Great anniversary party feels a little late in the day

We wanted to be there for the ‘Late Late Show’ 50th-year bash but were not sure whether we’d stay until the end

IT WAS a lovely jubilee, only slightly marred by the weather. The diminutive monarch peered out at the cheering crowd, flanked by heirs from two generations. Here is a reign which, everyone agrees, bestrode unprecedented social change.

The tributes poured in, the old television clips rolled, the black and white photographs emerged from the archives, and only the person who had ruled the longest now remembers the hard work, the bad times and the struggle that had gone into such an impressive reign. But Gay didn’t care, because he had a few whiskies in him and was out to have a good night.

Beside him, Pat Kenny, always the unlucky Prince Charles in this strange dynasty, managed his unenviable position gracefully. Let’s face it, with Gay you can’t win. Pat has found his happiness elsewhere.

The Late Late Show 50th Anniversary Special was a family party which was taking place after a couple of nasty divorces. We were prepared to turn up, but we weren’t sure we’d stay for the whole thing. Sinead O’Connor came dressed in her priest outfit, and no one said a word about it. (Actually, she looked wonderful, and gave a brave performance that lifted the night.) Imelda May, so charming and so confident, confirmed her position as Nation’s Sweetheart – or Nation’s Dote, as Gay would probably have it. These two women, and Ryan Tubridy, appeared to be the only wholly sober people on stage.

Personally I don’t mind that, although there have been objections. Liam Neeson was so relaxed that he revealed the surprise guest was Bono – which we kind of knew anyway – and sparked a lot of jokes about “Schindler’s p***ed”.

At two hours, the Late Late has always been the Everest of television watching; even its current presenter, Tubridy, has said it is too long.

The Late Late began at a time when most viewers had no alternative on a Friday night. Now we have Graham Norton – interesting that he did not feature in the clips of amusing guests interviewed over the years – and a whole lot else besides.

We have had the divorce of the Irish public from the political process, which still involves high boredom, low polls and plummeting levels of esteem on both sides.

At the start, when Tubridy promised us a surprise special guest, some of us were hoping it might turn out to be the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny. Taoisigh used to turn up routinely for the big Late Late anniversaries – Bertie Ahern was so humble about it that he practically said he just happened to be passing, and that it was a great honour – but no longer, it seems.

We’ve had the divorce between the Catholic Church and the Irish public, and now, it seems, the divorce between the church and its own clergy. Fr Brian D’Arcy, censured by the Vatican for his gentle column in the Sunday World, was in the audience.

Down the years, the church has provided the Late Late with its pantomime villain, a role it fulfilled with gusto. The bishop and the nightie; the condom being unfurled on Gay Byrne’s fingers (don’t ask). The same Fr Brian D’Arcy challenging Cardinal Cahal Daly in a riveting exchange which was recalled by Pat Kenny on Friday. Annie Murphy being interviewed about her relationship with Bishop Eamon Casey and the existence of their son, with Gay Byrne taking the bishop’s side! I had forgotten Annie Murphy stood up to leave, apparently in disgust, the second that the interview had ended, until that very moment was shown on Friday night.

And then there is the divorce which has taken place between RTÉ and the Irish public. This divorce has been a fairly quiet affair, as the Irish public simply packed its things and headed for the other channels.

The libelling of Fr Kevin Reynolds was just the most recent upsetting episode in a relationship which may well yet be restored by a soccer competition; it has been restored that way in the past.

On Friday it was noticeable that when Tubridy went to interview Terry Prone, who was sitting in the audience of celebrities, the camera went in very tight on her. She was looking well, and is an excellent speaker. But it was strange that her husband, Tom Savage, chairman of the RTÉ board, was not in shot, as he was sitting directly to her right, and those seats are very close.

Perhaps it was an RTÉ solution to an RTÉ problem: there is continuing controversy over the issue of conflict of interest between Savage’s role at RTÉ and his directorship of the company he owns with his wife and son, The Communications Clinic.

That was always the thing about the studio audience at the Late Late: if you were looking in from outside the studio, the people, no matter how irreproachable, looked as if they were sitting too close to each other.

Still, the orchestra played on. It would have been nice if some of the Late Late’s most loyal viewers had been included, but Ireland, along with the Late Late, prefers celebrities now. It was a great evening.

However, you got the feeling that the crowd is getting smaller, and that the next time we meet will be at the funeral.

* This article was amended on June 5 ^th, 2012 to correct a factual error. The RTÉ Concert Orchestra is not being shut down, as originally stated.