After finding fame and fortune in Riverdance and other stage shows, Michael Flatley is to seek a new role: president of Ireland.
The Irish American dancer and impresario planned to move back from Monaco to Ireland and would seek nomination in the upcoming election, a Dublin court heard on Friday.
An affidavit submitted during a high court case in relation to a legal dispute over renovations at Flatley’s mansion said the 67-year-old was “to seek nominations to run for president of Ireland”.
An election for the largely ceremonial post must take place in the 60 days before 11 November, when Michael D Higgins steps down after two terms, totalling 14 years.
Flatley signalled a potential run in an RTÉ interview last week when he said Irish people were not “happy right now” and lacked “a true proper deep voice that speaks their language”.
His barrister, Ronnie Hudson, confirmed that intention when he notified the court of a “material change in circumstances” and said Flatley, who is an Irish citizen, would move back to Ireland within 14 days to seek a nomination.
The affidavit emerged during the choreographer’s continuing legal action over renovation work at Castlehyde, his 18th-century estate near Fermoy, in County Cork.
To be eligible to run for president, a candidate must be an Irish citizen and aged 35 or older. To get on the ballot, a candidate must be nominated either by at least 20 members of parliament or at least four local authorities. It is unclear if the Lord of the Dance star can muster such support.
In April, the former mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor complained that the nomination rules could block his stated ambition to run.
Two candidates have so far secured enough support to enter the race: Mairead McGuiness, a former journalist and EU commissioner, is the Fine Gael party nominee. Small leftwing parties have backed Catherine Connolly, a political independent and former mayor of Galway. The Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin parties have yet to nominate candidates.
The Independent Ireland grouping, which has four parliamentary seats, said it was open to talking to Flatley and other possible candidates as long as they had a “realistic chance” of mustering 16 other votes.
Flatley has remained in the public eye since retiring as a dancer. Critics derided his 2022 spy thriller film, Blackbird, as a vanity project. In 2023, he announced plans for a “no holds barred” biopic series, titled Dancelord, that promised to show the “epic sweep” of a life that has reached “a plane beyond mere rock stardom”.
