Riverdance from the packed theatre of 4,000 people. The performance is often considered the most well known interval act in Eurovision Song Contest history. Riverdance was later performed as an interval act at both the "" (2005) and "Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits" (2015) events. Lead dancers Michael Flatley and Jean Butler transformed the previously chaste and reserved traditional dance form into something else entirely. The song "Riverdance" was released as a single and entered the Irish Singles Chart at No. 1 right after the Eurovision debut, staying there for 18 weeks—the longest amount of time a song has ever topped
Mike Rafferty (flautist) Mike Rafferty (flautist) Mike Rafferty (1926-2011) was an Irish traditional flute player. Rafferty was born on September 26, 1926 and grew up on a farm in Ballinakill, Co. Galway, Ireland. He learned music mainly from his father, Tom "Barrel" Rafferty who played the flute and uilleann pipes. Rafferty emigrated to the United States in 1949 and settled in northern New Jersey. He became known in the Irish traditional music scene in greater New York City and appeared at an extensive array of concerts and festivals all over US including the Smithsonian Institution’s Bicentennial Festival of American Folklife in 1976, and