Ryan Tubridy’s final Late Late country music special will be star-studded show

It was Ryan Tubridy who first introduced this popular annual event to The Late Late Show after recognising the massive appeal of country music outside of Dublin.

Tubs revealed that he spotted posters for the stars and the huge popularity of country music in rural Ireland back in the early days after taking over the Late Late and while doing outside broadcasts on his radio show.

“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,” Ryan says.

“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.”

Tomorrow night 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 Toy Show’s 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 Toy Show’s 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.

Our 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 member of the audience will get the surprise of their lives!