Viewers in tears as Finbar Furey and Imelda May duet on Sweet Sixteen for Late Late in London
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Viewers in tears as Finbar Furey and Imelda May duet on Sweet Sixteen for Late Late in London

A BEAUTIFUL duet by Finbar Furey and Imelda May was the highlight of the historic episode of The Late Late Show, in October 2018.
We remember 3 years on, this week - a memorable night in London!

The special episode, broadcast live from Central Hall in Westminster, London, had no shortage of Irish talent.

Graham Norton, Brendan O’Carroll and Barry McGuigan were part of the star-studded line-up that joined host Ryan Tubridy.

However it was a stirring version of When You Were Sweet Sixteen by Furey and May that made the biggest impression on viewers.

Some viewers took to Twitter to say their rendition of the song –which gave The Fureys a hit in Britain in 1981 – had moved them to tears.

The show, a celebration of the Irish in Britain, heard from May about how she got the boat from Dun Laoghaire destined for London 22 years ago.

“I was waving, really happy about my adventures,” she told Tubridy, “and it was only as I saw [my parents] getting smaller and all of Ireland getting smaller, that it dawned on me, ‘oh my god, I’m emigrating’.

“And then I bawled for about three months.

“I got so homesick I got the shingles. I got really ill, I was just missing home so much, but I was determined to make it work.’

She added: “It’s now 22 years… I love it [London].”

You can watch the special edition of The Late Late Show live from London in full on RTÉ Player until November 11, 2018.

** Originally Published on: Oct 13, 2018 by Gerard Donaghy