Lord of the Dance star Micheal Flatley flew into Sligo on Monday to play the flute at the former summer home of Lord Louis Mountbatten at Mullaghmore. The musical tribute marked the 47th anniversary of his assassination by the IRA.
Flatley was joined in the drawingroom of the Classiebawn Castle by musicians from Sligo and Leitrim, where he played a variety of jigs and reels on his 1836 cocuswood instrument.
“It’s magnificent,” he told The Irish Times about the visit. “We kept trying to fix a date to get here, our schedules are crazy but I was determined. I’d never seen such a picturesque setting in my life. I’d never seen such natural beauty.”
The one-time Riverdance star flew in by helicopter and landed in the grounds of the castle. He then had a private lunch with custodian Caroline Devine and friends.
When asked about the significance of the anniversary, Flatley said: “Caroline and I were discussing it and I think it’s an appropriate time for me to come and see her and spend time with her – it’s very important. I’m non-political. My whole life is spreading love and joy and art. That’s what I do.”
Louis Mountbatten with his grandsons Nicholas Knatchbull, Ashley Hicks and Timothy Knatchbull. Mountbatten and Nicholas were killed in an IRA bombing 47 years ago. Photograph: David Ashdown/Keystone/Getty
The great-uncle of Britain’s king Charles, Mountbatten died after his fishing boat, Shadow V, was blown up on August 27th, 1979. His grandson Nicholas Knatchbull and Paul Maxwell, a teenager from Fermanagh, were also killed. Mountbatten’s mother-in-law, Lady Brabourne, died the next day from her injuries.
“He came to pay tribute to the Mountbatten family on the tragedy,” said Devine of Flatley’s visit. “The reason he is here is because they (the Mountbattens) had ceilis here every summer. They never blamed the Irish people for what happened to them and they want what they did here to continue and we thought, ‘who could do it better this week than Michael Flatley?’.”
Flautist Michael Hurley also performed The Belles of Tipperary with Flatley after a gap of nearly 50 years – both men competed against each other as teenagers in the All-Ireland Fleadh in Listowel, which Flatley won.
“It was very nice to play with him [again], a great tribute,” Hurley said. Other musicians included former RTÉ cameraman John McMorrow on banjo and Pat McGurrin on accordion.
Michael Flatley flew in to perform at Monday’s commemorative event in Sligo. Photograph: James Connolly
Flatley took the two sons of the former head housekeeper, Pat and John Barry, up in the helicopter to tour Mullaghmore bay and view the scene of the explosion.
John Barry said: “We hovered over where the bomb took place and pointed out to him exactly where it happened and then he saw the green cross memorial and plaque. We flew over the harbour where the Shadow V was moored and the short journey around to the lobster pots, where the bomb exploded. That was a moving experience for us as well.”
Louis Mountbatten’s body is brought ashore at Mullaghmore in August 1979. Photograph: Pacemaker, Belfast
“When Mountbatten came here every August for 34 years, he always had an Irish night in the front hall. He would invite in the local musicians, neighbours and friends and Irish music was played. Everyone took part. The Mountbatten family and Lord Louis himself liked to sit down and tap his foot to the sound of the music and he would dance an old-time waltz.
“I would have attended those parties as a child. I remember them very clearly. Mountbatten loved Irish culture. The 47th anniversary is coming up now on Thursday and we always remember that. We just won’t forget.”