Rod Stewart was gifted a first edition book of poetry by Joseph Plunkett, which brought the Rodfather to tears.
Rod Stewart's appearance on the Late Late Show was, by all accounts, an emotional one for the Rodfather.
Speaking about he was inspired to add the Irish ballad 'Grace' to his live act, Stewart explained how he first came to hear it. "I first heard the song when I went to the Scottish cup final four years ago and the fans were singing it and I couldn’t get it out of my mind," he said.
"I decided to come to Dublin and visit the chapel in Kilmainham Jail and today I was at Grace’s grave, which, of course, has now got Plunkett written on it," Stewart added. "The song is probably the most tragic love song I’ve ever had occasion to sing. It’s extraordinary."
Ryan presents and emotional Rod Stewart with a very special gift.
Watch the full interview tonight at 9:35.#latelate #Grace pic.twitter.com/hnmVPelrfp— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) March 15, 2019
The big moment, however, was when Tubridy produced a first edition book of poetry by Joseph Mary Plunkett, which included a signature by Grace Glifford-Plunkett herself. Visibly crying, Stewart thanked Tubridy and talked about the 1916 Rising, saying how it was "f*ckin' unfair how the Irish were treated."
Shortly thereafter, Stewart was introduced to the writers of 'Grace', Frank and Sean O'Meara, who talked about how they wrote the ballad with Stewart himself firing questions off as well.
By all accounts, Stewart's time on the show was a memorable one, and the reaction on Twitter was just as positive.
The #LateLate is mad all the same; Rod Stewart sang “Grace” and they just gave him a first edition of a book of poetry by Joseph Mary Plunkett, signed by Grace herself. He both cried and called what the British did in Ireland “fucking unfair”. You don’t get that on Graham Norton
— Joe Siff (@showsiff) March 15, 2019
Rod Stewart’s reaction to his gift on the #LateLate just made me tear up... I wasn’t expecting that 😢
— Brighid Breathnach (@BrighidBB) March 15, 2019
Ah jaysissss, isn’t Rod Stewart just a dote!! #HonoraryIrishman
#latelate— Regina Looby (@reglooby) March 15, 2019