The Late Late Show (Irish talk show)

There were also glowing tributes for Byrne from then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, RTÉ broadcasters Des Cahill, Larry Gogan, Mike Murphy, Marian Finucane, American counterpart Merv Griffin, former Taoiseach Charles Haughey and various other celebrities.

There were musical performances on the night from The Corrs,

1999–2009: Pat Kenny

:Including Gerry Ryan for one night.

When Byrne left, The Late Late Show dominated RTÉ's ratings viewership figures, coming in consistently either at number 1 or number 2. Some columnists writing in the Sunday Independent and The Irish Times called for the show be dropped as its success was linked too intricately with Byrne to work with anyone else. RTÉ, however, retained the show, justifying the decision as it being a powerful brand that attracted extensive advertising revenue. Contemporary media reports speculated that Patrick Kielty, Marian Finucane, Gerry Ryan and Gerry Kelly would take over. However, RTÉ gave the show to Pat Kenny, who for nearly a decade had presented his own Kenny Live show in the Saturday night time slot. Even after seven years at the helm of that show Kenny was often criticised in the media for his presentation style.

Kenny and his staff changed many aspects of The Late Late Show. Its distinctive title music was changed, as was the set design and studio layout. Guests, instead of remaining on, were involved only in that part of the show when the focus was them. A new set abandoned the traditional presenter's desk. Unlike Byrne, Kenny ensured his guests were announced in advance. Other than the title, the use of an owl as the show's symbol and the traditional edition marketing toys to children and their parents, little of the original remained the same. Byrne's two catchphrases, "It started on The Late Late Show", and "one for everyone in the audience" were dropped. The latter of these phrases has since been revived under Kenny's successor but was not much in use when Kenny was at the helm.

"That rude interruption"

As the 24 November 2006 edition of the show was getting underway, an intruder, Paul Stokes from Monkstown, Dublin, emerged from off screen to confront a visibly startled Pat Kenny, who had just greeted three guests, You're a Star judges Thomas Black, Linda Martin, and Brendan O'Connor. Stokes approached Kenny, with his back to the camera, crouched down closer to Kenny and accused Kenny of being a "censor" and described him and his predecessor, Gay Byrne, as "insufferable arseholes". The incident was broadcast live and uncensored before the studio audience. Kenny repeatedly uttered "thank you, thank you". The show cut to a premature commercial break while Stokes was removed from the studio. When the show returned to television screens, Kenny apologised to viewers for what he described as "that rude interruption" and began his interview. Stokes was arrested but later released.

Today FM presenter Jenny Kelly reportedly went into labour whilst laughing as the incident unfolded on her television screen. She described her initial intention as having been to sit down for an evening of Kenny and to "bore the baby into arriving".

It was later revealed that Stokes' daughter was a member of The Late Late Show crew. Shortly after the initial incident, Stokes rammed his vehicle into the front entrance of RTÉ's Donnybrook facility; no one was injured. He was also reported to have stood outside Kenny's house shouting insults and to have painted threatening messages on walls near the house, although a charge of harassment connected with the case was dropped. Stokes was later sentenced to two years in prison for ramming the RTÉ entrance.

Other incidents

;O'Reilly/Callaly interview: In late October 2004, three weeks after Rachel O'Reilly was found murdered at her home in the Naul, County Dublin, the mother and husband of the woman, Rose Callaly and Joe O'Reilly, were Kenny's guests. Callaly's trauma was evident; O'Reilly calmly dealt with Kenny's questions. O'Reilly was later arrested. Two years later, he was convicted of the crime.

;Brendan Gleeson: On 17 March 2006 (Saint Patrick's Day, the national holiday), actor Brendan Gleeson became emotional while disclosing his views on the state of the national health service.

;Enrique Iglesias: In 2007, an interview with Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias proved awkward for Kenny. When Kenny persisted in asking about his relationship with the tennis player Anna Kournikova, Iglesias responded: "You ask the questions so dry and so seriously that it kind of scares me."

;Ticket tearing: In November 2008, Kenny telephoned a competition winner for a prize of a weekend in Dublin, shopping money and two tickets to the Late Late Toy Show episode. The winner, a woman from Cork city, answered the phone and correctly answered the competition question ("Roald Dahl"). Kenny, the phone receiver perched between his ear and shoulder, pulled the offending sheets of paper from his breast pocket, tore them and said: "I think I'll give up this job".

Set design under Kenny

thumb|320px|right|Pat Kenny on the new set as launched in September 2007

RTÉ launched the last revamp while Kenny was the host on Friday 7 September 2007, introducing a new set but retaining the title sequence in use since 2003. Designed by Darragh Treacy of RTÉ Production Design, that set consisted of metal, timber and polycarbonate, with carpet as a floor covering; it made for a more complex and layered background than the previous arrangement and was heavily dependent on saturated lighting and modern construction materials. According to Treacy: "I wanted something contemporary that would be architectural and structural, [for example] the horizontal lines and boxes that you see running throughout the set. [...] The back wall of the [chat area] has textured panels which just take the light beautifully and give a great three-dimensional effect. Then the polycarbonate boxes sit in front of that. The fins – the large timber sections – to the left of the chat area are replicated in the entertainment area as well, and are large pieces of timber with a paint finish that take the light."

A desk also reappeared, as initially continued after Byrne's departure but disposed of shortly afterwards despite a final-attempt redesign in 2000. Kenny noted: "After eight seasons of sitting around, lounging around, as if in a living room, we decided just for a change that we'd put the desk in and see what difference it made. We'll work with it: I mean if it doesn't work after five or six weeks, it goes – if it does work, well we'll find ways of using it effectively. I mean it does put a little barrier between myself and the guest, but on the other hand it can be very useful for a formal interview where you don't want to be too intimate with your guest if it's a little bit antagonistic, whereas in the past I was always reclining and even if I had to be a bit aggressive with a guest the body language was a little bit confusing in that regard. So we'll see." tuned in to watch Kenny present his last edition of The Late Late Show as regular host (he returned for one night in 2013 when his successor was unavailable). An outdoor event was set up for the occasion on the RTÉ campus. At the end of the show, Joe Duffy presented Kenny with a cake in the shape of a "10", to mark his ten years of presenting. The Edge of U2 also gave Kenny glasses and a guitar.

2009–2023: Ryan Tubridy

right|thumb|Logo during the Ryan Tubridy era

:Including Pat Kenny for one night and Miriam O'Callaghan for two nights.

After two months of speculation, Ryan Tubridy emerged as Kenny's successor. Original host Gay Byrne gave Tubridy his blessing: "He has all the qualities required, the light deft touch together with a serious mind. I think it's a great adventure that he's setting off on". Other personalities tipped for the role had included Gerry Ryan and Miriam O'Callaghan. O'Callaghan, whom some media commentators considered favourite for the job, claimed she had turned down an offer, so as to keep her Prime Time slot and spend time with her eight children.

Tubridy presented his first programme on 4 September 2009 with a custom picked staff, a new set and house band. He emerged from behind a red curtain and walked to a wooden desk, at which he sat in the same €3,000-plus Irish designed chair as the actress Meryl Streep in the film The Devil Wears Prada. Guests on this first show included Brian Cowen, Saoirse Ronan, Brian McFadden, Joan Collins, Cherie Blair, and Niall Quinn. With an overall audience share of 62 per cent, it was the most watched — outside the annual Late Late Toy Show — since Gay Byrne's retirement in May 1999. This promising start would not last, however; audience ratings had declined by Tubridy's sixth season. Another notable occurrence in Tubridy's first season was when the show aired on Good Friday for the first time in 15 years in 2010. Later the same month (April), the show's former hosts, Gay Byrne and Pat Kenny, alongside fellow RTÉ broadcasters Joe Duffy, Dave Fanning and Brenda Donohue, joined Tubridy to discuss the sudden death of one-time host and colleague Gerry Ryan on 30 April 2010.

Tubridy's second season as host began with a notable interview with former British prime minister Tony Blair. The live interview occurred the night before a book signing at Eason's which attracted international attention when Blair was pelted with shoes and eggs and successfully evaded an attempted citizen's arrest on charges of war crimes.

On 1 February 2013, Pat Kenny returned to host that night's edition when Tubridy's father died.

In 2015, Tubridy's tone and choice of questions when interviewing Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy in relation to the campaign against the implementation of a water tax was much criticised. Opponents of the water tax praised Murphy on social media for what was said to have been his "restraint" during the interview. Julien Mercille, the academic and writer of The Political Economy and Media Coverage of the European Economic Crisis: The Case of Ireland, observed that "Tubridy was pretty good from the standpoint of protecting government interests. [...] He asked all the right questions to try to discredit the water charges protests and Paul Murphy".

In 2011, Tubridy announced that he hoped his time as host would be closer to Kenny's ten years than Byrne's 37, stating that Kenny made the "right tenure" as host. He hosted 14 seasons in total.

In March 2020, Tubridy and his production team were forced to produce the show without their usual live studio audience of around 200 who would come each week to watch the show air live from RTÉ's Studio 4. The COVID-19 pandemic caused all large gatherings of people to be banned, and so RTÉ and the Late Late Show production team decided the talk show would continue to air live every Friday night for the remainder of the season, except there would be no studio audience. The show continued to air live during the pandemic, with special guests either being interviewed via the internet or guests come into the studio and were interviewed by Tubridy whilst maintaining social distance. The first edition of the show without an audience aired on 13 March 2020, and lasted until May 2021. Studio audiences returned on 3 September 2021, initially sitting spaced out at tables in order to maintain social distancing. In May 2022, the mask mandate for audience members was lifted.

On 16 March 2023, Tubridy announced that he would be stepping down as the presenter of The Late Late Show after 14 years.

Tubridy's final show

On 26 May 2023, Tubridy presented his last edition of The Late Late Show. Messages of congratulations poured in from Saoirse Ronan, Jessie Buckley, Paul McCartney, Russell Crowe and various other celebrities. High-profile guests on this final show included Irish President Michael D. Higgins, comedian PJ Gallagher, Jedward and Charlie Bird.

There were musical performances on the night from Andrea Corr, John Sheahan, Moya Brennan, Steve Wickham, Sharon Shannon and Cian Ducrot. U2 member Bono presented Tubridy with a red Vespa scooter.

2023–present: Patrick Kielty

In May 2023, after much speculation, Patrick Kielty was confirmed as Tubridy's replacement, becoming the show's fourth permanent presenter.

On 17 August 2023, it was announced that the running time for each episode of The Late Late Show would be reduced from approximately two hours to 90 minutes, although each episode would still be split into four parts, with three commercial breaks. The Toy Show, however, retained the two-hour slot. The number of episodes per season was also reduced from approximately 36 to 30.

Kielty's first show as host aired on Friday 15 September 2023.

Hosts

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! rowspan="2" | Host !! colspan="2" | From !! colspan="2" | To !! rowspan="2" | Notes

! Date

! Age

! Date

! Age

| Gay Byrne || 6 July 1962 || 27 || 30 May 1964 || 29 || Also simultaneously hosted Telefís Éireann's first gameshow called Jackpot

| Frank Hall || 19 September 1964 || 43 || 19 December 1964 || 43 || Replacement host

| Gay Byrne || 2 January 1965 || 30 || 21 May 1999 || 64 ||

| Pat Kenny || 10 September 1999 || 51 || 29 May 2009 || 61 || Previously hosted Kenny Live

| Ryan Tubridy || 4 September 2009 || 36 || 26 May 2023 || 49 || Previously hosted Tubridy Tonight

| Patrick Kielty || 15 September 2023 || 52 || Incumbent ||

The Late Late Show has had four regular hosts: Gay Byrne, Pat Kenny, Ryan Tubridy and Patrick Kielty. Frank Hall deputised for Byrne for one season in the 1960s.

There have been other rare occasions on which another presenter has hosted the show. In 1972, Byrne became unexpectedly and seriously ill. Andrews took over and quizzed Byrne on his seventeen years with the programme.

After Kenny's mother suddenly died in October 2008, Gerry Ryan was announced as guest presenter for that week's show with less than 48 hours' notice. Kenny announced his decision to quit live on air in March 2009. On 11 May that year, RTÉ announced Ryan Tubridy as Kenny's successor. In March and April 2020, Miriam O'Callaghan stood in for Ryan Tubridy on two consecutive weeks when Tubridy was quarantined with suspected symptoms of COVID-19 and later tested COVID-19 positive.

Tribute shows

Toy Show

Since the early 1970s, an annual Christmas edition entitled The Late Late Toy Show has been held in late November or early December, where various children's toys are showcased to the audience before the Christmas season.

Music

Theme music and opening titles

Although not the original theme, the theme music most associated with the show is the instrumental introduction from Chris Andrews' 1965 single "To Whom It Concerns", which was in use as early as 1971 and used until Byrne's final show. The version used on the show was proceeded with a distinctive drum roll, followed by a whistle which would then segue into "To Whom It Concerns". This was always accompanied by the spoken introduction: "Ladies and gentlemen, to whom it concerns, it's "The Late Late Show", and here is your host, Gay Byrne". During the same era, a clip from '"The Late Late Show" by Nat King Cole was used as the closing music. The Late Late Show was unusual during Byrne's era in that the show's production credits ran over the opening title sequence, and only a brief still of the show's logo was shown at the end.

During the Kenny era, "To Whom It Concerns" was replaced, although the new theme incorporated elements of the distinctive drum roll from the old theme. Three different arrangements were used during this era. The show's production credits were moved to the end at this point, and the closing theme has been the same as the opening since 1999.

A new set and title sequence was introduced for Ryan Tubridy's first show, with Chris Andrews' "To Whom It Concerns" returning as the theme music after a ten-year absence, albeit in a new arrangement performed by The Late Late Show Band and RTÉ Concert Orchestra.

First musical performances

Below is a list of artists whose first televised performance happened on The Late Late Show.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Artist !! Song !! Date

| The Boomtown Rats || "Mary of the Fourth Form" || 1977

| Boyzone || ||26 November 1993

| Mary Coughlan || || 1985

| Crystal Swing || "He Drinks Tequila" || 12 March 2010

| Hothouse Flowers || ||

| Sinéad O'Connor || "Mandinka" ||26 February 1988

| U2 || "Stories for Boys" || January 1980

| Finbar Wright || ||

| The Strypes || "I Saw Her Standing There" || 2010 (Toy Show)

| HomeTown || "Roar" || 30 May 2014

| Westlife (Then known as Westside)|| "Flying Without Wings" ||13 November 1998

| Wonderland || "When the Stars Go Blue" || 26 December 2008

Other notable musical performances

Virgin Prunes, "Theme for Thought", 1979.

Therapy?, invited to perform in 1994, were anticipated to perform their cover version of the Joy Division composition "Isolation"; disheartened with their treatment, however, they decided to perform their own composition "Knives" instead, without prior notice. The performance featured two instances of the expletive "fuck", a word normally expected to be omitted. The nation was affronted. Therapy? returned the following year to perform another of their compositions, this one titled "Stories".

In 1995, the English independent rock band Pop Will Eat Itself defaced the studio whilst in the midst of a performance. The group were invited back to Ireland by Byrne having performed in the country again.

Tammy Wynette and Ray Lynam duet on 22 March 1991 of "Til a Tear Becomes a Rose".

Eurovision Song Contest

The Irish representative for the Eurovision Song Contest has been chosen annually through a variety of shows including a national song competition called Eurosong and a reality TV series called You're a Star. The six finalists perform their songs live on the show, with voting done as a 50–50 split between regional juries and a public televote. The show also includes celebrity interviews, guest performances, and a panel of Eurovision experts who discuss the performances with the host.

Pat Kenny hosted numerous editions of the Eurosong final (which often replaced his Saturday Night chat show Kenny Live) and in 1988 he co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2006 and 2007, the song was chosen on The Late Late Show, the performers Brian Kennedy and Dervish had already been chosen to represent the country at the contest. In 2008, RTÉ returned to the national song contest format for Eurosong. 2009 would be the last edition of the format that Pat Kenny would host and The Late Late Show would host the competition until 2015. Eurosong returned in 2022, hosted by Ryan Tubridy, with 2023 being Tubridy's last Eurosong. The format continued into its third consecutive year in 2024, hosted by Patrick Kielty. In December 2025, RTÉ announced that it will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026 in protest over Israel's participation in the contest for 2026. It is unknown if the format will return should Ireland return to a future Eurovision Song Contest.

Accolades

The Late Late Show was named "Favourite Irish TV Show" at the TV Now Awards on 22 May 2010.