Michael Flatley has announced that his wife, Niamh, has died at the age of 52.
The Lord of the Dance star shared the heartbreaking news on Instagram on Monday evening, asking fans to keep his family in their thoughts and prayers.
Niamh died peacefully at Beacon Hospital in south Dublin “following a period of illness,” a representative said.
Michael, 68, posted several photographs of Niamh, including an image from their wedding day and another showing the couple with their son, Michael Saint James.
In his statement, he wrote: “My heart is broken. I have lost my beautiful wife, Niamh, and my best friend. My gorgeous bride of twenty years has gone to the Lord in Heaven.
“She was the most loving mother, wife and person, and our lives will never be the same without her.
“Thank you for all the love and kindness you have shown us. Please keep Niamh, Michael St James and our family in your thoughts and prayers.”
Michael Flatley announced his wife Niamh’s death at the age of 52 in a statement shared on Instagram on Monday evening.
Michael wrote: “My heart is broken. I have lost my beautiful wife, Niamh, and my best friend. My gorgeous bride of twenty years has gone to the Lord in Heaven.”
Michael, 68, shared photographs of Niamh, including one of the couple with their son, Michael Saint James.
According to the Irish Independent, Niamh had been unwell for several years and was just hours away from being flown to the United States for specialist treatment.
She had been battling ill health, with Michael reportedly spending “every waking hour” caring for his wife.
A statement from Michael’s representative said: “[The Flatley and O’Brien families] express their sincere gratitude to the doctors, nurses and staff at Beacon Hospital who cared for Niamh over the past few weeks, and to everyone who has offered their kindness and support to the family.”
Friends said Michael had been left “distraught, devastated and utterly grief stricken” by the loss.
Fans of the Riverdance star shared their condolences beneath his post. One wrote: “So sorry for your loss Michael. Sending thoughts and prayers to you all.”
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Other messages included: “So sorry to read this. Thoughts and prayers”; “So sad”; and “Sorry for your loss and condolences to all of your family, may she RIP.” Another fan wrote: “Heartbreaking. She was gorgeous inside and out. All our love to your son. Shine bright beautiful girl. Heaven has gained an angel.”
Despite her illness, Niamh continued working on Michael’s touring productions alongside costume designers, service providers and dancers.
Niamh was also a professional dancer. She began performing at the age of three and appeared in Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames and Celtic Tiger.
The couple first met while working on Riverdance, and Niamh was part of the famous line-up during the 1994 Eurovision interval.
Although they did not begin a romantic relationship until 2006, they married later that year in Fermoy, County Cork. Their son, Michael Saint James, was born in 2007.
In an interview on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories in 2013, Michael again described his wife as his ‘best friend’.
Niamh, who was also a professional dancer, began performing at the age of three and appeared in Riverdance, Lord Of The Dance, Feet Of Flames and the Celtic Tiger
Fans of the Riverdance star offered their condolences in the comments section of his post, including one which read: ‘So sorry for your loss Michael. Sending thoughts and prayers to you all’
They didn’t strike up a romance until 2006 but married later the same year in Fermoy, County Cork, before welcoming their son Michael Saint James in 2007 (pictured on their wedding day)
He said: ‘She is highly intelligent. She is my best friend. She is extraordinarily beautiful, inside and out. I am proud to be her husband. I am blessed to have her. She is a loyal true blue.’
Michael has also spoken of how Niamh was his rock during his battle with cancer.
Speaking to the Irish Independent last year, he said: ‘I was haemorrhaging and convulsing on a hospital bed and I kept passing out. They couldn’t give me the painkillers necessary.
‘There were some wonderful nurses that were trying to help me, but they were invisible to me because of the pain, but I will never forget opening my eyes one of the times that I came to, and my wife was there.
‘And my wife was smiling. Can you imagine the courage from my wife, to put on a smile in that position? The courage that took?’
Niamh and Michael were last seen in public together in August, celebrating Michael Smurfit’s 90th birthday in Monaco.