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08th Sep 2018

There was a strong reaction to Piers Morgan’s Irish chat show appearance

The good, the bad and the standing ovation

Paul Moore

The good, the bad and the standing ovation

The Late Late Show returned last night and there was only one person that everyone was talking about, 98-year-old Limerick fan John Hunt who got to lift the Liam MacCarthy cup.

Aside from the joyous scenes as John got the chance to meet John Kiely and Declan Hannon, there were plenty of  Irish champions that deserved a standing ovation. For example, the senior women’s hockey team were talking about their stunning summer success in which they became the first Irish team to reach a World Cup final.

Gymnast Rhys McClenaghan, hurdler Thomas Barr and swimmer Ellen Keane also gave an insight into their European Championships success and away from the sporting domain, Clare-based cave diver Jim Warny – who heroically risked his life during the Thailand cave rescue – gave a riveting interview about how dangerous that particular mission was.

As Piers Morgan came out of the green room to meet Tubridy, he jokingly asked the audience to give him a standing ovation. “I mean, talk about a hospital pass. I come all the way over from London. Every other guest gets a standing ovation and then I come out and you all just sit there like lemons. I’m Irish. Come on, give an Irishman a break,” he said.

After chatting about Trump’s tenure as U.S. president, Morgan did say that people should protest his visit- if that’s the way they feel –  but he stressed the need to ‘play ball’ with the current U.S. administration due to the fact that America is a key market for Irish exports and they’re a strong ally – given the close historical ties between both countries.

This being said, Morgan’s take on Brexit and the Irish border was far more relevant for the the majority of Irish viewers.

Speaking about Brexit, he said: “Well, it’s a complete basket case and Theresa May is hopeless.There’s no other way of putting it. I feel very angry on behalf of everybody in Ireland, here and the North,  because what has gone on with this border fiasco is absolutely appalling. This should have been settled long before the referendum. Everybody who voted in that referendum should have been absolutely crystal clear about what would happen with the Irish border. A major part of this Brexit is about what will happen here but no one knows, even now. No one knows. What a crazy situation that the Irish – on both sides of this border – have been left in and it’s down to utter incompetence by British politicians.”

Both men continued to discuss a variety of issue including the hysteria on both sides of the Brexit debate, Morgan’s belief that popular debate has now turned into an extreme shouting match, his Twitter persona, and the chances of Boris Johnson becoming Prime Minister.

Morgan then said: “About Brexit and Trump, I’m actually quite down the middle (in relation to his Twitter persona). I voted Remain and I do think it’s madness what we’re doing, but I do think that 17.5 million people voted to Leave in the referendum and you’ve got to respect the democratic process.”

At that point, he left the stage and asked for a standing ovation – which he got from the majority in attendance.

Here’s what people felt about his take on Brexit.

https://twitter.com/CF_1892/status/1038178439977689088

https://twitter.com/seamusenright/status/1038174961586892803

As for the standing ovation stuff….

Well, at least he got his pint with Ryan.