Late Late Show talking points: Michael Flatley, Young Offenders, Kielty's reflections on first season
Patrick Kielty pictured with Michael Flatley and Matt Molloy at the final Late Late Show of the current season. Picture: Kyran O'Brien
The Lord of the Dance opened proceedings tonight by gifting a bottle of his newly launched whiskey to host Patrick Kielty.
Unfortunately, Flatley disappointed the live studio audience by revealing he brought a bottle for everyone in the audience, but, he was told he couldn't do that on telly.
"We drank it all backstage," he said, apologetically.
Moving swiftly on, the 65-year-old was quizzed by Kielty about his memories of Eurovision 1994 and the story behind his new Flatley Whiskey.
But it was Flatley's openness about receiving a cancer diagnosis in January of last year that really hit a nerve with audiences.
"I'm not gonna lie, it wasn't easy," the Chicago native said. "Getting the news was tough... it's not an easy thing to take in.
"Going through the whole ordeal...I prepared myself for it but I really wasn't 100% prepared when the time came," he admitted.
"It was all fine until I got on the trolley. When you're lying on that gurney in that freezing cold hallway staring up at that white ceiling.. you quickly realize you came into this world on your own and you leave on your own.
"I started to think to myself, have I done enough? Have I given enough? Have I helped enough people? I'm always saying follow your dreams. Did I do enough things myself? Did I go after everything that I said I would?"
Flatley said as he reflected on all his achievements, and thought of his wife, son and the love he has "for Ireland and the Irish people", he realised "how blessed" he had been.
"I can't explain the love I have for life. It really hit me how blessed I have been."
Asked whether his attitude changed after coming out the other side, he said, "I've always been a go getter".
"There's this American word, past time, I could never understand that. What's a pastime? There's not enough time. I mean, just this year, I finished the Christmas dance show that I wanted to put out, there's a documentary coming out from Fine Point Film, and there's the whiskey, there's so many things I want to do... I have many things in the pipeline I want to focus on."
In a delicious treat for the audience, Matt Molloy of The Chieftains, a 40-year friend of Flatley, then joined the dancer on the couch.
After reflecting on how they first met, the pair delighted the studio audience by each picking up a flute and performing together.
Oscar-nominated actor Ciarán Hinds had toes curling on Friday night as he talked about filming intimate scenes for The Dry with his real-life wife Hélène Patarot.
Hinds plays Tom Sheridan in the successful Irish drama, with his wife Patarot cast as his lover in the new season.
The Belfast actor said they had a scene where they were to get up to "shenanigans of a sexual nature behind some bins up an alley in Dublin."
"We thought, well, let's give this a go," he said. "So we were kind of experimenting and improvising and it was going on for hours.... you may as well take advantage of the situation!
"And then the intimacy coordinator said 'I think that's enough of that'."
Kielty was taken aback to hear there was an intimacy co-ordinator on set to advise despite the actors being a married couple.
"Yes," Hinds said, "she was also the intimacy co-ordinator for our daughter who played a role in Normal People. So.. she's sexed up the whole family."
Alex Murphy, Chris Walley, Hilary Rose and Shane Casey of The Young Offenders also appeared on the Late Late Show on Friday night, with Murphy and Walley sharing some funny stories about being recognised in Cork.
"Season two I went in to buy a guitar... paid for the guitar and she said, 'Will you take a pic?'
"I said, 'yeah, if you want to' and she said, 'well, do you want to?'. I said, 'well I don't mind, if you want to I will' and she said, 'well, there's a box of them there, you take yourself a guitar pick..."
"I was like 'DAMMIT, I'm not that big yet!'"
Walley then piped up to say he'd had people come up and say "Can I get a photo? I actually hate it but my wife loves it..."
The cast also spoke about Roy Keane's cameo on the show, with Rose saying he was "really fun".
"I think we're the only ones that have ever gotten away with telling Roy Keane to fuck off," Walley joked.
With all the excitement following Bambi Thug's qualification for Saturday's final of the Eurovision Song Contest, it was fitting that throughout the show Kielty checked in with Marty Whelan who is in Malmo.
The Eurovision stalwart, who has been reporting from the song contest for 20 years now, reflected on how a number of years ago the fear going into this weekend used to be "winning Eurovision could bankrupt RTÉ".
"We don't need to worry about that anymore," he quipped.
Audiences at home were entertained by the very enthusiastic crowd of Irish fans surrounding Whelan who chanted "Crown the Witch!" at various points throughout the broadcast.
A special ABBA-themed Late Late Show gameshow where fans in Malmo had to do an aul bit of karaoke to win a pair of tickets to the final featured a surprise cameo from Bambi Thug themselves who delivered the tickets in a golden envelope. Best of luck tomorrow Bambi!
Of course, tonight was a big one for host Patrick Kielty who was wrapping up his very first season at the helm of the show.
Addressing the audience at the conclusion of the show he reflected back on his very first show.
"When I first walked out here last September, I said that it was the honour of a lifetime to do this job. After nine months of sitting in this chair, I now know that it is also the joy of a lifetime.
"That is because of everyone who works on the show, and mostly because of all of you watching at home. The way you have welcomed me into your Friday nights has absolutely meant the world to me.
"So thank you for tuning in and being so kind. Have a great summer. I will see you in the autumn. I have been Patrick Kielty. This has been the Late Late Show. We'll see you soon. Goodnight."
And with that, the audience rose to their feet and it was a standing ovation to wrap up Kielty's first season of the Late Late Show.
