No mean feat as Flatley Jr says hello

HE’S too small to tell if he has the feet of a dancer, but there’s no mistaking who his father is. Michael St James Flatley is making a one-off appearance on the cover of Hello but will not become a regular on the celebrity magazine circuit, according to his parents.

The first pictures of the three-month-old son of the Lord of the Dance hit newsagent shelves yesterday and the six-figure proceeds of the Hello magazine deal are going to the country’s newest maternity hospital, the €75 million Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH).

The money has been earmarked for a new courtyard garden where expectant mothers and new mums can relax. Flatley already donated €100,000 to the hospital earlier this year.

When Michael Jnr left the hospital, it was under the cover of a scarf. The tot had to be concealed so assembled press photographers wouldn’t scupper the exclusive Hello photo-shoot.

But, the Hello pictures show a thriving baby — who bears a striking resemblance to his superstar dad. Friends of Michael and wife Niamh say the photo-shoot was never about showing off their baby.

“He just wants to give something back because the Irish people have been so good to him. Michael loves Cork and the money raised from the shoot will do an incredible amount of good,” a friend said.

A HSE spokesman said yesterday they hadn’t received the Flatley donation yet. It’s understood the planned garden will be in a spilt-level courtyard at the centre of the triangular €75m hospital.

Leaving CUMH with his new son last April, Flatley Snr was fulsome in his praise of the new hospital. “It’s the best in Europe,” he beamed.