Friday night's Late Late Show country special was a spectacular success - with Priscilla Presley taking centre stage as she recalled her life with Elvis Presley.
The Dallas and Naked Gun star, of course, was married to Elvis from 1967 to 1973. Before she joined host Patrick Kielty on stage, The Three Amigos performed The Wonder of You as a tribute to The King.
Priscilla was there to talk about her life and her new book, Softly, As I Leave You - Life After Elvis. Naturally, Elvis Aaron Presley was the first topic of conversation. "He really was a country boy," she explained.
"And all of a sudden he was in the limelight, you know, and having to get used to that. It takes a lot to get used to being famous."
Patrick told her that her book was "Very honest and very open" and she explained the process of putting it together. "It was a few years, writing this book."
She added that she tried "so many times to write a book, and I backed off from it for many years. And I decided this was the time for me to write a book. I’m getting older and I don’t want anyone else telling about my life.
"So I figured, I’ll write a book and tell the truth, and tell about my life and how wonderful Elvis was. And even though we were divorced, it was a decision that I had to make.
"It was a very different life, living with the king of rock ’n’ roll. The time I had with him was wonderful, but he had guys all around him. It was really a guy’s life. I was the only woman," she laughed.
She was only 14 when they first got to know each other. "I was in Germany at that time," she recalled. "My father was stationed there and that’s how we met. We had a mutual friend."
After they’d met a couple of times, Priscilla’s dad intervened and met with Elvis to determine his intentions. After all, at this stage Elvis was probably the most famous performer on the planet.
After that little tete-a-tete, Priscilla acknowledged: "We started to develop a relationship." With a smile, she added: "Love was in the air."
She also told of her concerns about losing him because other girls "were not shy in any way" and laughed about "burning everything" when she tried cooking for him.
Gradually, she realised that she had to leave him, something she found "very hard" to do.
"I had to find myself," she admitted. "I was totally lost . . . I had to go and do what I liked to do." But, despite their divorce, she noted: "We stayed very much in touch with each other."
She also touched on his later years and his death in 1977. "It was very difficult," she admitted. "What a loss to the world - it was unbelievable."
Priscilla also told Patrick about her and Elvis's daughter Lisa Marie, who died in 2023.
Hollywood star John C Reilly - who previously performed on The Late Late Show on Saint Patrick’s night in 2023 - was also a welcome guest on the country special.
Ahead of his upcoming gig at Dublin's Ambassador theatre, he told host Patrick Kielty about the music he heard while growing up in the USA.
"The Clancy Brothers were like the main ones we listened to a lot," he recalled. "I didn’t get into country music until I was older. When I started to sing bluegrass and stuff.
"But it’s amazing to be with this cast of legends," he added, referring to Philomena Begley, Susan McCann, Declan Nerney and Daniel O’Donnell, who were sitting beside him. "And me!"
Patrick then asked him when he moved from acting in Hollywood to taking singing up seriously. "I had music around the house all the time when I was growing up," he said.
"I grew up doing musicals too, as a kid. Music was always just part of my life. In a way, I started becoming an actor after doing musicals. That's all we did on the south side of Chicago . . .
"To me, music and acting are completely connected."
He also spoke about country music as being "in people’s hearts. There’s something about country music and the purity and simplicity of the storytelling that people relate to, regardless of where they came from."
Of course, the night also boasted the cream of Irish country, with the likes of Daniel O’Donnell, Cliona Hagan, Nathan Carter, Michael English and more on board for a night of chat and tunes.
The aforementioned Philomena Begley, Susan McCann, Declan Nerney and Daniel O’Donnell were there as previous Hall of Fame winners ahead of this year’s recipient being announced.
Sandy Kelly was revealed as the 2025 inductee and she was naturally delighted to join the exclusive group of Irish country music performers.
She was sitting in the green room backstage when Patrick Kielty announced her as this year's winner. The news certainly surprised her and she looked thrilled when she was handed the award.
"Oh my goodness!" she said. "I feel like I won the Eurovision!"
She told Patrick that winning the Hall of Fame award was "very emotional, because it’s such an honour to be recognised. It’s such an honour. I didn’t expect it.
"I want to dedicate it to all the people who have followed me over 50 years. And I want to dedicate it to my family. And to all of my peers."
When Patrick asked for her standout moment from her career, she instantly recalled recording The Wood Carver with an American country legend: "Johnny Cash," she said.
"He was just a joy. That stands out because I learned so much from him, about humility, about performing - he was just the genuine article and I have to pinch myself . . ."
The Late Late Show, RTÉ One, RTÉ Player, Fridays at 9.35pm
