Conan O’Brien as a hard-pressed balloon delivery man in an episode of Ros na Rún last last month. Photo: TG4
Late night TV star Conan O’Brien has won an Emmy for an episode of his travel show in which he travels to Ireland and makes a cameo in Ros na Rún.
The episode of Conan O’Brien Must Go won the award for Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program, also receiving a nomination for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special.
O’Brien, who has traced his heritage to Limerick and Tipperary, visited Ireland in January and took on a brief part as a delivery man in the Irish language show Ros na Rún on TG4.
Conan O’Brien sings alongside Irish Tenors at Whelans Pub
Conan and his HBO Max production team arrived on set in An Spidéal in the Connemara Gaeltacht in January, where Conan engaged in a tour of the purpose-built TV set, before meeting the team.
Ros na Rún series producer Marion Ní Loingsigh said at the time that it was “thrilling” to get the request from O’Brien’s team.
“Who better to pair the famous US TV personality and comedian with than our very own leading legend Tadhg O’Direán, played by Macdara O Fatharta?”
Mr O’Brien is now added to the show’s celebrity cameo hall of fame, already including actor Stephen Fry and country music stars Daniel O’Donnell and Nathan Carter.
He had described the role as a “delightful highlight” to his Irish trip, adding: “I apologise in advance for inadvertently butchering my Mother Tongue.”
The presenter worked with a linguistics coach in preparation for his role on set in Connemara.
During the episode of Conan O’Brien Must Go, he also visited Barack Obama Plaza in Tipperary where he unveiled the ‘Conan O’Brien Air Pump’, searched for U2 frontman Bono and also paid a visit to Dublin.
He met with a genealogist to trace his ancestry during his trip, later visiting his ancestral home in Galbally, Co Limerick, from where his great grandfather Thomas O’Brien emigrated to Massachusetts in the late 1870s.
The travel show also features episodes showing the talk show host making trips to Norway, Thailand and Argentina.