The Lord Of The Dance star, Michael Flatley, announced the death of his wife, Niamh O’Brien, at age 52.
The 68-year-old Irish dance performer and choreographer has been credited with reinventing traditional Irish dance by incorporating new rhythms, syncopation, and upper-body movements previously absent from the dance.
Flatley shared the news of his wife’s passing on Instagram on Monday and asked fans to keep his family in their prayers.
O’Brien died at the Beacon Hospital in Dublin just hours before she was to be flown to see a specialist in the U.S. She had been sick for several years, according to the Irish Independent.
The illness and cause of death have not been confirmed, but Flatley reportedly spent “every waking hour” caring for his wife.
Friends of the family told the Daily Mail that her husband has been “left distraught, devastated, and utterly grief-stricken.”
O’Brien grew up competing in Irish dance, placing No. 4 in the World Irish Dancing Championships at age 17. She then began a professional career, dancing in the 1994 Eurovision interval performance.
O’Brien first met Flatley when she was a lead dancer in one of his productions, Riverdance, in 1993. She also played the lead character, Saoirse, in Flatley’s Lord of the Dance, and later danced in his productions of Feet of Flames and Celtic Tiger.
They didn’t begin dating until 2006, but married that year and had a son together in 2007 named Michael Saint James Flatley.
She was at her husband’s side during his battle with cancer, and continued working on the design and dance organization of his touring productions despite her illness.
When Flatley appeared on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, he said, “She is extraordinarily beautiful, inside and out. I am proud to be her husband. I am blessed to have her,” Flatley said.
