Michael Flatley, creator and star of the Irish dance show ‘Lord of the Dance,’ has said that he has given up his U.S. passport in order to get a British one.
Or has he?
Speaking with the Daily Mail, Flatley said he was very excited about his new British citizenship, which has been about ten years in the making.
“It’s been a long, arduous process but London is the center of everything and I want my son to be educated in England,” said Flatley. “I will get my citizenship in July and I am absolutely thrilled. I am giving up my U.S. citizenship to do it.”
"This is a whole new phase in my life - about bringing up my son and taking shows to lots of different places where being a British citizen is respected. I shall keep my place in Cork in Ireland, but our life now is here in London."
However in a subsequent interview with the Irish Independent he stated that report was false.
"I have not applied for UK citizenship and I have not applied for a UK passport," he said.
"I have never applied for a UK passport and I have no idea where these reports came from.
"I have not spoken to any journalists about anything of this sort and I have now been in contact with my public relations people about this.
"I am very proud to be Irish and nothing has changed in that regard. I love Ireland," he said.
Flatley was born and raised in Chicago where he rose to the top of the ranks in competitive Irish dancing. In 1994, he helped bring Irish dancing to the mainstage when he was a part of Ireland’s Eurovision entry of ‘Riverdance,’ which spawned several other Irish dance shows in the following two decades.
Since becoming a megastar through Irish dancing, Flatley has been able to travel the world with his dance productions, but has found his new home base to be in London.
He first began considering British citizenship in 2003. Flatley told the Irish Independent, “The trouble is I've already got dual Irish-American citizenship and you're only allowed two passports."
“This is a whole new phase in my life,” said Flatley of his new British citizenship, “[it’s] about bringing up my son and taking shows to lots of different places where being a British citizen is respected. I shall keep my place in Cork in Ireland, but our life now is here in London.”
Flatley already has a six-story home in Knightsbridge, London which he shares with his wife Niamh, who also toured as an Irish dancer in Flatley’s show, and their six-year-old son Michael Jr.
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