A PLACE TO CALL HOME
For a number of years through the 1990's, Michael Flatley lived out of suitcases, travelling from hotel to hotel as he toured with his shows. It was 1998 before he finally acquired property of his own and became a homeowner. His first acquisitions were a three-bedroom villa overlooking the Cote d'Azur in the South of France, on a high corniche in Villefranche, a town liberally populated with Irish people (including the town Mayor!), and a historic mansion in London's picturesque Little Venice.
These were not immediately obvious choices for a celebrity riding the waves of success. Monte Carlo might have seemed a more expected location, and a glamorous penthouse in a city, but Michael's tastes were to prove much deeper. He was looking for homes rather than status symbols, and old, peaceful retreats with character were more appealing than lavish palaces. However, that would not interfer with his love of quality, attention to detail and appreciation for luxury. The homes he chose, particularly the London house, which had famously once been the home of Lillie Langtry, offered him scope for a cultural approach and a chance to use his affinity for history to create very special environments. When he found his ultimate home in the southwest of Ireland in 1999, he began on an extraordinary project of restoration and refurbishment to bring new life to one of Ireland's great eighteenth century houses, Castle Hyde House in Fermoy.
This page will look at Michael's homes, most especially Castle Hyde, which has turned out to be a remarkable adventure and achievement, and one of his most precious gifts to Ireland.
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Masquerade, Villefranche - Coming Soon
Park Place, London - - Coming Soon