Last weekend the IFTA Gala Television Awards took place, and Pat Kenny, who has formerly presented The Late Late Show, Frontline and Today Tonight, was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Veteran presenter, and also a former Late Late Show host, Gay Byrne was absent from a video package of tributes to Kenny. The video included tributes from Ryan Tubridy, Joe Duffy and Dave Fanning, as well as Taoiseach Enda Kenny and singer Celine Dion.
Byrne, who also didn’t attend the awards ceremony that evening, claimed that a ‘ferocious attack of hiccups’ prevented him from filming a video tribute.
He explained: ‘I went to bed on Sunday at 4am and woke up on Monday morning and I was a very sick man.
‘For the first time, I had a ferocious attack of hiccups - that's why I didn't do a video inset for Pat.’
Byrne is himself a previous IFTA Lifetimes Achievement Award recipient, and added: ‘But I send him heartfelt congratulations. This [award] is long overdue.’
