It has influenced attitudes of the populace towards approval or disapproval of its chosen topics, directed social change and helped shape Irish societal norms.

[11][12] Tubridy's arrival coincided with a marked increase in audience ratings,[13] with some early statistics comparing him to the Byrne era.

Indeed, the politician Oliver J. Flanagan, whilst guesting on the show, proclaimed there to have been "no sex in Ireland until Teilifís Éireann went on the air", reflecting this greater indiscretion.

[20] Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid, was confronted by a guest in the show's first series — a sensational and unprecedented event.

[21][1][20] This response was received with laughter by Byrne and the studio audience, with Mrs. Fox then suggesting that her nightdress had been white from the options offered.

Brian Trevaskis, a young student and President of The Phil Society of Trinity College, making his first television appearance, criticised the Bishop of Galway, Michael Browne, for spending so much on a cathedral instead of helping the poor.

[25] At the end of the interview Byrne said if the baby was "half the man his father was" he would be fine and Annie Murphy replied that the boy's mother (meaning herself) was "not so bad either", drawing applause from the studio audience.

[28] In 1999, Pádraig Flynn, Ireland's EU Commissioner, appeared on the show, during which he commented on Tom Gilmartin and a donation of £50,000 to the Fianna Fáil party.

This led to Flynn's career being effectively ended because the government would not endorse him for reappointment to the European Commission after its mass resignation that year.

Some of Byrne's phrases became well known; when instructing that a piece of videotape be played, he invariably announced "you can roll it there, Colette/Roisín", chat to the floor manager, inquiring as to what telephone line a caller was ringing in on, and on some shows would extend its running time by fifteen or thirty minutes, discussing the extra running time with the floor staff and production team as an "aside" during an interview.

[a] Some columnists writing in the Sunday Independent and The Irish Times called for the show be dropped as its success was linked too intricately with Byrne to work with anyone else.

Other than the title, the use of an owl as the show's symbol and the traditional edition marketing toys to children and their parents,[c] little of the original remained the same.

As the 24 November 2006 edition of the show was getting underway, an intruder, Paul Stokes from Monkstown, County Dublin, emerged from off screen to confront a visibly startled Pat Kenny, who was had just greeted three guests, You're a Star judges Thomas Black, Linda Martin, and Brendan O'Connor.

[49] Today FM presenter Jenny Kelly reportedly went into labour whilst laughing as the incident unfolded on her television screen.

Shortly after the initial incident, the man rammed his vehicle into the front entrance of RTÉ's Donnybrook facility; no-one was injured.

[56] RTÉ launched the last revamp while Kenny was the host on Friday 7 September 2007, introducing a new set but retaining the title sequence in use since 2003.

[...] The back wall of the [chat area] has textured panels which just take the light beautifully and give a great three-dimensional effect.

Kenny noted: "After eight seasons of sitting around, lounging around, as if in a living room, we decided just for a change that we'd put the desk in and see what difference it made.

"[67] In an apparent effort to resolve such problems, the new desk had more of a table design with a transparent underside, was angled to be narrower at the guest end, and was composed of thin elegant profiles of timber and glass.

[70] Original host Gay Byrne gave Tubridy his blessing: "He has all the qualities required, the light deft touch together with a serious mind.

[77] He emerged from behind a red curtain and walked to a wooden desk, at which he sat in the same €3,000-plus Irish designed chair as the actress Meryl Streep in the film The Devil Wears Prada.

The live interview occurred the night before a book signing at Eason's which attracted international attention when Blair was pelted with shoes and eggs and successfully evaded an attempted citizen's arrest on charges of war crimes.

[90] In 2015, Tubridy's tone and choice of questions when interviewing Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy in relation to the campaign against the implementation of a water tax was much criticised.

[93][94] Julien Mercille, the academic and writer of The Political Economy and Media Coverage of the European Economic Crisis: The Case of Ireland, observed that "Tubridy was pretty good from the standpoint of protecting government interests.

[98] Studio audiences returned on 3 September 2021, initially sitting spaced out at tables in order to maintain social distancing.

Messages of congratulations poured in from Saoirse Ronan, Jessie Buckley, Paul McCartney, Russell Crowe and various other celebrities.

[101] High-profile guests on this final show included Irish President Michael D. Higgins, comedian PJ Gallagher, Jedward and Charlie Bird.

[102] There were musical performances on the night from Andrea Corr, John Sheahan, Moya Brennan, Steve Wickham, Sharon Shannon and Cian Ducrot.

[111] After Kenny's mother suddenly died in October 2008, Gerry Ryan was announced as guest presenter for that week's show with less than 48 hours' notice.

On 15 November 1980, towards the end of one show about feminism, Gay Byrne ushered a young Marian Finucane into his seat to present part of an episode.