| The Last Furlong | |
|---|---|
| Format | Comedy-drama |
| Created by | Simon Delaney |
| Written by | Simon Delaney & Kieran Carney |
| Directed by | Kieran Carney Tom Hall |
| Starring | (listed in closing credits) Simon Delaney Orla Fitzgerald Domhnall Gleeson Christianne Oliveira |
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Niamh Fagan |
| Running time | 75 minutes per episode |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | RTÉ |
| Original run | 14 November 2005 – 19 December 2005 |
The Last Furlong is a short-lived Irish comedy-drama television series which was aired on RTÉ from November 14 to December 19, 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.
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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, Portugal. 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 and is met by an acquaintance and music promoter David Daly (Garrett Keogh). He persuades Diogo to take a musical tour Ireland and, promising to help Diogo find his father's grave, he also persuades Diogo to take a musical tour Ireland with he 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, Roscommon, Strokestown, Ballaghderreen, Ballagh and Westport.
Although coming off of 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 as during takes between Bachelors Walk "just to keep the crew amused" [1], was seen by critics as too similar to his character on Bachelors Walk as in other film and television appearances.[2]
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