RTE revealed The Late Late Show will be at the heart of festivities for its live broadcast this St Patrick's Day, airing a day earlier this week.
Host Ryan Tubridy will fly the Irish flag as he brings people together both at home and abroad for a very special evening on Thursday to celebrate the very best in Irish comedy, acting, traditional music and sport.
Just back from a weekend away, host Tubridy teased the show to have a ‘stellar line-up’ , saying: “We are here today and tomorrow and then we are going to be having our Late Late Show St Patrick’s Day party on Thursday night."
The change means the Late Late Show will not air in its weekly slot on Friday night which Tubridy said is 'unusual'.
He told: "Now we won’t be doing the Late Late Show on Friday night as a direct result of that.
“But it is something we are very excited about. And the line-up is not only stellar, it is fun.
“And I think that is what the world needs for now,” he added, as he returned to the airwaves to present his RTE Radio 1 show after taking the day off on Monday.
The presenter spent the weekend in France to get in some early St Patrick’s day celebrations with Irish people in Paris.
The Dubliner was there for a quick trip as a guest of the Irish in France organisation, and said he had a ‘the most beautiful couple of days’ meeting the Irish people in the city.
He said: "We went to an Irish pub as it turns out to watch the Irish defeat England, which we always love, in McBride's pub.
"Then it was to the event the next day which was the Irish in France at the beautiful cultural centre they have there.
"That is where I started meeting the Irish people with all their stories. They gave me great insight into what it's like to be Irish over there and the stories that continue to bind France and Ireland."
Describing the trip as an ‘eye opening’ experience, he went on: "I was struck by how it's not just Dubs, they're from all over the island!"
The history enthusiast also paid a visit to Père Lachaise Cemetery.
Describing it as the ‘the most remarkable graveyard cemetery in the world’, he went on: “Jim Morrison's grave is there and people go and and they pour whiskey on it and put lit cigarettes.
"The Oscar Wilde headstone is the one I went to visit. It used to be covered in lipstick because people would kiss his grave.
"It's very interesting, most of the headstones around there are fascinating.”
After visiting the site both mornings of his short trip, he insisted: "That is a cemetery that you must visit if you go to Paris, you can spend hours and hours walking around there."
Gushing about the weekend away, he went on to urge his listeners to follow his travel lead, adding: "Paris is about an hour and 20 minutes on a plane, very easy, the flights are very straightforward.
"For anyone who is worried about Covid passes, it's very easy. It was a joy. I'll be back if they'll have me. The smells of the boulangerie and patisserie fill your nose like it does in no other city in the world."
This year's national St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin will be broadcast live on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player and streamed on RTE.ie, as millions of viewers in Ireland and across the world join Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh, Des Cahill, Emer O'Neill and Mícheál Ó Scannáil for an exciting spectacle live from the streets of Dublin from 12:15pm.
RTÉ will also bring coverage of St. Patrick's Day parades from around the country across its services including a special RTÉ Six One News programme.
