Enda: Riverdance makes me cry (Audio)

A passionate and emotional Enda Kenny has admitted that the sight of Riverdance still moves him to tears.

Irish people welled up with tears of pride en masse when the spectacle of dance premiered at the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin in 1994, but have become somewhat immune to its charms given its ubiquity around the world since then.

Not our current Taoiseach, however, who remains as moved today as he was when he saw Michael Flatley, Jean Butler and company strut their stuff for the first time in the mid-90s.

“I actually cry every time I see the power of the phenomenon of Riverdance. Ancient dance translated into a phenomenal and powerful message,” said Enda at a meeting of ambassadors at the Department of Foreign Affairs earlier today.

Kenny went on to compare the impact of Riverdance to the global fame achieved by U2 over the years, saying: “It’s like the young fella who climbed on top of a military tank in Taiwan many years ago. He had no English but one word: U2. *Pauses for effect and cool drag of cigarette* Knew the music.”

Although not included in the audio clip below, the Taoiseach’s cringe-worthy use of metaphors didn’t stop there, unfortunately. He encouraged ambassadors to imagine they were in “the Leinster dressing room at half-time in Cardiff” when spreading Ireland’s appeal as a tourist destination abroad.

“It’s like the Roman army when it was marching,” he said.

Warning: The last 20 seconds or so are a bit tedious, but the first bit is well worth a listen.