Local stars to feature on Late Late country music special

Two country music stars from the Midlands - Westmeath's TR Dallas and Offaly's Olivia Douglas - are set to feature on the Late Late Show Country Music special this Friday night.

Another of the stars who will feature on the night, Cliona Hagan, also has strong links to the Midlands region as she is married to Tang's Simon Sheerin, himself a member of a famed musical family.

Country music fans are being urged to dust off their cowboy boots for the Late Late's first full country music special since 2019.

Host Ryan Tubridy will be joined by the best of the Irish country scene to celebrate the music filling dance halls across the nation.

Daniel O'Donnell, Margo, Nathan Carter, Cliona Hagan, Philomena Begley, Derek Ryan, Claudia Buckley, TR Dallas, Trudi Lalor, Johnny Brady, Clodagh Lawlor, Niamh Lynne, Olivia Douglas, Chantelle Padden and Cailin Joe lead the stellar line-up.

A country music legend will walk the line and be inducted into the Irish Country Music Hall of Fame - an accolade previously awarded to Daniel O'Donnell and Philomena Begley.

Daniel, Cliona, Philomena, and Nathan have worked 9-5 to unveil an exciting new project exclusively on Friday night’s show and they will pay tribute to the man who started it all, Ireland’s king of country, Big Tom.

Described by Ryan as "a huge country star of the future, if not now" the show will welcome back Tyrone teen Caillin Joe who will perform a Glen Campbell classic.

Some of the leading female artists in the industry will give a country twist to the number one song in the Irish charts at the moment, Miley Cyrus’ Flowers.

The star-studded line-up will perform the songs that changed their lives, including Irish originals and hits from Dolly Parton, The Bellamy Brothers and Garth Brooks.

And throughout the night of songs and stories, one audience member will get the surprise of their lives!

Host Ryan Tubridy said: “This Late Late Country Music special will be my final one at the helm. It all started out really when I was not long in the job as the presenter of The Late Late Show and when driving around the country, I kept seeing posters of gigs of different country stars and it was a world that I wasn’t familiar with. And so, it began…

“I quickly learned that it was a world that brought people together and while I will miss seeing everybody on an annual basis, I have made a lot of friends in the country music world, and that has been my privilege.”