Country music star Dolly Parton surprised the nation this afternoon after making a surprise appearance via video call on RTÉ Radio 1's Liveline to chat with Katie Hannon.

The pair chatted about the singer's relationship with Ireland including her "connection" with Sinéad O'Connor.

In disbelief, Katie Hannon introduced the Country Music Queen: "We have a very special show for you today - a real treat. You have to prepare for everything - you never know who you're going to hear on the Liveline but to be honest with you, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd ever get to say: good afternoon, Dolly Parton!"

Dolly greeted the radio host: "Good afternoon to you. I've got a lot of things to talk about, and I guess we can just catch up on several things and people we know."

The conversation started with Hannon asking Dolly if she heard of the Guinness World Record attempt that took place in Listowel in which people dressed up as the singer. Parton admitted she did in fact hear about it and "even saw some of the pictures."

The 77-year-old star was on the show to promote her new book, Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, an illustrated celebration of Parton's style through an era of personal stories and 450 full-colour photographs, as well as her upcoming album, Rockstar.

The album is set to include features from some of the biggest names in the industry including Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Sting, Pink, Stevie Nicks, and even Parton's godchild, Miley Cyrus, with them doing a version of Cyrus' song 'Wrecking Ball.' Parton explains she's "so proud of" it.

Hannon then asked Dolly if she had any memories from her time singing her song Coat of Many Colours in Paidí Ó Sé's pub in Ventry, Co Kerry, in 1990.

The singer replied: "I remember that very well. I was with my friend Walter Hagan, who was Irish. We had gone over on a trip and every corner had a pub and I said, 'Well I'm going to go into this one.'"

"We just had a ball that night and they asked me if I would sing, and of course I did!"

They even spoke about the Kerry GAA jersey Paudí gave Dolly that day: "I have that jersey in a frame hanging in my basement, which is my recreation room where I have my games and all that, and everybody asks about that white and green jersey, so I'm very, very proud of that - I kept it. And when I brought it home I put it on the wall and it's been there ever since."

She also spoke about Sinéad O'Connor, saying, "I always felt connected to her. She was very, very sweet. And I hated to hear she was gone."

"And I know she had a hard life but in her music, you could tell all she went through, and sometimes that's what makes the best singers - people that lived what they're singing about. 'Nothing Compares 2 U' is one of my favourite songs... I just loved that version of it."

The pair spoke about O'Connor's cover version of Parton's Dagger Through My Heart. Parton said, "I was surprised she did that. I wrote that song back in my teenage years and when I heard she had recorded it, I was really impressed and delighted."

The singer also spoke about her initiative The Imagination Library, which is a literacy programme where children receive a book a month until the time they start school. She was inspired to start it by her father, who was not able to read.

"I'm as proud of that as anything I've ever done. I'm sure that'll be one of those things I hope to be remembered for," she said about the initiative.

Listener Sandra was on the line to express her gratitude towards the musician for helping her and her daughter with books, "I don't think I could express how thankful I am for receiving that gift... there are no words to describe how thankful we are for what you've done."

HotPress' most recent cover star, CMAT also joined the show explaining how Dolly changed her direction in life at the age of 12. She also expressed that Dolly is one of the greatest songwriters in the world.

During the show, a few other fans also chimed in to express their love for Dolly.