US comedian and TV host Conan O'Brien has said that an air pump has been named after him at the Barack Obama Plaza in Co Tipperary.
The American talk show personality and comedian made the revelation during an appearance on Friday night’s Late Late Show.
The 60-year-old Massachusetts man has been touring Ireland this week for his latest travel show Conan O’Brien Must Go, as he looks to trace his Irish ancestry and map his family tree.
He jokingly told Patrick Kielty, "I visited what I think is the greatest tribute to any American president - and I’ve seen them all – and it’s Barack Obama Plaza."
"It’s not often you can pay homage to a bronze statue of a president and the first lady and then get a pretty decent sandwich at the same time."
He said that the plaza "paid me a great honour – a big honour – check it out, they named an air hose after me!" he said, as a a photo of the pump appeared on screen, showing the pump and a sign above it which read "Conan O’Brien Air Pump".
"This is real - the Conan O’Brien air pump!" and joked that he is to received 15% of the profits of the device.
The plaza is a well-known motorway service area located off the M7, close to the Co. Offaly village of Moneygall, from where former US President Obama’s Irish ancestors hailed.
O'Brien arrived on set in a St Patrick's Day style parade float, fashioned in the shape of a ship and adorned with Irish flags.
He told host Kielty that as part of his trip, he made a cameo appearance in long-running Irish language soap Ros na Rún.
Saying that he was "very excited to take part", he revealed, "It was one of hardest things I’ve ever done because they put the language up phonetically for me – I don’t speak Irish."
He joked that Gaeilge looks to him like "they take a lot of consonants and put them in a blender and throw them out."
"I was looking at it and I didn’t think I could do it. The cast was really helpful – they helped me write it out phonetically."
"I just did what I was told and it’s going to be a great episode," he said.
He was then challenged to pronounce names of two women in the audience, Bláthnaid and Caoilfhionn, who both held up placards with their names printed on them, which he struggled with.
He also spoke about his chat show background and his rise to fame, and said that meeting Gay Byrne at the US Ambassador’s Residence in Phoenix Park many years ago was "very special" to him.
The podcaster finished the interview by giving a short comedic rendition of Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That's an Irish Lullaby), accompanied by musicians from Tradfest.
Earlier this week, O’Brien revealed on social media that he had met a local man in the village of Galbally, Co Limerick, who showed him where his great-grandfather lived before he emigrated in the late 1870s.
O’Brien has fronted three US TV shows since 1993 including Late Night and the Tonight Show.
He brought the curtain down on his 28-year career in late-night TV in June 2021.
