Give Tubridy his job back, the guy has suffered more than enough

I WONDER how Ryan Tubridy spent last New Year’s Eve.

Since he is famously not short of a few bob, perhaps he raised a toast at a glittering party surrounded by friends and family - giving thanks for his continued good health and happiness, and wishing for more of the same in 2023.

In that case, be careful what you wish for...

Before the year was half done, the RTÉ radio star had suffered a hefty dent in his happiness index, and it’s fair to guess his mental health must have suffered a knock in recent times.

You could say 2023 has been Tubridy’s annus horribilis, but such has been the extent of his downfall in the public eye that it’s hard to see him getting back to the top of his career perch for years to come. What’s the Latin for decade?

When the RTÉ scandal broke 37 days ago, over extra payments made to Tubridy that did not appear as part of his published salary, the sky fell in on the former Late Late Show host,

He has admitted his error in failing to draw attention to this anomaly... and that’s it. That’s the extent of his ‘sins’. Hardly, I would argue, a reason for instant summary dismissal.

Whatever your views are on Tubridy - and I certainly wouldn’t describe myself as a fan boy - you have to accept that he has done nothing illegal... indeed, I would add, he hasn’t done much wrong at all.

Furthermore, in being painted as the poster boy - the public face - of this entire scandal, he has suffered far more than other people in RTÉ who have more serious questions to answer about the whole affair than him.

The entire RTÉ scandal will rumble on for some time, and who knows what the repercussions will be? But Tubridy, who has been off air since the saga began, knows his fate will be decided within days.

He has said he desperately wants to return to the radio job he loves, and that decision is now in the remit of one man.

Having emerged from the gladiatorial pits of the Public Accounts Committee and the Oireachtas Media Committee, his reputation battered and bruised, Tubridy’s fate lies in the hands of the new emperor at RTÉ.

The Director General Kevin Bakhurst has the power to give him the thumbs up and allow him to resume his RTÉ radio career, or give him the thumbs down and turn a stressful drama for Tubridy into a full-blown crisis.

The two have met a few times, and a decision on the presenter’s fate is said to be imminent.

Polls suggest the public are split on whether Tubridy deserves to get his job back, while there have been reports that RTÉ staff - whose feelings will surely play a pivotal part in the decision - are equally divided.

But, for me, the poor man has suffered more than enough. I say give him his job and career back.

I also wonder how much the rise of social media has played a part in keeping the whole RTÉ saga alive for so long.

The drip-drip of revelations and allegations and their fall-out swept major stories away - crikey, while Russia was on the brink of a revolution, my social media feeds were full of shock/horror chatter about barter accounts and Toy Show musicals!

And all the while that Tubridy was at the centre of the storm, he was judged, ridiculed, and condemned online by the court of public opinion, and subjected to vilification and abuse that was off the scale.

Remember, again, no crime was committed at any time.

Laws are there to regulate the actions of the members of a society, and penalties exist for those who fall foul of them. When they are not broken, and people can still be brought down, then who or what is governing us?

The answer, in this case, is the hysteria-driven, bloodthirsty mob - the cabals of social media.

So, should Tubridy be made a career pariah?

If he was in any other job, he might find the route to salvation easier - but in the showbiz and entertainment industry, different rules clearly apply.

The stars enjoy fame, fawning, and fortune, but there is an unwritten deal with the devil: Strive for and retain the love, trust, and respect of your audience at all times - or all bets are off.

Tubridy stands guilty of making a mistake that put this deal in jeopardy.

However, the resulting moral outrage of strangers on social media to this transgression has been whipped up into a pitchfork-wielding frenzy.

RTÉ bosses had little choice but to suspend their star man, whose bond with his audience had been broken.

But isn’t this the very epitome of the rule of the mob? On social media, you don’t even need to have a name and identity to join the pile-on.

What about the biblical line about he or she without sin casting the first stone? What we have here is the rule of the pearl-clutchers.

If we lived in a more forgiving society that held back from passing instant judgment, perhaps Tubridy would still be in his day job. He would surely not now be facing the prospect of unemployment.

The fall-out over his pay sent tremors through RTÉ and brought to light a host of other issues and claims that need to be addressed - but none of them is the fault of Tubridy.

Many - including me - believe he is paid too much by a public body, but that is surely the fault of RTÉ. Should he turn down a pay rise from them? Would you?

The man surely deserves some sympathy and the benefit of the doubt - I sincerely hope he returns to the job he loves.

By then, the mob will have moved on to its next victim.