From top: Hozier and recently retired RTÉ reporter Valerie Cox

Gareth Naughton writes:

Hozier will be in studio to chat about his global success, what the last two years have been like and what’s next as he prepares for that difficult second album. And we’ll have his biggest fans in studio to get answers to the questions they’ve always been dying to ask.

In the week that specialists at Tallaght Hospital identified injuries in teenage players normally associated with violent trauma, The Late Late Show will be hearing from rugby pundit George Hook on his own concerns about the effect of rugby becoming an increasingly higher impact game.

As he finds himself embroiled in controversy around his views on concussion in the game and Ireland out-half Johnny Sexton, Hook will be giving his very frank views on how extensive the problem really is and telling viewers why he believes the rugby authorities are sticking their heads in the sand rather than confronting it.

As much-loved veteran radio reporter Valerie Cox retires, she joins Ryan to talk about her stellar career and how a recent visit to the Greek island of Kos to cover the refugee crisis for a television documentary shook her to her core and convinced her that Ireland is shirking its responsibilities.

We’ll be hearing from Simon Weston who became an iconic symbol of the terrible impact of war when he suffered severe burns to his face after his ship was bombed during the Falklands War. Funnyman Reginald D Hunter will talk about making it big as a US stand-up on this side of the Atlantic.

FIGHT!