline, hard work and determination. that James Joyce book again are you? You’ve read it time to get dressed up, it’s for your wife. “I’m absolutely buzzing about it. London’s 400 times.’” “I get out some gin and take my time preparing West End has such a special feeling for me,” says He can barely take his eyes off Niamh, his wife of the perfect martini and listen to some Frank Sinatra Michael, who once performed at the Oscars to eight years, as she walks into the formal dining room, and wait for her to come downstairs. Our song is an estimated TV audience of 2 billion. wearing the most stunning out"t. A self-confessed Mack the Knife by Louis Armstrong, so we always have He says he is as healthy as he could expect to romantic, he looks forward to their Friday nights a dance before dinner. I’m so lucky to have my wife. be following a mystery illness that stopped him together and they dress for the occasion. We are in love and life couldn’t be better.” dancing in 2006. “Niamh and I will have dinner in the formal They first met when Niamh was a young Irish “It’s almost unbelievable that at my age I am dining room every Friday night when we are in dancer – she performed behind Michael during the performing in a place like the London Palladium residence in CastleHyde. I will wear a suit and tie or a Eurovision interval 20 years ago. and have my father and son there. It’s beyond tuxedo. We really dress up. I don’t understand It was to be many years later before he asked her my wildest dreams. I’m back on track at the people who say they can’t wait to get home and out after she turned up looking ravishing in a red moment. I am working hard, my body is in great 13 throw on sweats. I married my wife because she is the dress at one of his Christmas parties. But three shape and I am dancing really well. V most important person in the world. If there is ever a months later he proposed and in 2006 they were “I had to think how to design the show in

HELLO1338p006-019.indd 13 18/07/14 17:52 such a way that I could maybe do one or two of the last numbers at the very end… for as long as my legs hold out.” Although he has come out of retirement before, there is no doubt in his mind that this will be the last time he performs on stage. “Oh, yeah. My old legs can’t take any more. The beating I have taken over the years. It takes me a couple of minutes every morning to straighten my back. Very few Irish dancers in our show have ever made it to 30. And I didn’t do Eurovision until I was 35. “My focus now is to give new young stars their chance. To prepare them and put them into a position where they are going on to be the new Lords of the Dance. They’re going to be the stars of tomorrow. That’s what I want now. I am just coming on at the end for a couple of guest numbers. If this was 14 a football match, this would be way, way into injury time now. V “So I don’t think of myself as

HELLO1338p006-019.indd 14 18/07/14 17:54 The library (above and right) is one of Michael’s favourite rooms in the house. The corridor outside is a treasure trove of awards and memories from his glittering career (left) and has a cabinet (below) for his shoes that includes the pair he wore when he shot to fame in Riverdance. His new show Dangerous Games (below right) will bring the curtain down on his dancing career

15 PHOTO (RIGHT): KIERON McCARRON

HELLO1338p006-019.indd 15 18/07/14 17:55 ‘I’m so lucky to have my wife. We are in love and life couldn’t be better’

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HELLO1338p006-019.indd 16 18/07/14 17:56 Michael and Niamh enjoy a drink in the full-sized bar, where they often enjoy a glass of champagne and can even treat guests to a Guinness. The home has been lavishly – and lovingly – furnished throughout with a host of artworks, antique furniture and collectables

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HELLO1338p006-019.indd 17 18/07/14 17:58 ‘Every morning I look out of the window and say, “Thank you, God, for what I have”’

bowing out. It’s not a big deal. It’s just about enjoying those few last shows with the greatest dance team in the world, and moulding them for their success. They are following their dream. These young people believe in me and they are going out to focus their minds and lives to do one thing. So it’s my joy and honour to help them achieve that goal. That’s my happiness now.” That and spending time at CastleHyde. “Every morning I look out of the window and say, ‘Thank you, God for what I have.’ Every single morning. My hope going forward is to spend more time with my beautiful wife and son and give them the quality time they deserve.” He’ll also take time out to concentrate on painting, which he does without brushes, instead dancing the paint into huge !oor canvasses to form abstract pictures. He is already planning an exhibition in London. “I’ll always be doing something. Always be involved. I know I am launching Dangerous Games, but I’ve already got another show, "nished, in my head.” H

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Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games 18 Michael and Niamh stand on the doorstep of their idyllic rural home (above) and enjoy a walk on the banks opens at the London Palladium on 1 of the river Blackwater that runs by the estate (above right). It is the perfect place for the legend September. For more information, visit to concentrate on his family (right) as he retires from the stage. “My hope going forward is to spend more lordofthedance.com. time with my beautiful wife and son and give them the quality time they deserve,” he says

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