Ryan Tubridy revealed The Late Late Toy Show appeal has raised €6.6 million after Revolut co-founder Vlad Yatsenko made good on his promise and donated €1.1 million.
Yatsenko pledged to personally donate €100,000 to the appeal and to match any further donations made over the weekend via Revolut up to €1m out of good will, following technical difficulties with the app on Friday night.
And he announced on Monday morning that he had followed through with his promise, as he posted a picture of his generous €1.1 million donation.
He wrote: "Thank you all for the outpouring of support and donations to the #LateLateToyShow2021 charity appeal via @RevolutApp."
Reacting to the news, Tubridy, who was absent from his radio show after taking the day off to rest after the busy weekend, took to Instagram to thank everyone who donated.
Posting a picture from the show where he was wearing a pair of sunglasses, he said: “I can see clearly now… Ireland!
“Thanks a (€6.6) million for your generosity on Toy Show night.
“Vlad the Revolut boss donated €1.1m of his own last night.."
What an incredible support @RevolutApp customers gave to a worthy charity @RTELateLateShow! Granted, there were some challenges at the peek of the live campaign. So, I've personally donated €100K, and will also match any further donations this weekend via @RevolutApp up to €1M.
— Vlad Yatsenko (@vyatsenko)
“Fair play Vlad. And to everyone who gave, I promise you that lives of young people across the land will change for the better.
“Not an easy time for everyone and yet the goodness shines through…”
It comes after Olympic gold medalist Kellie Harrington, who appeared on the highly praised show on Friday night, led stars pushing to see the Toy Show Appeal reach the million mark on the app to make the most of the generosity over the weekend.
The app and its founders, Yatsenko and Nikolay Storonsky were hit by serious technical issues on Black Friday, and later on during the show Friday night as viewers tried to donate to the appeal.
"Hi, there are currently issues affecting our app functionalities," Revolut said on Twitter last Friday.
"We're already working to have this resolved as soon as possible. We apologise for the inconvenience! We're really sorry for the trouble."
The RTÉ Toy Show Appeal in partnership with The Community Foundation for Ireland helped over 600,000 children and family members across the island of Ireland last year.
Viewers can continue to donate here and via the Revolut app.
