Following five remarkable shows, the eagerly anticipated final night of the current Up Close and Personal series – starring Planxty’s Andy Irvine and Donal Lunny – is available to watch now on the Hot Press YouTube channel.

The two legends of Irish music join Pat Carty for an unforgettable night of conversation and music, filmed in The Grand Social, Dublin – discussing their self-titled debut album as Planxty, released in 1973, as well as the wider history of the folk and traditional movement in Ireland. Produced by Phil Coulter, Planxty was a revolutionary album, with a remarkable background, as Irvine and Lunny reveal.

The pair also perform powerful renditions of tracks like ‘Arthur McBride’, ‘The West Coast of Clare’ and ‘The Blacksmith’.

Hot Press presents Up Close & Personal with... Donal Lunny and Andy Irvine from PLANXTY at The Grand Social, Dublin.

This is the final show in the current run of the series – which has been broadcast every Thursday over the last few weeks.

For our Up Close and Personal series, we selected six seminal Irish albums, crossing decades and genres, and took a deep dive into each LP. Chronicling important developments and historic moments – from the release of Planxty in 1973 to Villagers' Awayland in 2013 – the Up Close and Personal series explores 40 years of Irish music history, with eye-opening new revelations and reflections shared by the artists at the centre of the albums. For fans, students and practitioners of Irish music, it's an unmissable series.

“These six special events turned out to be absolutely brilliant nights,” Hot Press editor Niall Stokes enthuses. “There was such a sense of occasion, and also of warmth. It was fantastic – and inspiring – to hear the artists recall the circumstances surrounding the release of the records and to hear them talk in detail about the way wonderful songs are written, and great albums come together."

The full line-up, going live at 7pm each night, includes:

• Gemma Hayes – Night On My Side (January 20) – Presented by Lucy O’Toole
• Mary Coughlan – Tired & Emotional (January 27) – Presented by Paul Nolan
• Damien Dempsey – Seize The Day (February 3) – Presented by Lucy O’Toole
• Ash (Tim Wheeler) – 1977 (February 10) – Presented by Paul McLoone
• Villagers (Conor J. O’Brien) – Awayland (February 17) – Presented by Paul McLoone
• Planxty (Andy Irvine & Donal Lunny) – Planxty (February 24) – Presented by Pat Carty

Watch Up Close and Personal with Andy Irvine and Donal Lunny on the Hot Press YouTube channel:

This special series of intimate conversations, is produced in association with Aidan Shortall of Up Close and Personal Promotions and supported by the Live Performance Support Scheme and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. Our thanks to all the participants.