Late Late Show talking points, including united Ireland, co-parenting, and a bouncy castle man

Guests included Mary Lou McDonald and Chris Kent
Late Late Show talking points, including united Ireland, co-parenting, and a bouncy castle man

Patrick Kielty with Chris Kent and Simon Pegg

Mary Lou McDonald

President of Sinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald joined Patrick Kielty to discuss last year’s election, why she will not be running for the Presidency, the likelihood of a united Ireland and her hope for equality for trans people.

McDonald reflected on the disappointing outcome of the election for Sinn Féin and said the party is learning from the mistakes it made.

“In this work, as an activist, as a political leader, every day is a school day. Every campaign is different,” she said.

She said she does not intend to run for President as she is focused on changing the government and improving policies.

“There is so much work to be done, so many things that can be achieved, and I want to be part of leading that effort,” she said. 

Patrick Kielty with Mary Lou McDonald
Patrick Kielty with Mary Lou McDonald

“My work is to make sure that we get a change in government, so that we get a change in housing policy, in healthcare, so that we have better opportunities for our young people. And as important and significant as the role of president is you can't achieve those things from Áras an Uachtarain.” 

She said she believes a united Ireland is closer than before: “I believe that we're living in the end days of partition.” 

McDonald also highlighted the challenges of social media when asked about a tweet by David Collins about trans people. She said her own sister, who is a trans person, is one of the reasons she wants equality and inclusion for all citizens.

“This isn't an abstract issue. Simply, I have a trans sibling, and I love my sister,” she said.

“She's compassionate and clever and accomplished, and she's loved beyond measure and unconditionally, and I want her to live a full, authentic life, and I want that for every human being, and I want us to live in a society where that's possible.” 

Simon Pegg

Actor Simon Pegg discussed his latest role in the Mission Impossible franchise with Tom Cruise, including the dangers of doing stunts, his friendship with Tom Cruise, and the challenges of filming in extreme cold temperatures.

“We literally had to stop shooting three times to allow polar bears to walk through the set, even Tom Cruise can't stop polar bears from doing their business,” he said of their time in Svalbard.

He described watching Cruise doing his own stunts as “scary” and revealed the star was nervous when he did his biggest stunt yet.

“I very rarely see him nervous, but he was nervous.” 

He also says he hopes to work again with his Hot Fuzz co-star Nick Frost, despite Frost's busy schedule after being cast as Hagrid in the new Harry Potter television show.

“We really want to make another movie together. It's just a question of when and how.” 

Chris Kent 

Cork comedian Chris Kent spoke about his career change from electrician to stand-up and the challenges he faced along the way — including a confrontational bouncy castle vendor.

He became a comedian after losing his job.

“There was a recession, and I became a full-time stand-up comedian, not by choice, but I’d just lost my job and happened to be gigging at the time.”

He said before he became a full-time stand-up, a confrontation with a bouncy castle man put things in perspective for him..

“I had to sort of give up the electrical job a second time around and go back to work [as a comedian]. I got into an argument with a bouncy castle man, which I don't think you can come out of very well, even though he was a prick.

“My wife said to me, ‘do you know what's wrong with you now, Chris?’ She said: ‘That fella's living his dream. He's a full-time bouncy castle man, and you're only a part-time comedian, so you need to become a full-time comedian.'” 

Kent also detailed the two months he gave up his smartphone, which has provided material for his tour.

“We have smartphones now, they're very addictive,” he said.

“I found I couldn't do anything: I couldn't write, I couldn't pay attention, couldn't go to the toilet without taking it with me. It just came to a point where I felt like I needed to see if I could think for myself.” 

Paloma Faith

Patrick Kielty with Paloma Faith
Patrick Kielty with Paloma Faith

Award-winning singer-songwriter Paloma Faith was the final guest and she spoke about her new podcast and why she hates the term ‘co-parenting.’ 

Faith said her podcast is “probably the most natural thing I've ever done” as she has “a reputation for finding out everything about people's lives.” 

“I don't know why, but people tend to open up to me. They tell me stuff,” she said.

Faith shared her thoughts on co-parenting, saying the workload is never even between mums and dads. 

 “No one co-parents, it's just a word that they use for a man who does a little bit to raise his children and and it's never 50/50 — it just isn't. The sooner we accept that, the better.”

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