Former ‘Riverdance’ HQ sold for €5m

JOHN McColgan and Moya Doherty have sold Gateway House in Dublin, the former head office for their international hit show Riverdance, for close to €5m.

The 45,000 sq ft property on Capel Street was acquired by the couple 20 years ago.

The building has housed a number of projects related to McColgan and Doherty, who is chairwoman of RTE, including their television production company Tyrone Productions.

Abhann Productions, the company which staged Riverdance around the world, is understood to be moving to another Dublin property owned by the pair.

Abhann recorded a pre-tax profit of €1.9m in 2015.

Riverdance is scheduled to tour China again for three months later this year. Tours in Germany and Austria are also planned as part of a major 25th anniversary production.

The Riverdance creators own other office buildings in Dublin, and their property interests include investments in the US and elsewhere.

McColgan set up Tyrone Productions in 1987.

It has worked on several TV productions, including TG4’s long-running soap Ros na Run and School Around The Corner presented by Ray D’Arcy.

McColgan and Doherty hit upon huge success in 1994 when they created Riverdance as interval entertainment for the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin.

A year later it premiered in Dublin’s Point Theatre as a theatrical show which went on to tour all over the world.

It is believed to have netted McColgan and Doherty well over €90m.

In recent years, a scaleddown version continued to tour internationally, including runs across the US.

According to trade publication Pollstar, it continues to clock up tens of millions of euro in ticket sales annually.

In 2013, McColgan and Doherty launched Heartbeat of Home, which combines Irish music with Latin and Afro-Cuban music and dance.