Michael Flatley’s tribute to Niamh O’Brien: what he said at her funeral

Michael Flatley paid tribute to his wife, dancer Niamh O’Brien, at her funeral on Saturday, 10 October, at the Church of St Thérèse in Mount Merrion, near Dublin. His account of their life together brought renewed attention to O’Brien’s career as a lead performer in Lord of the Dance and to the tributes that followed her death.

With their son, Michael St James, beside him, Flatley told mourners that he had experienced pain as a boxer and dancer, but had ‘never felt pain like this in my life’. He said he had brought their son to the front of the church for strength.

What Michael Flatley said about Niamh O’Brien

Flatley began his eulogy in tears, asking, ‘How did we get here?’ He called O’Brien his ‘dream girl’, ‘the love of my life’ and the mother of their son. The words came as he described the loss of someone who had shared both his family life and many years on stage.

He told mourners they had danced around the world for 20 years. He remembered O’Brien as the dancer immediately to his left and praised her as a performer. O’Brien played Saoirse, the lead female role in Lord of the Dance, alongside Flatley.

Flatley also described proposing during a stay in Barbados. He said he interrupted O’Brien while she was telling a story, asked her to marry him and heard her say yes. His life, he told mourners, was never the same again.

Speaking about her final weeks, Flatley said O’Brien’s worsening health had made the last three weeks ‘torturous and unbearable’. He said her mother and sisters had spent nearly every night at the hospital. Those were his remarks at the funeral; the available reports do not establish a cause of death.

Flatley played O’Brien’s favourite tune on his flute during the service. He told mourners that he looked forward to their next dance together in heaven, returning to the shared language of the stage that had run through his tribute.

Who was Niamh O’Brien?

O’Brien died at Dublin’s Beacon Hospital on Monday, 5 October, aged 52. The Irish Times reported that she was from Kilbride in County Meath and had begun Irish dancing as a young child. At 17, she placed fourth in the world championships, according to the paper.

Her work extended beyond Lord of the Dance. The Irish Times reported that she performed in Riverdance, Celtic Tiger and Feet of Flames. That range matters to the remembrance of her career: she was a performer in several major Irish dance productions, as well as Flatley’s wife and dance partner.

The official Riverdance Facebook page said O’Brien had been part of its story from the beginning at Eurovision in 1994, according to The Irish Times. The production said her contribution to Riverdance and to the Irish dance community would not be forgotten.

The Irish Times also reported tributes from Irish Dancing magazine and Breakthrough Cancer Research. The magazine remembered her as a dancer, performer, wife and mother. The charity, which knew her through a long friendship with Flatley, recalled her warmth and the affection she showed her family.

Who attended Niamh O’Brien’s funeral?

The Irish Examiner reported that mourners included former Riverdance lead dancer Padraic Moyles and actor Patrick Bergin. A priest at the service described O’Brien as a person of faith who cared for others and as a champion of Irish dance. The Examiner’s account did not name the priest.

O’Brien’s death notice, as reported by The Irish Times, named her husband and son, her parents Monica and Tommy, her sisters Derval and Aoibheann, and wider family and friends from the dancing world among those grieving her. At the church, Flatley’s memories placed that family alongside the career for which audiences knew her.