The Gerry Ryan Show the River Shannon, Podge and Rodge, Irish literature, bacon and cabbage, Irish stew and the GAA. Some of the choices had connections to the show such as the show itself, Riverdance (first introduced to the world by the presenter) and, although not the case at the time, "The Late Late Show", which Ryan presented the following month. Despite repeated reshuffles which have seen all other presenters shifted around, RTÉ never moved "The Ryan Show" from its traditional slot. After a brief period of decline in his audience, all of the recent JNLR figures showed a consistent and significant increase in
Tubridy Tonight May 2004, RTÉ announced that Ryan Tubridy would host a new Saturday night chat show that coming autumn. "Tubridy Tonight" made its debut on 16 October 2004 for an initial run of ten programmes. It featured Gráinne and Síle Seoige, Hector Ó hEochagáin and Royston Brady as the first interviewees. The programme received relatively good reviews, with Shane Hegarty of the "Irish Times" describing the show as having gotten off "to a ropey start but improved as it went along." Hegarty bemoaned the fact that the show was broadcast live as "it added nothing to the show apart from a