Michael Flatley is heartbroken after death of his wife Niamh

Michael Flatley has announced the sad passing of his wife and “best friend” Niamh.

Michael Flatley is heartbroken after the death of his wife Niamh aged 52.

The 68-year-old Lord of the Dance legend has announced the passing of his beloved wife, who he married in 2006, in an emotional tribute on social media.

He said in a statement on Instagram: “My heart is broken. I have lost my beautiful wife, Niamh, and my best friend. My gorgeous bride of twenty years has gone to the Lord in Heaven.

“She was the most loving mother, wife and person, and our lives will never be the same without her.

“Thank you for all the love and kindness you have shown us. Please keep Niamh, Michael St James, and our family in your thoughts and prayers.”

Michael and Niamh – who was also a professional dancer – first met on the set of Riverdance, while she was part of the famous 1994 Eurovision Song Contest interval line-up.

She started performing at three years old, going onto appear in Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames and Celtic Tiger.

Niamh and Michael’s relationship didn’t become romantic until 2006, the same year they tied the knot, while they welcomed son Michael Saint James into the world the following year.

Back in 2013, Michael told Piers Morgan’s Life Stories: “She is highly intelligent. She is my best friend. She is extraordinarily beautiful, inside and out.

“I am proud to be her husband. I am blessed to have her. She is a loyal true blue.”

Last year, he opened up about how she supported him during his battle with cancer.

He told the Irish Independent: “I was haemorrhaging and convulsing on a hospital bed and I kept passing out. They couldn’t give me the painkillers necessary.

“There were some wonderful nurses that were trying to help me, but they were invisible to me because of the pain, but I will never forget opening my eyes one of the times that I came to, and my wife was there.

“And my wife was smiling. Can you imagine the courage from my wife, to put on a smile in that position? The courage that took?”