Mick Clifford: Tubs set out to woo the wider public. The next few weeks will reveal if it worked 

The Oireachtas provided the forum, but it was the viewing public and his RTÉ colleagues that Ryan Tubridy was really addressing

Customers in Doheny & Nesbitts on Lower Baggot St in Dublin watching the Oireachtas TV broadcast of Ryan Tubridy and Noel Kelly's  appearance at the first of two Oireachtas committees. Picture: Niall Carson/PA

We now know what Ryan Tubridy was doing for the last two weeks or so. He was in front of the mirror at home, rehearsing his address to the nation, reaching out to plead and reassure.

His opening remarks to the Oireachtas public accounts committee was more like a speech from the dock, appealing for a reprieve for his professional life. He was passionate and direct, brandishing his seven untruths that had to be slayed, striking a practiced pose for the cameras.