It was partly for this reason that the young Gay Byrne never got close to him. Gay Byrne brought it to an end with what he later described as a “half” apology. In the early 1960s he lived in London, worked for the BBC and travelled home weekly to do The Late Late Show. His refusal to shake hands with Gerry Adams in 1994 on the Sinn Féin leader’s first appearance on the Late Late was also criticised. Byrne with his wife, Kathleen, in the Shelbourne Hotel after his last appearance on The Late Late Show.

Source: The Irish Times November 04, 2019 15:51 UTC