DOES 30 YEARS of the same live dance musical performance not eventually get a little stale?

According to Michael Flatley, the Irish-American Lord of the Dance himself, it does not.

Ahead of the 30th anniversary of his hit stage production, Flatley was speaking in Dublin city today, across the road from the stage where the Lord of the Dance all began – the venue now known as the 3Arena but still commonly referred to by Dubliners as ‘The Point’.

Speaking to a room of reporters at the Gibson Hotel, Flatley explained that the hit musical show is not the same production that it was in 1996.

Michael Flatley picutred during the press event today. Photorapher / Photocall Ireland


Photorapher / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

“There’s a brand new set and a fabulous new lighting design, there’s new sound designs, new musical numbers, and a couple of new dance numbers,” Flatley said.

Interest in the anniversary performance is clearly high – the press conference was packed, with reporters lining a corridor afterwards for quick one-on-one chats with the now-retired superhoofer. 

A press statement passed around to the dozens of journalists in attendance humbly stated that Flatley “changed the face of Irish dance forever” with Riverdance, before moving on to the Lord of the Dance the following year.

Since its premiere just two years after Flatley’s iconic Riverdance performance as part of the 1994 Eurovision interval act, the Lord of the Dance has been viewed by over 60 million people across 60 countries.

Flatley parted company with the Riverdance producers just over a year after the Eurovision set-piece in a row over credit for the choreography of the show’s touring production. 

Lord of the Dance debuted in The Point in July of 1996 and went on to tour the world. An expanded version of the show was peformed to tens of thousands of people in London’s Hyde Park in 1998. 

According to Flatley, over 500 people from around the world attended the most recent round of auditions to join the show.

“I’m endlessly proud of those people. We had auditions recently here in Dublin, and my God, they were so prepared, it was very difficult to choose one from the other.”

On his new dancers, Flatley said that they’re “like I’ve never seen them.”

A number of dancers who are set to perform in the anniversary gig. Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland


Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

“They’re bouncing off the walls, because this is what they work for. They just performed in South Africa a few weeks ago, on the opening night they got a 10 minute standing ovation.”

Flatley, now aged 67, will not be making an appearance in the show.

Does he miss performing?

“How could I not miss it? Of course, I do, I always will,” he said.

“There’s a hologram toward the end of the show of me performing that I recorded just before I retired back in 2016. The audience seems to love it, but that’s as close as I’ll get to being back on stage.”

Áras bid

Seperately, it was confirmed today that just three candidates – Catherine Connolly, Heather Humphreys and Jim Gavin – will be contesting the presidential election.

Was it a coincidence that Flatley held the press conference today, as nominations closed, considering he had mulled over a run for the Áras himself earlier this summer?

Yes, of course it was, but Flatley did address his potential Áras bid.

“I’m sure the right person will take that job,” Flatley said. “These things are in the hands of God.”

Flatley pictured with two performers from the anniversary show. Photorapher / Photocall Ireland


Photorapher / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

Flatley is still receiving treatment for an aggressive cancer which he was diagnosed with two years ago.

He added that he could not “in good conscience” run for the presidency if he did not have “a clean bill of health”.

“If I did, it might have been different, but it wouldn’t be fair to the Irish people,” he added.

“You can’t lose track of the fact that this is for the Irish people. It’s not about me. It’s not about the individual, it’s for the Irish people.

“What do they want? It’s not up to me. My job is to represent my country to the best of my ability, and I believe under the current circumstances, I can better serve the Irish people by continuing to do what I do.

“If that ever changes, that’ll be the first thought in my brain.”

The Lord of the Dance will return to the 3Arena on 5 February to mark its 30th anniversary. Tickets will range from €30 to €80, and go on sale next week.

ONE OF DUBLIN’S best-known street murals has been painted over and replaced with NFL-themed graffiti ahead of an American football game in Croke Park this weekend.

The mural, titled Do Not Remove, stretched across a two-storey hoarding on Ormond Quay.

It depicted a man with bricks covering his head, with the words “Do Not Remove” painted on one of the bricks.

The site is the derelict Ormond Hotel, which famously featured in the Sirens episode of James Joyce’s Ulysses.

Artists are currently painting NFL-themed artwork over the mural. Andrew Walsh / The Journal


Andrew Walsh / The Journal / The Journal

 The hotel fell into disuse in the early 2000s, though planning conditions for its redevelopment stipulate that it must reopen as a hotel and retain the Ormond name.

In 2022, Brazilian artist Neto Vettorello and Dublin artist Asbestos collaborated on the Do Not Remove mural.

Commissioned by the Association of Brazilian Families in Ireland, with support from the Brazilian Embassy, site owners Monteco Holdings Ltd, and Dublin City Council, the project marked 200 years of Brazilian independence and was presented as a “gift” from the Brazilian community to Dublin.

The striking, colourful piece blended both artists’ styles while delivering a commentary on dereliction and the housing crisis.

Now, only fragments of the mural remain, almost entirely covered by NFL branding.

Part of the new NFL artwork. Andrew Walsh / The Journal


Andrew Walsh / The Journal / The Journal

The removal comes as part of a wider rollout of football-themed installations across the city, including works on Tara Street, Dame Street, and Barnardo Square, where a giant helmet has been erected.

Sunday’s game is expected to draw in thousands of US visitors, as the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Minnesota Vikings.

A giant football helmet at Barnardo Square. Andrew Walsh / The Journal


Andrew Walsh / The Journal / The Journal

A passerby on Ormond Quay described the new NFL artwork to The Journal as “gaudy-looking.”

One of the artists installing the new artwork said that the replacement of the Do Not Remove mural had been ordered by Dublin City Council.

Artist Neto Vettorello told The Journal that he was not contacted by Dublin City Council before his mural was painted over.

“It’s quite ironic, since the title of the piece was actually “Do Not Remove”,” Vettorello said.

“The Council just did what they usually do: keep the city grey, silent, and stripped of colour and voice.”

He added that the NFL theme was disappointing, and quizzed the US influence on the Dublin artwork.

“Nobody questions it, because we live in apathetic societies where public art is rarely created as a form of questioning. That’s what made the Ormond Quay mural special, it wasn’t decoration or advertising, it was a dialogue.

“I was celebrating female symbolism and independence, while Asbestos raised the issue of how stories are constantly erased.”

The council has been contacted for comment.

The artist added that the NFL installation will be painted over following the game on Sunday.