The Last Furlong is a short-lived Irish comedy-drama television series which was aired on

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

from 14 November to 19 December 2005. Originally created by Simon Delaney and co-written with director Kieran Carney, the series dealt with Diogo Bernardo Furlong (Simon Delaney), a Portuguese cabaret singer and songwriter, who travels to Ireland to scatter his mother's ashes over the grave of his Irish father.

Plot

The show centered on a Portuguese man seeking clues regarding his parent. After the death of his mother, Diogo Bernardo Furlong visits Ireland to scatter his mother's ashes on the grave of his father. His father had died some years before in a boating accident on Lough Allen, and he was raised by his mother in

Alentejo Alentejo ( , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond () the Tagus river" (''Tejo''). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alent ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. His only clue to his father's grave is a postcard that his mother gave to him with a picture of a church. Leaving behind his fiancée Claudia, he arrives in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and is met by an acquaintance and music promoter David Daly (Garrett Keogh). Promising to help Diogo find his father's grave, Daly persuades Diogo to take a musical tour of Ireland with him and his daughter Margaret (Orla Fitzgerald), an aspiring filmmaker who reluctantly agrees to manage Diogo. A backup band is hired and, joined by Margaret's boyfriend John Ford (Simon Keogh) and his friend Sean Flanagan (Domhnall Gleeson), Diogo and The Fandango's begin a tour of Ireland's graveyards and other lesser-known legendary venues, including

Ballymore Eustace Ballymore Eustace () is a small town situated in County Kildare in Ireland, although until 1836 it lay within an exclave (a detached "pocket") of County Dublin. It lies close to the border with County Wicklow. The town's name, which is frequ ...

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who built ...

, Strokestown,

Ballaghaderreen Ballaghaderreen () is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It was part of County Mayo prior to 1898. It is located just off the N5 National primary road. The population was 1,808 in the 2016 census. History As of 1837, the town was recorde ...

, Ballagh and Westport.

Reception

Although Delaney had come off a successful run on the sitcom '' Bachelors Walk'', the series received poor reviews from critics. Delaney's general acting and musical performance were particularly criticized. His portrayal of Diogo, a character he used to perform between takes during Bachelors Walk ''"just to keep the crew amused"'', was seen by critics as too similar to his character on Bachelors Walk and in other film and television appearances.

References

External links

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Westport: The Last FurlongCounty to feature in production of comedy series The Last Furlong
{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Furlong 2005 Irish television series debuts 2005 Irish television series endings Irish comedy-drama television series RTÉ original programming