Madam, – Having read Michael Seaver's incisive commentary on the cultural impact of Riverdance(Weekend Review, November 13th), I am driven finally to make a full confession and to prevent one man going to the gallows for the sins of another.
So, I must now stand and answer the charges that Mr Seaver has levelled at poor Michael Flatley. Beginning with the headline assertion that the piece is "Michael Flatley's Riverdance" I must now stand and accept the guilt. In addition, the oft-blamed Mr Flatley invented neither the music nor the name nor the concept nor most of the staging choreography nor the set nor the design for Riverdance.
Michael Flatley danced magnificently and was an essential part of the initial success with the wonderful Jean Butler, but I must accept responsibility for coming up with the name, the music, and most of what the dance pieces would be about. And then, what I didn’t invent were the inventions of Moya Doherty, who approached me in the first place, or John McColgan. I don’t want to let Michael off the hook completely because he did create some highly spectacular personal choreography and brilliant steps, but I can no longer remain quiet while innocent bystanders, like Mr Seaver, labour under the misapprehension that Michael Flatley is the guilty party.
And while he has me in confessional mode let me also say how sorry I was to read of his confusion that Riverdancemight not be "authentic".
Again, I must put my hand up. Riverdancecontains not a screed of authentic traditional music. Well, actually that is not completely true. We do play The Coolinand The Mason's Aprontowards the end of the show, but for the most part its origins are not disputed – it came from my own guilty hand. As I only appeared on this planet in the 1950s, unfortunately I cannot claim that my music is part of an ancient tradition. There are those who might argue that it is part of a living tradition, but that kind of commentary is best left to future analysts.
As to the genesis of the other shows that followed Riverdancewhich you referred to, I can genuinely say that I had nothing to do with any of them. However, rather than watch a generous and thoughtful contributor to The Irish Timescontinue to be misled I must today stand up, make amends and set the record straight. Mea maxima culpa. – Yours, etc,