Fermoy was “thrilled” by Graham Norton’s apology to her city following the insult

Celebrity guests including Joan Collins, Ralph Fiennes and Jean Luc Goddard looked on in amazement as Graham took a time out before introducing the audience member who sat in the infamous “red chair” to apologize.

“Before we do anything I have to start with an apology because last week there was someone in the red chair who was not particularly kind about the town of Fermoy in County Cork in Ireland,” Graham told his millions of viewers on his station BBC1 show.

“Suffice to say, the people of Fermoy are not happy. They are upset about this. That’s why we would like to apologize. However, to be fair, I defended Fermoy and said it was the home of the great pencil.”

To loud laughter from the audience, he added: “But unfortunately I have to apologize again because apparently the huge pencil has been removed.”

He continued: “On the positive side, Fermoy was named the cleanest town in Ireland in 2007 and 2018, so I imagine it’s pretty clean.”

As the audience applauded his revelation, he gushed: “High praise for Fermoy.”

Graham (60) was born in Dublin but grew up in Cork and owns a house near Bandon, about an hour’s drive from Fermoy.

Last week, a woman appeared in the “Big Red Chair” segment of the show, in which audience members sit in the chair and attempt to tell Graham a story. If he’s not impressed, he turns them over.

A woman called Zoe, who is originally from Scotland, sat down in the chair to tell a story about her ex, who she dated in Fermoy.

She told Graham she had previously lived in Fermoy for 20 years before describing it as a “terrible town”.

He was visibly taken aback by her comments, Graham replies: “There’s a huge pencil in there, isn’t there?” to which Zoe responds with her rudest remark: “It’s got a bridge if people want to jump off it.”

Noel McCarthy, Fine Gael councilor and chair of the Fermoy Tidy Towns committee, said last week the comments were “very offensive” and he would write to Graham and the show to complain.

Noel was working yesterday on his off license that he holds as the Sunday world called and laughed when we asked if he was selling additional bottles of champagne in light of Graham’s comments.

“I’m so happy with the answer,” he beamed. “I was actually watching the show with my partner Sharon and she asked ‘Noel, is he going to mention Fermoy?’.”

“When he did that we were overjoyed and the people of Fermoy were really happy about the apology. It meant a lot to us.”

He emphasized that he had a great committee in the 6,700-strong city of Cork in the east of the county.

“We work very hard to make sure our city and the people who live in it look good when someone visits. We are proud of our city and that’s why we were so disappointed when she said “terrible, terrible.”

“I think we were delighted that Graham referenced the Tidy Towns on his show on Friday night and mentioned that we won in 2018 and 2007. We recently won a national award in the chewing gum category and received prize money of 3,000 euros. We are also very pleased about that.”

He explains that the town is famous for its picturesque River Blackwater, while its most famous resident is dancer Michael Flatley, who lives with his wife Niamh and son Michael, 16, in Castlehyde, two miles outside the town. The couple also married at St Patrick’s Church in Fermoy in 2006.

“He comes over regularly and is always great at supporting us. He has been a very good supporter of the city for years, particularly the local hospital and many charities here.

“We have sent Graham an invitation to come to Fermoy and meet us here and we would like to welcome him,” he stressed.

Noel hopes Fermoy will get more visitors from the UK and also Ireland because the town is highlighted in the show.

“Many fishermen already come here and enjoy coming here because of the beautiful river,” he added. “We would love more people to come now and from what Graham has said, this will really give us a boost and anyone who comes to Fermoy will be warmly welcomed.”