Michael Flatley’s parents have every reason to be proud of their eldest boy, who left his Chicago roots to create an Irish empire of his own back in Ireland, the native land of his folks.

Eilish and Michael Flatley Senior have always kept in close touch with their son, and the family traveled to Ireland from the Windy City last month to watch Michael receive an honorary doctorate from University College Dublin. The elder Flatleys were also the first official house guests at Michael’s palatial Castlehyde mansion in Co. Cork, which he’s just about finished restoring to the tune of Œ50 million or so.

“We’ve heard so much about the house from Michael that we really couldn’t wait to see what it finally looked like,” Michael Senior told the Sunday Independent. The elder Flatley emigrated to the States in the 1940s and made his mark in the construction industry.

“We’re very proud of him, but we’re proud of all our children,” he continued. 

Mom Eilish, originally from Carlow, couldn’t be happier that her son has incorporated his Irishness into his business success. “Michael has achieved so much. It really is a dream come true for him and for us,” she says. “Ireland has been such a part of our lives, even in the States, that it’s been wonderful to see how Michael has been able to use that culture for his shows.”

Though the Flatleys are in the U.S. to stay, unlike their son whose permanent residence is now Castlehyde, they love their trips back to the Emerald Isle.

“We love the U.S. and all it’s given us,” Eilish says, “but we love Ireland because that’s where we’re from and who we are.”

And let’s face it— Castlehyde, in all its lavishness, isn’t exactly a shabby place to spend a holiday!