Ryan Tubridy: 'Memories of kind and thoughtful Saoirse will live with us forever'

Extra.ie​

18-05-2025

It's rare that I refer back to the dark days of the pandemic, given how awful it was for everyone, but it's necessary today for the purpose of this story.
At the height of the Covid era, we found ourselves putting together the oddest Late Late Toy Show of them all.
The dreadful 'social distancing' was in full flight, there was no audience (that silence was eerie) and hugs/handshakes/ pats on the back were all banned by order of the Covid tsars. RTE presenter Ryan Tubridy channelling Fantastic Mr. Fox for the opening number of The Late Late Toy Show. Pic: Andres Poveda
I shudder at the memory, but the show had to go on, and thanks to an extraordinary backroom team at every level of the organisation, a special Roald Dahl-themed opening number (I was Fantastic Mister Fox) kick-started one of the most memorable broadcasts of my 20-something years in front of a camera.
This week, I was brought right back to that evening for so many reasons by Roseanna Ruane, who was my guest on The Bookshelf podcast.
We had spoken a few months ago and I asked if I could be of any use, to which she suggested that she'd love to talk about a series of 'Evening with…' events she was hosting to talk about grief in its many manifestations with experts, in front of an audience interested in other people talking openly and frankly about their experiences. Roseanna Ruane and daughter Saoirse Ruane. Pic: Brian McEvoy
I invited Roseanna to come on the podcast to talk about books that influenced her life, but also about how our paths crossed and how she and her family have coped with the cruelty and heartbreak of losing their beautiful daughter, Saoirse.
It was on that Toy Show that we introduced the country to young Saoirse and her mam as they sat on a park bench, distanced from me on my own seat. Saoirse was confidently shy, if you can be such a thing.
She had what my daughter calls kind eyes, and this was all made more remarkable as she described what it was like to have an amputation and a prosthetic at such a young age. Saoirse Ruane with Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy. Pic: RTÉ
With gentle courage and great dignity, she won the hearts of a nation hungry for escape, warmth and good news.
Saoirse became a celebrity, and Roseanna was reflecting on the adjustments required as the family became well-known. Strangers stopped them to wish them well and maybe pop into a selfie with them, the usual sort of thing.
The Ruane's got on with their lives, and I had the pleasure of being their friend. I'll never forget one gorgeous morning when I drove to Kiltullagh and visited Saoirse at her school, followed by tea, cake, and trampoline jumps in the garden of her home. Roseanna Ruane and daughter Saoirse Ruane. Pic: Saoirse and Mamma/Instagram
There were other encounters and cards, all of which reminded me of the kind and gentle person Saoirse was.
When she died in March last year, the country was aghast at the unfairness and brutality of it. The funeral was beyond sad, and everyone felt for the Ruanes and their extended family.
Anyone who has grieved a child will understand the depths of this grief, and those who haven't can only try to comprehend the abyss of heartache. Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy with Saoirse Ruane and her parents Ollie and Roseanna. Pic: RTÉ
In our conversation, Roseanna speaks with a gentle dignity the like of which I have never heard. She explains how she keeps going and how Ollie and Farrah Rose survive in their own ways. There is a strength and resilience on display that will act as a salve for people in a dark place because there is hope there, too.
It's breathtaking really, and explains why there was such a big response from listeners who wanted to hear how the family were doing a little over a year after they said goodbye to Saoirse. And yet, Saoirse is very much present for the Ruanes.
Every time she is talked about, remembered and seen in a photograph or on a much-loved clip, Saoirse Ruane is with us, and the memory of this exceptional, thoughtful, kind and caring young Galway girl will live forever. Ryan Tubridy. Pic: Nick Edwards
I've always admired musical societies as a social hub in communities. It's not that I'd join one (I wouldn't pass an audition!), but anyone I've ever met who is part of one is always great fun and up for a song at the end of a night.
Last weekend, I attended my first-ever recital by the famous Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society (The R&R) at one of the churches in Dublin's Monkstown.
What followed was two hours of pure joy and a delightful mix of tunes from the movies, musicals and beyond.
Everything from The Lion King to Cabaret and Gilbert & Sullivan was sung with gusto and great humour. It was a joyous affair and a lovely antidote to the grim news the world has to offer.
Happily, the show spilt over to my place afterwards when some of the cast regaled us with a few numbers from Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda, above, to finish off a belter of a night!