Learning Points: Ryan opened his arms and embraced us all

RTÉ lied to us. The theme of this year’s ‘Toy Show’ wasn’t ‘Frozen 2’, but inclusion.

Television has brought us some truly wonderful and memorable moments: then US president John F Kennedy taking his first steps on Irish soil, in 1963; Riverdance’s debut, during the interval of the Eurovision Song Contest, in 1994; Roy Keane’s early arrival home from the 2002 World Cup in Saipan; then US president Barack Obama’s speech in College Green in 2011; and the myriad rainbow flags swirling around Government Buildings in 2015, to mention some.

However, nothing has captured like the final moments of this year’s ‘The Late Late Toy Show’ just how progressive Ireland has become. Two weeks ago, host Ryan Tubridy and RTÉ did more for inclusion in this country than any other programme that has gone before. ‘The Toy Show’ touches at the very root of who we are as a people and whom we aspire to be.