US TV star Conan O’Brien will have a cameo feature in an episode of TG4 soap opera Ros na Rún airing on April 30.
It came about when the former talk-show host was filming a travel documentary in Ireland earlier this year called ‘Conan O’Brien Must Go’ - which is airing on HBO Max in the US this Thursday.
As part of the show, Conan rediscovered his ancestral heritage in Limerick and took time to visit Galway and Limerick.
On Moncrieff today, linguist Kevin Hussey said he also reached out to Ros na Rún asking to feature in an episode while visiting Ireland.
“He wanted to come on to speak his ancestral tongue, learn a few words of Irish, and be on our show,” he said.
“His team told us he didn’t want to be Conan O’Brien on this TV show – he wanted to be a part in the TV show that happened to be played by Conan O’Brien.
“So, the writers got very busy and wrote him into a scene that we have.”
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Cúpla focal
Mr Hussey said many Irish people have a ‘cúpla focal’ - but not Conan.
“He had nothing beyond céad míle fáilte,” he said.
“On set, I brought along cue cards and myself and another actress said the lines to him and he wrote them out as he heard them.
“Then I stood behind the camera and held up each cue card whenever his line came up.
“We didn’t have a lot of time but he had a fair stab at it and it’s quite good I would say.”
Conan O'Brien on a visit to Dublin in 2012. Image: WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy Stock PhotoMr Hussey said it was a “fantastic” experience for the crew.
“He brought a huge amount of life to the set and everyone wanted to be a part of it,” he said.
“Our actors were thrilled with him; they had a great bit of craic amongst themselves.”
Delivery driver role
Mr Hussey said Conan plays a “difficult” delivery driver in the show.
“I can’t say much about it because it's next week's storyline but what happens is there is a party going on,” he said.
“Conan O’Brien is a delivery man with a whole load of balloons for the party and he arrives at the pub in the town where he meets with our bartender Tadgh.
“He walks in trying to deliver his balloons, doing his job, and our barman, who is a bit of a rogue trickster, pretends he has no clue what the fella is on about – so there’s a bit of a kerfuffle.”
To see the episode in question, tune into TG4 on Tuesday, 30th of April at 8.30pm.
You can listen back here:
Main image: Conan O'Brien. Image: Erik Pendzich / Alamy Stock Photo
