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# Storm Emma
How RTÉ put on a last-minute Late Late Show with the country frozen to a halt
“Coming up after the break… I’ve no idea.”
AS MORE AND MORE weather alerts were announced in the past 24 hours, RTÉ presenter Ryan Tubridy wasn’t sure if his Late Late Show tonight would go on.
As recently as yesterday, Tubridy had said on his morning radio show that he had no idea who would be on his chat show tonight, with flights for today cancelled, no transport services running and most of the country left confined to their homes.
But despite the studio audience being cancelled just hours before the show began, Tubridy took his place in his brown leather armchair “very different class of Late Late Show”.
With a pared-back live audience, the show featured an interview with comedian and actress Deirdre O’Kane, a performance from singer Cliona Hagan (who returned for a second one), a quick interview with a couple who got married today despite the exceptional weather, and a giant stack of Brennan’s bread.
They also had a segment on a series of paintings done on the subject of the Irish Famine (a piece we did previously on this here).
There was a live broadcast from Marty Morrissey at the wedding of a couple who told their story of how their big day continued despite the deep depths of the snow.
And the stack of Brennan’s bread? An ode to the mad bred rush we had ahead of the storm – and donated to the homeless.
Throughout the show, Ryan was particularly grateful to the handful of people who filled out a small section of the studio audience (mostly RTÉ heads, we’re guessing).
“We’ve nothing to give away to our audience though,” he added.
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