Ryan Tubridy has withdrawn from tomorrow’s Women and Agriculture Conference at the Lyrath hotel in Kilkenny, in what would have been his first fully public appearance since the RTÉ payments row during the summer.
The former RTÉ presenter was due to have a 30-minute “fireside chat” with Ciara Leahy, editor of Irish Country Living (which is published by the Irish Farmers Journal), the organisers of the conference.
According to the pre-publicity material, he would have been asked about “hosting an iconic chat show, presenting radio programmes and writing best-selling books”.
Ms Leahy confirmed to The Irish Times this morning that “unfortunately” Mr Tubridy had cancelled his appearance as the keynote speaker, citing personal reasons.
“However, we are delighted to announce that both Brendan Courtney and Sile Seoige will now be speaking at the event. The conference is completely sold out,” she added.
NK Management, the presenter’s agent that booked his appearance, has been approached for comment.
Mr Tubridy’s radio show on RTÉ 1 was suspended in June after it emerged that his earnings from the station had been publicly understated.
Kevin Bakhurst, the station’s director general, cancelled a deal to bring Mr Tubridy back in August, citing a breakdown in trust over a press statement made by the presenter.
It remains unclear what Mr Tubridy’s next career move will be. In September, he paid a high-profile visit to London, where he appeared on Chris Evans’ radio show and was photographed with Piers Morgan, a host on TalkTV.
[ Ryan Tubridy returns to airwaves as guest on Chris Evans’s UK breakfast showOpens in new window ]
“Great to see Ireland’s biggest TV star Ryan Tubridy in London today, and excited to see what he does next,” Mr Morgan posted on social media. “RTE’s loss will definitely be someone else’s gain.”
Britain remains the focus of speculation about Mr Tubridy’s next move since at one time he was in demand as a fill-in presenter on BBC Radio 2, deputising for Terry Wogan, Graham Norton and Ken Bruce between 2011 and 2015.
[ Ryan Tubridy meets Piers Morgan in London as speculation continues on next moveOpens in new window ]
There have been recent suggestions that Mr Tubridy might appear on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, a TV reality show. However, goss.ie has reported that the presenter posted “this is never going to happen” on his Instagram account.
Mr Tubridy has done just two semi-public events since the pay row. He launched We Need To Talk, a book by Dr Tony Holohan, at an invitation-only event, and did a pre-recorded interview in association with Pension Awareness Week.
