Tubridy the leg-breaker has won my admiration

RYAN TUBRIDY and Solange Knowles might not outwardly seem to have much in common, but as events this week have shown they share a protective attitude to the women in their lives. Perhaps Solange went overboard when she pummelled and kicked her brother-in-law in the elevator of a swanky hotel while Beyoncé looked on in silence.

Sources say that Solange, pictured below, was getting back at Jay-Z for flirting with a model. The fact that Beyoncé didn’t lift a carefully manicured talon to intervene might suggest that the offence was something of that order.

But Ryan Tubridy struck a far more serious note when he told a wife beater on air that he would break both his legs if he harmed any of the women in his life.

The remarks were criticised in some quarters and there was some tuttutting about violence not begetting violence. But Tubridy’s gallantry, which came from the heart, was surely one of the high points of his career. If more men took his attitude towards the welfare of their daughters or sisters or friends, there would be far fewer women and children living in terror.

Most domestic violence is caused by cowards who, rather than take out their frustration on those who are their match physically, vent their rage at home, on those who are either too vulnerable or not strong enough to retaliate.

Victims feel ashamed at being beaten up. Neighbours, gardaí and even loved ones who suspect what might be happening, are reluctant to get involved and the result is a conspiracy of silence. An outsider stepping in to break a cycle of violence is no different than a teacher reporting suspected child abuse to the authorities. Both actions depend on the refusal to turn a blind eye and if Tubridy is so disposed, then good for him.