On 13 September 1985, Gay Byrne interviewed two American lesbian ex-nuns on ‘The Late Late Show’. The women, Nancy Manahan and Rosemary Curb, were in Ireland to promote their book ‘Breaking Silence: Lesbian Nuns on Convent Sexuality’.
The programme had RTÉ’s then highest TAM rating, attracting both praise and condemnation. Protesters held a prayer vigil outside the RTÉ studios in Montrose.