Singer-songwriter Ralph McTell celebrated his 50-plus years of performing when he joined Friday's Late Late Show for a rendition of his iconic ballad Streets of London.
As part of TradFest's Late Late Show takeover, the English folk favourite told host Patrick Kielty that his connection to Irish music and culture started when he was "very young".
"I had an accident when I was a kid," McTell recounted. "I was in hospital, and when I came home my brother tells me I had an Irish accent because I was looked after by a lovely nurse called Mary, I'm told.
"All my life I've had Irish friends and then [I] worked on the building sites and stuff like that and met more. And then the music opened up to me and I've hundreds of friends here now."
Before he performed Streets of London, McTell paid tribute to the late Sinéad O'Connor's cover of the song.
"There was something in her fragility that came through in that particular version," he explained.
"I was very young when I wrote the song, and she somehow captured that for me.
"I know that she was often mentioning the song and she was clearly moved when she was recording, as Frank (Gallagher, producer) told me she had to take a break while she was singing before she could finish the song. So I'm very touched by that and that's one of my favourites definitely."
You can watch the performance above.
TradFest, with Ralph McTell on the bill, runs in venues around Dublin from 24 to 28 January. For more, see: tradfest.com.
The Late Late Show, Fridays, RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, 9:35pm
Watch the show in full on the RTÉ Player.
