A bittersweet moment.
Ryan Tubridy has spoken out about an “upsetting” but “moving” moment that followed Friday night’s Late Late Show appeal for Ukraine.
The show was dedicated to the crisis in Ukraine and aimed to raise vital funds from those affected, raising over €3 million for the Irish Red Cross who are providing aid for anyone injured or displaced in the war.
Speaking on his RTE Radio One show, Ryan said he was overwhelmed by Irish generosity and had an emotional moment at the end of the show.
He said: “The show ended, and people put their coats on, and they went their separate ways to their cars, taxis and buses to go home.
“I went into a room where we had all the Ukrainian contributors to the programme.
“They were standing around putting on their coats and saying goodbye to each other, they were shaking hands and exchanging details, and I was saying thank you to them.”
He added that one of the people backstage then began singing the Ukrainian national anthem.
He said: “Somebody in the room started to sing in a very low way the Ukrainian national anthem.
“Within ten seconds, everyone had their hands on their hearts, standing around singing this very, very plaintiff Ukrainian anthem in the room.
“It was probably the most moving piece of music I’ve ever seen performed in my life because they were singing like their lives depended on it.
“It was like something I’d never heard or seen before ever in my life. It was deeply, deeply moving, it was upsetting but moving.
“I just thought these people are extraordinary.”
The funds raised on the show on Friday night hope to help support Ukrainian people as the United Nations confirmed that the death toll for civilians has reached 1,207.
Ukrainian President Zelensky said: “Mariupol was surrounded, blocked, is being exhausted, tortured.
“For the first time in dozens of years, perhaps for the first time since the Nazi invasion, a child died of dehydration. Hear me, today, dear partners! A child died of dehydration in 2022!”
