Bill Whelan (born May 22, 1950) is the Irish composer who was asked to compose a piece for the interval of the Eurovision Song Contest. The end result, Riverdance, was a ten-minute display of traditional Irish dancing that became a full-length stage production and spawned a worldwide craze for Irish dancing and celtic music. Whelan is a native of Limerick, and was educated at Crescent College, University College Dublin and the King's Inns. He worked as a pianist for The Waterboys during their Fisherman's Blues sessions.