“ONE CHAPTER closes, another opens,” Ryan Tubridy said at the top of the last edition of his Radio 1 morning show, which was broadcast from Bray, Co Wicklow, yesterday.
The Late Late Showhost will take over RTÉ 2fm's flagship morning slot in late August, replacing the late Gerry Ryan.
Tubridy brought his show to a close with a week-long nationwide tour in search of the “real Ireland”, during which the programme visited Bundoran, Salthill, Ballybunion and Tramore, before finishing in the Wicklow town yesterday.
Tubridy said his move would be “bittersweet”, but one which he would “embrace with gusto”.
He wished his replacement, John Murray, who takes up Tubridy's vacant Radio 1 slot in August, good luck and thanked the entire staff of the Tubridy Show.
“These have all been my colleagues, but much more than that, they’ve been my friends. It’s never felt like work once, it’s been a joy.”
In keeping with the optimistic tone of Tubridy's swansong, the show finished with a rendition of Oh Happy Day,performed by the Camembert Quartet and the Bray Gospel Choir.
Bidding farewell to his Radio 1 audience, Tubridy said RTÉ “would be nothing” without the support of listeners. “I’ll talk to you on the other side. We go out with a spring in our step but with a slightly heavy heart.”