A DONEGAL man’s dreams were made a reality last weekend when he was invited to meet his hero Conan O’Brien in Dublin.
Describing himself as a “huge fan”, Buncrana’s Henry Doohan began watching Conan’s late-night talk show when he was just a teenager.
Becoming hooked, Henry watched his show for years despite there being a very small viewership in Ireland.
Lucky enough to be able to attend his 10th anniversary special back in 2003, Henry made it his ambition to one day meet his idol.
And much to his surprise, the perfect opportunity soon arose.
In 2020, Conan launched a contest giving lucky fans the chance to appear on his podcast. And in April last year, Henry was contacted by Conan’s producers.
Recording the episode titled ‘What’s the craic’ over zoom, Henry thought that was the closest he’d get to meeting the star.
“My ambition was to just bump into him somewhere. To be picked to have an interview with him where he knows who I am, what I do and where I am from was great,” he said.
But it didn’t end there. With the interview a resounding success, Henry’s personality and story left a lasting impression.
So much so, that Conan’s producers wanted to send a camera crew to Donegal to follow him recording his day to day life.
The father of three owns ‘Donegal Tour Guide’ and gives private tours around Donegal. But unfortunately, due to writer’s strikes in America, the trip to Donegal had to be rescheduled until January.
At this stage, Henry saw that Conan had a new TV show called ‘Conan must go’, a travel show where he surprises the fans that appeared on his podcast.
“I had an idea then that he would possibly be coming,” he said.
Due to travel to Donegal last week, the producers notified Henry to say they ran out of time and couldn’t come. But all was not lost.
Instead, they offered Henry the opportunity of a life time to meet his hero in Dublin.
Making the “skidaddle” up the road to Dublin, Henry and his wife Leanne were invited to Friday night’s Late Late Show where Conan was a guest.
Met with special tickets and a drinks reception, it wasn’t long until Henry and his wife were escorted to Conan’s dressing room.
“All of his crew were hanging about, the producers, the writer and some of the other editors.
“Then next thing you know Conan walks in, six foot five and the hair standing on him. He was so friendly and the amazing thing was that they all knew me,” he said.
Delighted to meet the writers and producers alone, Henry said he was “star struck” when he met his “hero”.
Afterwards, Conan presented Henry with a signed mug which read “To Henry, thanks for your friendship, from Conan.”
Getting to enjoy the Late Late Show after the meet and greet, Henry said it was “great”.
“The best part of the whole night for me was after Conan’s interview.
“When he finished up his segment he was walking off the stage and he waved to the audience.
“I was about five rows from the front and as he was standing in the wings he spotted me, pointed to me, waved and gave me thumbs up.
“I got my own acknowledgement. It was the absolute perfect closure for my ambition to meet my hero,” he said.