AS 2024 COMES to an end, we’ve taken a look back at some of the biggest and best moments from this year’s Late Late Show.

It’s one of the longest-running chat shows in the world and still one of the most beloved and most watched in Ireland.

From DJ Annie Mac explaining why she turned down an MBE to Kneecap defying RTÉ to wear pro-Palestine badges and clothing, there’ve been plenty of standout moments over the past year. 

UNIFIL peacekeepers

In October, Israel invaded southern Lebanon and put the work of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) into stark focus.

There are around 350 Irish soldiers in Lebanon as part of UNIFIL and some will be spending Christmas in Lebanon as part of the peacekeeping mission.

Commandant Jane O’Neill and Private Adam Higgins recently returned from South Lebanon and discussed their experiences with host Patrick Kielty.

Soldiers who will be spending Christmas in Lebanon also wished a Happy Christmas to loved ones back home.

Kneecap

Belfast rap-trio Kneecap were invited onto The Late Late Show in February ahead of their upcoming film which has gone on to achieve widespread acclaim.

Their appearance proved to be somewhat controversial, after the rappers wore pro-Palestine badges and a Palestinian football jersey during the interview.

RTÉ said Kneecap had agreed not to wear pro-Palestine badges during their Late Late Show performance through their management, but then proceeded to wear them anyway live on air. 

A week previous, the Irish Women in Harmony group performed a tribute to Sinéad O’Connor on The Late Late Show and members were asked to remove badges and clothing expressing support for Palestine.

RTÉ said at the time that contributors are asked not to wear clothing related to “one particular point of view” as part of its impartiality guidelines.

A spokesperson added that the conflict in Gaza was not the “subject of discussion or debate” during the performance by the Irish Women in Harmony group.

When Kneecap’s DJ Provaí took off his jacket to reveal a Palestine jersey, Móglaí Bap said, to applause from the audience, that the group wanted to “use our platform to highlight the genocide that’s happening in Palestine at the moment”.

Sinn Féin controversy

In October, host Patrick Kielty got himself in a spot of bother when he made a joke at the expense of Sinn Féin about the TV show Traitors.

Traitors is a hit on BBC and will be coming to RTÉ next year.

Referencing the newly commissioned RTÉ show, Kielty said: “It’s full of deception, betrayal, everybody keeps changing their stories. All we have to do is work out who is telling the truth.”

Photographs of former Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley and party leader Mary Lou McDonald were then shown on screen.

“I think that’s the first two contestants there,” Kielty said.

“Sinn Féin traitors, the show we all want to see,” he added.

That line received some boos from the studio audience. 

Sinn Féin lodged a complaint with RTÉ, but the broadcaster defended the joke and noted that under Kielty, the Late Late Show has “become more satirical and this is evident with an opening monologue based broadly around topical issues”.

RTÉ added that satire is “a core part of freedom of expression” and that targeting prominent figures and institutions that feature in the news “has been the template for the opening monologue with Patrick”.

Sinn Féin is set to file a formal complaint with RTÉ after Patrick Kielty referred to a photo of Mary Lou McDonald and Brian Stanley as "traitors" during last night’s Late Late Show. pic.twitter.com/yzLEXeWQqU

— Niall Boylan (@Niall_Boylan) October 19, 2024

Sophie Toscan du Plantier

In February, Pierre-Louis Baudey-Vignaud, son of the late Sophie Toscan du Plantier, joined The Late Late Show following the death of Ian Bailey, the self-confessed chief suspect for the murder of du Plantier.

“Now we will have peace again, in Ireland especially, and in my head,” said Pierre-Louis.

“When you are a boxer and the bell rings, whether you lose or win, it’s over. I was like a boxer with a sense of relief at the ring of the bell.”

Paul Mescal

It’s been a big year for actor Paul Mescal and he came back to Ireland to speak to Patrick Kielty on the release of Gladiator II.

He also used the opportunity to praise Saoirse Ronan, after a clip of the pair appearing together on The Graham Norton Show went viral.

Eddie Redmayne joined the Irish pair on The Graham Norton Show and Redmayne spoke about his experience training for the role of an assassin on the television programme The Day of the Jackal and how he had been taught how to use the end of his phone as a weapon for self-defence.

Mescal questioned who would think to take out their phone to defend themselves in a self-defence situation, to which Ronan responded: “That’s what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right ladies?”

“Saoirse is, more often than not, the most intelligent person in the room,” Mescal told Kielty when asked about this moment.

Bambie Thug

In January, Bambie Thug won the Late Late Show contest to represent Ireland at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest.

Bambie Thug would later face calls to not enter the competition, but speaking on the Late Late in April, Bambie Thug said that while they stand with those who choose to boycott the song contest, dropping out would mean “less competition” for Israel.

Meanwhile, you can see the performance of Doomsday Blues that earned Bambie Thug the right to represent Ireland at the Eurovision below:

Annie Mac

In April, broadcaster and DJ Annie Mac made headlines when she told The Late Late Show that the “quite mad language” around an invitation to accept an MBE led to her turning it down.

Annie Mac added that she doesn’t want to be “associated” with the British Empire. 

Born in Dublin but now living in London, Mac was offered an MBE in 2022.

Kielty asked her on the show why she turned down the MBE.

“Do I need to explain?” said Mac.

“That’s probably as good an answer as any,” Kielty responded.

Stardust

In April, the Stardust inquests delivered a verdict of unlawful killing in the case of all 48 victims.

The following night on The Late Late Show, Antoinette Keegan and Selina McDermott joined Kielty to speak about the search for justice.

Charlie Bird

Former RTÉ journalist and charity campaigner Charlie Bird died in March at the age of 74.

On the St Patrick’s Day special, The Late Late Show paid tribute to Charlie and he was remembered as a “man who told us the news, and whose journey this past few years has become the news and inspired us all”.

Conan O’Brien

Conan O’Brien made the most of his trip to Ireland in January, fitting in time for a cameo in Irish language drama Ros na Rún on TG4.

O’Brien hosts a travel show called Conan O’Brien Must Go and won an Emmy for his episode called ‘Ireland’, which predictably documents his time in Ireland at the beginning of the year.

He found time in his schedule to appear on The Late Late Show where he talked about his Irish roots and gave a special musical performance.

Saoírse Ruane

Saoírse Ruane captured the hearts of the nation on her Late Late Toy Show appearance in 2020.

In March, she died aged 12.

During her segment on the Toy Show, Saoírse spoke about living with a rare form of cancer called Osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma begins in cells that form bones and caused Saoírse to lose her leg.

She showed off her prosthetic leg on the Toy Show – which had a picture of a unicorn on it – as former host Ryan Tubridy remarked: “How can a prosthetic leg be so beautiful?”

Her parents Roseanna and Ollie Ruane joined Kielty on the eve of the latest Toy Show to speak about their daughter.