‘My dream girl’: Michael Flatley pays emotional tribute to wife Niamh O’Brien at her funeral

Michael Flatley carries the coffin of his wife Niamh O'Brien, following her funeral service at the Church Of St. Therese, Mount Merrion, near Dublin. Picture: Mark Marlow/PA Wire

Riverdance and Lord of the Dance star Michael Flatley has described “never feeling pain like it” as he bid farewell to his “dream girl” wife, Niamh O’Brien.

Flatley had the couple’s son, Michael St James, at his side as he tearfully paid tribute to their “lady of the dance”.

Ms O’Brien, 52, died peacefully at Dublin’s Beacon Hospital last week after an illness.

Mourners from across the world attended her funeral at the Church of St Thérèse, Mount Merrion, on Saturday.

They included former Riverdance lead dancer Padraic Moyles and actor Patrick Bergin.

Ms O’Brien performed the lead role of Saoirse in the Lord of the Dance shows alongside Flatley.

Flatley described the last three weeks of her life, as her health worsened, as “unbearable”. He played her favourite tune on his flute and told mourners he looked forward to their next dance together in heaven.

Michael Flatley arrives for the funeral service of his wife Niamh O'Brien at the Church Of St. Therese, Mount Merrion, near Dublin. Picture: Mark Marlow/PA Wire

He began his eulogy in tears, asking: “How did we get here?”

He said his legs felt hollow and he felt empty inside, adding that he had brought their son to the front of the church for strength.

“I felt a lot of pain in my life,” he told mourners, referencing his past as a boxer and his dance career.

“But this morning I have never felt pain like this in my life.” 

He referenced a quote from Irish playwright Samuel Beckett: “Where I am, I don’t know, I’ll never know, in the silence you don’t know, you must go on, I can’t go on, I’ll go on.” 

Michael Flatley greets a mourner as the coffin of his wife Niamh O'Brien arrives for her funeral service at the Church Of St. Therese, Mount Merrion, near Dublin. Picture: Mark Marlow/PA Wire

“I can’t believe that I was so lucky that Niamh said yes to me. She wasn’t just my lady, the lady she was, she was my dream girl, she was my everything, she was the lady of the dance, she was the love of my life, she was the mother of our son, she was highly intelligent and she was the most beautiful girl in the world, my dream girl, Niamhy,” he said.

“We danced around the world for 20 years, and how well I remember her, she was always the dancer immediately on my left because she was the greater dancer we ever had because she was the most beautiful girl in the world.”

‘My life was never the same again’

Flatley recalled an occasion before they became a couple when he was standing backstage at Madison Square Garden, waiting to go on stage.

“I felt a hand in mine, turned to see Niamh there, she said ‘remember Michael this was always your dream’, I just wanted to say good luck. That was the person she was,” he said.

“I remember I had a place in Barbados, we were there. She was stunning in her beautiful white dress and she was in the middle of telling me a story but I wasn’t listening, I couldn’t stop staring at her big eyes, perfect face, her warmth, she just exuded love.

“In the middle of a sentence I just said would you marry me Niamh, she stopped like a deer caught in the headlights.

“I got down on one knee and said, would you marry me Niamh, and she said yes, and my life was never the same again.

“She was the calming force in my life in every way. I was so lucky and so blessed to marry her, and the majority of people who saw us together agreed with that statement.” 

Michael Flatley greets a mourner before the funeral service of his wife Niamh O'Brien at the Church Of St. Therese, Mount Merrion, near Dublin. Picture: Mark Marlow/PA Wire

Flatley said the last year had been “particularly difficult”, but that Ms O’Brien would tell him not to say anything that might upset her parents because she did not want them to worry.

“The last three weeks were torturous and unbearable for her because she couldn’t breathe. Her sisters and her mother spent almost every single night at that hospital, what a family, absolutely incredible,” he said.

“She’s gone to heaven but heaven is everywhere, heaven is around us all right here today, I believe Niamh is standing beside me right at this moment, I can feel her.

“I love you Niamhy, my dream girl, and I’m looking forward to our next dance in heaven together.”

Michael Flatley greets a mourner before the funeral service of his wife Niamh O'Brien at the Church Of St. Therese, Mount Merrion, near Dublin. Picture: Mark Marlow/PA Wire

‘An outstanding ambassador for Irish dance’

Earlier, a priest described Ms O’Brien as a “human of great faith, selfless in care for others and a spirit believed in doing what was right”.

He said she was an outstanding ambassador and champion for Irish dance across the world.

“Niamh loved the lord of the dance in heaven and the lord of the dance on earth too,” he said.

Flatley, who was born into a blue-collar Irish-American family in Chicago, rose to fame when Riverdance was performed during a seven-minute interval at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994.

A year later, he developed a full-length show in Dublin, followed by his own stage production, Lord of the Dance.

He went on to create, produce and direct other productions, including Feet of Flames and Celtic Tiger, before expanding into film. In 2018, he directed and starred in the spy thriller Blackbird.

In the film, which also stars Eric Roberts, Patrick Bergin and Ian Beattie, Flatley plays former MI6 operative Victor Blackley, who is drawn back into the world of espionage he had left behind.