Irish American actor John C. Reilly captivated Irish audiences with a powerful performance of "Raglan Road" on a special "best of the Irish" airing of RTÉ's Late Late Show for St. Patrick's Day.
Reilly stopped by the long-running show when he was in Dublin as the 2022 St. Patrick's Day International Guest of Honor.
The Irish American actor also gave a rousing rendition of "The Wild Rover" during the St. Patrick's Day special.
Reilly's soulful performance of the two famous Irish ballads has received widespread praise on social media.
The actor was joined by Irish boxer and Olympic gold medallist Kellie Harrington, who showed off her singing talents with a rousing rendition of the folk classic "Grace", which details the heartbreaking marriage of Irish revolutionary Joseph Mary Plunkett and Grace Gifford just hours before Plunkett's execution in Kilmainham Gaol.
There is no end to @Kelly64kg's talents 🎤🥰 #LateLate pic.twitter.com/CMj4H3OKTl
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) March 17, 2022
Harrington also served as one of the grand marshals of the 2022 Dublin St. Patrick's Day Parade.
"The Late Late Show" special also featured appearances from Irish soccer manager Stephen Kenny and comedian Oliver Callan.
Reilly is the fifth of six children from an Irish-Lithuanian household and has previously remarked that he loves spending time in Ireland and that his visits to his ancestral homeland mean a lot to him.
"It’s a beautiful place and every time I come here things just seem to go well for me," Reilly said in 2019. "I don’t know what it is, I suppose it’s my heritage and how Ireland embraces artists."
Reilly's paternal grandfather emigrated to the USA in 1900 to start a new life in Chicago along with several other distant relatives.
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