- Was the first American to win the Irish Dance World Championships at the age of 17. He began dancing at the age of 11 and was told he was too old and should not even attempt to dance competitively.
- He is a chessmaster, and plays the flute at a concert level.
- His legs were insured for 40 million dollars.
- He is in the Guiness Book of World Records for the fast tap of 36 taps per second.
- On every show, he saves a seat for his grandmother Hannah Ryan, who was his inspiration.
- He has one blue eye and one green eye
- Every day on tour he eats steaks for breakfast.
- Held the Golden Gloves Championship in the feather weight division in 1977
- He is now retired from active dancing. His last dance was at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on 17th March 2016 St Patrick's Day.
- He was born in Chicago, Illinois, but many often think he is from Ireland.
- Chosen by "People" magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. (1997)
- He and Niamh welcomed a son, Ryan Michael James Flatley, on April 26th 2007.
- With the Lord of the Dance troupe performed live at the 1997 Academy Awards show in Hollywood seen by over 2.5 billion people worldwide.
- In 1988 became the youngest person in history to be awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from President Ronald Reagan and the National Endowment for the Arts, recognizing him as one of America's greatest living artists.
- Both of Flatley's parents immigrated to Chicago from Ireland, four years before his birth. His mother is from Carlow, and his father James is from Sligo.
- The Feet of Flames and Lord of the Dance videos are two of the biggest selling performance videos of all time, spending a staggering 51 weeks at the top of the German music video charts and 40 weeks in the number two position.
- Donated his 1998 Rolls Royce to the "People in Need" charity. By the time the car was auctioned off during the 2003 phone-in bidding drive in Ireland, more than $100K had been raised. Flatley's license plate read: C 1 MRF (his initials)
- He is an artist . Dublin's iconic Shelbourne Hotel had an Afternoon Tea in their Lord Mayor's lounge inspired by his paintings.
- Over the last 20 years LOTD has broken box office records around the world and has been seen by over 60 million people in 70 different countries across 6 continents and is still going strong.
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