IT capsized under a tidal wave of bad reviews. Now The Pirate Queen, the flop musical that folded after just 85 performances on Broadway, has sprung a leak in its creators’ previously ship-shape accounts. Abhann Productions, run by Moya Doherty and John McColgan, lost almost €8m over the last two years, newly filed company documents show.

The parent company of both Riverdance and The Pirate Queen lost €6.6m in 2006 and €1.024m in 2007. Abhann was forced to write off combined loans of €5.56m to two companies set up to produce the musical.

At the height of Riverdance’s success, the couple drew a combined salary of €40m from Abhann in 16 months. Last year they and Joan Egan, another director, shared €1.7m.

The number of administrative staff at Abhann was cut from 22 to 11 last year, as turnover dropped from €24m to €15m. The Riverdance franchise kept Abhann afloat with a turnover of €8m in Europe and €7.5m in North America.

When The Pirate Queen closed on Broadway, the New York Times estimated that its backers’ losses were “at least $16m (€10.8m)”. Variety magazine reckoned that the musical had recouped less than $7m (€4.75m) in ticket sales. Almost half the seats in the 1,800-seat Hilton Theatre were empty during its closing week in June 2007.

Tyrone Productions, another Doherty/McColgan venture, lost €878,000 in 2006, according to its most recently filed accounts. The TV production company made net profits of €72,000 but paid out €950,000 in dividends to Doherty and McColgan.

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