Ryan Tubridy teases 'new beginning' in wake of RTÉ departure
Former RTÉ presenter Ryan Tubridy.
Ryan Tubridy has teased a "new beginning" in his first public comment following his departure from RTÉ.
Mr Tubridy, who saw contract negotiations end with the broadcaster in the wake of the second Grant Thornton report into its finances and 'secret payments' made to him, took to Instagram on Wednesday morning with a short video.
He captioned the clip, which is of the Irish Sea, with: "A new dawn, a new day, a new beginning. Stay tuned for more."
The clip was soundtracked by Fleetwood Mac's .
As a result of negotiations breaking down between Mr Tubridy and RTÉ, he no longer hosts his morning radio show.
One of the "caretaker" hosts who replaced him, Oliver Callan, said there was "a sense of wrong" as his former radio show returned to air under new branding.
had new opening music on Monday morning, as Mr Callan paid tribute to Mr Tubridy by referencing his personal interests and memorable moments in his broadcasting career.
But he also highlighted the widening controversy which has engulfed the national broadcaster and exposed issues with financial governance at RTÉ.
Mr Callan said: “There’s a bit of a lesson, I think, as well, on graciously and humbly accepting second chances when they’re being offered to you.
“And, in the heel of the hunt, he’s [Tubridy] not a hated figure. He’s not cancelled, he has opportunities aplenty, and we sincerely wish him well.
“He will be back because there is a home always for Ryan’s experience and his mischief, and that Jiminy Cricket personality hopped up on jelly babies or whether he’s swearing at Fanta bottles, doing dodgy Jimmy Stewart impressions — terrible karaoke at times — and the whole history of Holy Moley mugs, worshipping JFK and Morse and history of course, elbow patches and puns.
“He had a brilliant career here and he was a hugely encouraging figure for those of us who passed through his living room over the years.
"So we’re sorry and sad to see him go, just as we’re sorry and sad to see the harm that’s been done towards RTÉ by all of the scandals, and there should be a reckoning for all of those behind all of it.
“The payments, the golden handshakes, the musical, the junkets — every last flip-flop.”
Meanwhile, the RTÉ board and director general Kevin Bakhurst have been invited to appear before the Oireachtas media committee for further questioning on September 13.
The media committee met virtually on Tuesday and said it would also be writing to Media Minister Catherine Martin to attend at a later date to discuss the future of funding for the national broadcaster after TV licence sales have plummeted in recent weeks.
The Government is also set to receive an interim report into RTÉ’s barter account in the coming days.
Ms Martin has informed the media committee that a forensic accounting report by Mazars will be submitted this week and later published.
RTÉ has suffered another fall in TV licence revenue as new figures show sales fell by €554,000 in the third week of August, compared with the same week last year.
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