'I know you're ouching for family': Graham Norton and Maeve Higgins read messages from Irish abroad
Maeve Higgins and Graham Norton discuss what it means to be Irish and abroad at Christmas.
Last night Graham Norton joined Maeve Higgins via Zoom to talk about writing, broadcasting, his life in London since the 1980s, and why he loves spending time in West Cork.
Graham has spoken in the past about his struggle to feel Irish while growing up in Bandon and he touched on the subject with Maeve, saying "it's only when you leave Ireland you realise 'I am Irish, I have claim to nowhere else'."
He said he now understands that his Irishness is an asset.
"It's about your sense of place, it's about your roots and where you're from and that identity. For me, that took a long time," he said.
"It took a long time for me to comprehend that and fully understand this and also embrace it. It took me a long time to realise that was a great thing. I was in a real rush to get away and break that bond, I didn't want that bond. I felt like that bond held you back but now I understand that it anchors you and it gives you somewhere to go."
Maeve and Graham also shared greetings from families who were unable to spend time together this Christmas. The messages were published in the Irish Examiner in recent weeks as part of the #HomeAtHeart campaign, which you can read here.
The "moving" messages read by Maeve and Graham can be watched below, with the #HomeAtHeart section beginning at 46:00.
