Five 'Late Late Show' talking points, including Imelda May’s support for Palestine
Imelda May on the Late Late Show
Two weeks after Kneecap wore symbols of the pro-Palestine movement on , Imelda May also voiced her support for Palestine on the chat show.
May shared her solidarity with the Palestinian people, telling Patrick Kielty the dress she was wearing was embroidered for her by two Palestinian sisters.
“I want to show me solidarity to them and for peace and love, and against war and children being harmed and maimed, and against genocide and against occupation, and also for Jewish people who use their voices to fight for peace as well, because that's tough too,” she said to strong applause from the audience.
“So I wanted to show me solidarity and I wanted to wear this beautiful piece of tatreez embroidery and show the love, especially on International Women's Day.”
May also spoke about the loved ones she has lost over the last year, including her father, as well as musicians Christy Dignam, Shane MacGowan, and Sinéad O’Connor, who May said “saved me a couple of times” over the course of their friendship.
She added she has thrown herself into her work amid her grief, with a documentary, , being aired this week.
Cork camogie player and TV presenter Anna Geary spoke about the birth of her first child last August as well as the loss of both her father and her brother.
Her life was thrown into turmoil when her brother Thomas died last November, just a few months after her son Ronan was born and almost two years after her father passed away.
“When two people you love in the world go so quickly together and then there's a baby in the middle of it, like, it's been the strangest two years of my life,” she said.
“It has been so difficult, so difficult to pick myself up. But equally then as well, what grief has actually given me is perspective to lean into the good things too.”
She said caring for her baby gave her “ways to keep moving forward every single day”.
Geary has shared her experience with grief and her insights in her new book, Game Plan, and the importance of finding ways to cope with grief.
Earlier this week, 12-year-old star Saoírse Ruane passed away after a long battle with cancer. Saoírse helped to launch the first Toy Show Appeal and was a familiar face to viewers since 2020.
Closing the show, Kielty shared a tribute from the programme and sent condolences to the Ruane family.
“We just want to add one thing to the many beautiful tributes paid to her over the past couple of days. And that is, thank you,” he said.
“When Saoírse inspired the very first Toy Show Appeal back then, little did any of us know that she was going to start something amazing that in just four short years will help so many children and their families across Ireland.”
Kielty said Saoírse “lit up our screens” and added: “We know that her light will continue to shine for so many for so many years to come. From everyone on the , we send our love tonight to Saoírse’s family."
“The dancefloor in Youghal will never be the same. Davy Flatley,” Barry Geraghty dubbed Davy Russell when chatting about the Cork jockey’s current stint on .
Russell told Kielty he has been blown away by the support he is receiving in the competition, particularly from his own home.
“I’m getting so much support from everyone and the kids at home, they're really having a ball. Everybody's happy," said Russell.
“It's great for me. I get to go away for a few days during the week and I come home and everybody's really happy to see me,” he added.
The champion jockeys spoke about the opportunities they received as Grand National winners and how those wins compared to other competitions.
“The Grand National was always the race that catches the world. The Gold Cup is for the purists,” Geraghty mused, ”but you travel the world and they’ll know what the Grand National is.”
Russell agreed, saying winning the Grand National has opened more doors for him, including .
“There's no way I would be on that show if I didn’t win the Grand National. So that's the difference a Grand National makes.”
“She’s going to kill us!” That was the sentiment expressed when three audience members were singing their mammy’s praises to Kielty during a Q&A.
They listed everything their mam does for her eight children, including helping to mind their children and acting as a living alarm clock for her sons.
“We’re dead,” they added when a live broadcast started from outside the family home and Mammy Mag answered the door — but tried to hide from the camera crew.
“Jessie, you’re history when you do get home,” she said. She was presented with flowers, gifts, and an overnight stay to mark Mother’s Day. She’s certainly earned the break.
