A GAA special on the Late Late Show would not have happened under the watchful eye of any previous host of the longest-running chat show.
Well, with former sub goalie of the Down minor team that won the All-Ireland in 1987, that certainly wasn’t going to happen under Patrick Kielty’s watch.
The former shot-stopper used his local connections to get newly signed NFL kicker Charlie Smyth to chat about his experience so far, describing it as “It’s just class”
Emotional Michael Darragh interview
Dublin GAA legend Michael Darragh MacAuley appeared on The Late Late Show tonight to discuss a disease that has heavily affected his family.
MacAuley's sister Margaret had been on 24-hour oxygen in the Mater Hospital heart and lung ward towards the end of last year.
Margaret has lung fibrosis - which is 'rampant' throughout MacAuley's family as he has already lost his father to the disease
MacAuley explained that it has been a 'rollercoaster', but Margaret is thankfully still here today.
He said: "Look, it is tough. Some of the nurses that were treating my dad ten years ago were the same nurses that were there again.
"It's hard, especially like the hope and the power of a transplant is unbelievable.
"It's not like cancer or some other diseases where you're slowly downhill. This is downhill but has the possibility of an amazing uphill, which we just didn't get for my dad.
"So you're always holding onto this unbelievable bit of hope.
"There's no cure for this. Medicine's can slightly slow things down but the only way out of this is a transplant."
MacAuley revealed the moment he got the phone call telling him that Margaret was getting her transplant.
He explained that he was on the bench press in the gym when it rang and he just burst into tears.
MacAuley added: "I didn't even know I had it in me to do that, but I suppose it had just been weighing on us so heavily for the last while.
"I think people just thought I couldn't lift the weight in the gym!"
An Unexpected Return
Then, completely out of the blue, like a Phoneix rising out of the flames, Kielty’s former Queens teammate and former All-Ireland winner Joe Brolly made his first appearance in an RTÉ studio since being axed from the Sunday Game, adding to the benefits of organ donations while also claiming to have ‘no comment’ on whether Mickey Harte was the man to bring Derry to All-Ireland glory.
A pleasure to have you *back* in studio @joebrolly1993 👀 #latelate pic.twitter.com/cezoRrVbs3
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) April 5, 2024
The Wild Swans played the greatest GAA song of all time, Dancing at the Crossroads, as the live music for the show (I am now making a petition to get this song on Spotify) before Mount Sion man John Flynn was presented with a lifetime achievement award by new GAA president Jarlath Burns for his dedication to the Waterford club.
John Flynn, you LEGEND 💙🤍@MountSionGAA @officialgaa #LateLate pic.twitter.com/vGjSoxNFvo
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) April 5, 2024
A Late Late Toy Show Moment
Perhaps the moment of the show concluded when an unexpected Kielty was greeted by Sam McGuire and his minor teammates from 1987.
The host clearly wasn’t expecting them to come out, as he came close to tears, which would rival a Toy Show moment as he sat there starstruck.
A little surprise for @PatricKielty to finish off the show 👀🤝#LateLate pic.twitter.com/ziEZd9dNfx
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) April 5, 2024
There were tributes paid to Kielty's late father and it was a hugely emotional end to a captivating programme. We hope this becomes a fixture on the Late Late show calendar.
