‘I don’t think they have a voice’ — Michael Flatley has his say on potential Áras bid

Michael Flatley has revealed that he’s ‘not ruling out’ a run for the Presidency.

It seems that every seven years, the Riverdance maestro and businessman is a name that comes up to run for the race to the Áras, something that never appears to materialise each time.

However, Michael — who can run as he has Irish citizenship despite being born in the USA — has finally admitted that he’s taking the idea somewhat seriously, saying that he’s been approached by a number of people.

‘I’ve not made the decision, but I have a team of advisers that are advising me on this,’ Michael told Brendan O’Connor on Saturday.

‘I have a huge business to run. I have an army of dancers counting on me to make a living. I have a whiskey company, a beautiful young wife and son that I want to spend time with.

‘If I thought that I could be of benefit to the Irish people and make maybe more importantly, if I thought I could be a voice of the Irish people – right now, I don’t think they have a voice – not a true proper deep voice that you know that speaks their language.’

Michael admitted that he’s aware of the role being ceremonial for the most part, saying: ‘It’s a statesman’s role, but I spent the last 30 years of my life touring the world promoting Ireland and Irish culture.’ and added that he’s met loads of foreign dignitaries to promote Ireland without a ceremonial role.

Michael Flatley with dancers at the 2022 CLRG World Irish Dancing Championships in Belfast. (Getty Images)

‘I’ve met them all. I’ve met the Bushes, the Obamas, Trump, Putin, I’ve met the Clintons. I’ve met the king and queen of England. I’ve met the king and queen of Sweden and of Spain. I’ve met all those people on a more cultural front, more to promote the country. And I think maybe that’s what the job of president is all about.’

Michael isn’t the only one who has been approached to go for the Presidency — albeit in a far more casual manner — as Imelda May revealed that she was asked to go for it by her friend, Shane MacGowan’s widow Victoria Mary Clarke.

‘I had my friend Victoria Mary Clarke, she was up at my house saying “you have to run for president,”‘ Imelda told Anna Geary on the Ray D’Arcy Show — but immediately ruled herself out.

‘I’m not going to do it. I’m madly in love with this place and the people,’ she said, before she was pressed by Anna to do so, where she joked ‘Oh will you stop?’

Two official candidates have been confirmed earlier this week, with Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness and Independent TD Catherine Connolly officially receiving nominations, as the latter launched her campaign.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald also refused to rule herself out of the running after initially denying that she’d go for the role, while Joe Duffy ruled himself out after the Labour Party approached him.

Other names that have been floated about recently include former Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Packie Bonner, who could emerge on the ticket under the Fianna Fáil banner.

* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.