Great TV from start to finish.

Between learning that he's the 'godfather' to an Irish girl named Maggie May, becoming genuinely overwhelmed after receiving a book of poetry that was written by Joseph Mary Plunkett, and being reacquainted with a bunch of fans that first threw their scarves at him on stage at the RDS in 1980, it's fair to say that Rod Stewart had a memorable appearance on the Late Late Show! As soon as the singer stepped out onto the stage, he was greeted with a round of applause that's rarely seen on the Late Late Show and his first words were "you don't get that sort of reception on every show". From that moment on, you knew that this would be good. After chatting a bit about fatherhood and his wilder days, Stewart was genuinely moved when the topic of conversation switched to his famous cover of 'Grace', a song that depicts the life and tragic romance between Grace Evelyn Gifford Plunkett and Joseph Plunkett. During a previous interview with Billboard, Stewart said that he wasn't allowed to perform the beloved Irish ballad during an appearance on BBC due to the apparent anti-English overtones in the song. The BBC later said that this was "categorically untrue" but it's clear that the lyrics and the story of Joseph Plunkett means a great deal to Stewart - he even visited Kilmainham Gaol, the place where Plunkett was executed by firing squad at the age of 28, and the grave of Evelyn Plunkett. After meeting and talking with the song's writers,  Frank and Seán O'Meara, Stewart was asked why this song meant so much to him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SLpyknoPG0 "It's everything about him (Joseph Plunkett). This guy was a very intelligent man, he wasn't some yob that you see running onto a football pitch. This man was intelligent - so were all the leaders that signed the doctrine. It just means so much to me because it was just fucking unfair the way the Irish were treated," he said. If that wasn't enough, the singer then found out that one of his biggest fans named her child after his classic hit, Maggie May. After hearing that Maggie May's parents missed out on tickets to his upcoming gig in Cork, Stewart said that he'd do everything in his power to meet up with them prior to the gig. All things considered, there's going to be an awful lot of love for Rod when he plays Cork in the next few months. These people certainly agree. https://twitter.com/PadraigORiorda2/status/1106713557608083461 https://twitter.com/Keith_Brennan16/status/1106704077973536773 https://twitter.com/jacintalord/status/1106747813604540416 https://twitter.com/RTELateLateShow/status/1106685737255272450 https://twitter.com/RayKelleherCork/status/1106707561217228803 https://twitter.com/DarSheehan1996/status/1106702201714626561 https://twitter.com/LucyConnor29/status/1106697661665689603 https://twitter.com/Eire_Doll/status/1106686083834748928 https://twitter.com/NualaWhittle/status/1106685245951217666 https://twitter.com/DannyMcElhinney/status/1106685847968116738