In case you were wondering why Ed Sheeran was hanging around in random Dublin boozers this week, it turns out the singer was in town to record an interview for The Late Late Show on Friday.
He will be in for a chat and couple of songs, performing his single Nancy Mulligan, the song inspired by his grandparents William and Anne Sheeran who married despite being from different religions.
He tells Ryan, "Nancy Mulligan is about my grandfather and my grandmother. My grandfather is a Protestant from Belfast and my grandmother is a Catholic from Wexford and when they got married it was like a real thing. But they went against people, got married and ended up being married for 66 years before my grandfather passed away."
In a wide-ranging interview, Sheeran also talks about the inspiration behind his hit song Galway Girl, his love of Ireland, why he’s steering clear of social media and the song he has stored away in his music drawer if the Bond producers every come calling.
As well as performing his current number one hit Perfect, Sheeran also gives his take on the Christmas classic Fairytale of New York, alongside Irish talent Picture This, Lisa Hannigan and Beoga.
Elsewhere on tomorrow’s Late Late Show, after more than a decade of trying Galway, hurling legend Joe Canning finally took home an All-Ireland medal this year. On tomorrow night’s show he will talk about why this was Galway’s year after 29 long years waiting for Liam MacCarthy to come calling. He’ll also reveal how both of his parents getting cancer gave him a new sense of perspective and telling viewers about his eye-opening humanitarian trip to Syria with Unicef.
Also on the show, Fiona and Tim Tuomey, the parents of 11-year-old Milly who took her own life weeks after posting a message on Instagram that she was unhappy with her appearance and wanted to die, will speak about their terrible tragedy and how they believe we are failing young people with mental health issues. They’ll be telling viewers more needs to be done to help prevent other families suffering similar tragedies.
As the nation prepares to loosen the belt buckle and indulge for Christmas, viewers will be hearing from some of Ireland’s food producers. Ryan will also be meeting some of the feathered friends who will be gracing the country’s dinner plates on Christmas Day and he’ll be delivering some good news for some.
(Yes, we think this means there will be turkeys on The Late Late Show, prepare yourselves accordingly.)
Comedian Jason Byrne will tell the bizarre story of his vasectomy and its aftermath. He’ll also be telling viewers the unexpected reason why he thinks men should complain more, as well as delivering a surprise for Ryan in time for Christmas.
Finally. Brendan Grace will bring Bottler, Dublin’s favourite schoolboy and incorrigible messer, to the screen to provide a few laughs.
Catch it all in the last Late Late Show of the year, RTÉ One, Friday, December 15th at 9.35pm.