Fionnula Flanagan receives Late Late Show Legend Award

Updated / Saturday, 31 Oct 2026 08:49

Fionnula Flanagan has been honoured with The Late Late Show Legend Award in recognition of her 60-plus years on stage and screen.

The award was presented to the Dubliner by her fellow actors and The Guard co-stars Liam Cunningham and Pat Shortt on Friday night's Late Late Show.

"I've never seen a more applicable word than 'legend' for Fionnula Flanagan," said Cunningham.

Shortt saluted Flanagan for being a trailblazer for Irish acting talent in Hollywood, winning a Primetime Emmy Award for the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man in 1976.

"There was a great sense of pride watching Fionnula," said Shortt.

"I mean, it was an era when - you're going back to the mid-70s, late 70s and that - there was nobody doing it in Hollywood. It was just you, and it was incredible."

He described Flanagan as "very modest" about what she had done for the young actors who followed her to the US.

"A lot of people wouldn't know that in Los Angeles, when Fionnula was living there, she supported young Irish actors, directors, everything," Shortt explained.

"She networked, helped them out, and did so much for young Irish talent coming over to America, when there was no one there to do it. That's very widely known in the industry. She was a huge, huge supporter of young Irish talent."

On the night, there were video messages from Flanagan's The Guard co-star Brendan Gleeson, her Brotherhood co-star Jason Clarke, fellow Irish actors Patrick Bergin and Maria Doyle Kennedy, and director Jim Sheridan.

When host Patrick Kielty said it had been "quite the journey", Flanagan replied: "It has been. To think that I once sat in the dark in The Gate - because my mother would take us to The Gate to see a play - and I just knew they were having so much more fun up there on the stage than I was sitting in the dark. And so, I determined then I was going to join them at some point."

When asked what advice she would give to young actors, Flanagan replied: "First of all, I never give advice! Never. Because people either ignore it or else they take it and they blame me for the way it turned out!

"I don't give advice, but, you know, the thing is that if you want to be an actor, and you want a career, and I'm sure you guys will back me up on this, nothing, nothing will stop you. Nothing will stop you. You can mortgage your house, whatever, but nothing will stop you."

She said it was "wonderful" to see the Irish film and TV industry grow over the decades and that Irish talent could now choose to base themselves here.

The Others star told the show she has "several" new projects coming to screens.

"The Last Resort, which is a fabulous, fabulous murder-mystery - and I'm a suspect in it. Everybody's a suspect in it. [The] Body Is Water, which is going to be at the Cork Film Festival, and then something to do with the Irish Famine - that's coming out sometime."

Her career will also be the subject of an RTÉ Television documentary at Christmas.

The Late Late Show, Fridays, RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, 9:35pm

Read Next