logo
Praise for Lottie Ryan after emotional interview on dad Gerry's anniversary

Praise for Lottie Ryan after emotional interview on dad Gerry's anniversary

Extra.ie​03-05-2025

Lottie Ryan has been praised following her emotional interview on the 15th anniversary of her father's death.
Legendary broadcaster Gerry Ryan passed away 15 years ago on Wednesday (April 30), with his eldest child Lottie following in her dad's footsteps — becoming a radio and TV presenter, and hosting her own show on 2FM a la her father.
Opening up on her father's sudden passing on Friday's episode of the Late Late Show, Lottie said that she was at home with her younger brother, listening to what should have been the latest episode of her father's radio show, but rang him after he didn't come on air.
'I was actually at home that day,' Lottie explained. 'I don't know if I was skipping college on purpose or what I was doing, but I was at home with my brother. [Gerry] didn't go on air that morning and I was listening and I tried to ring him, and he would never not answer the phone to me, and he didn't answer the phone. So I kind of thought 'oh, maybe he's not well.''
After ringing and texting her father several more times, Lottie's concerns grew until the family GP came to their house around midday; with her worst fears being confirmed around the time that her father's body was found in his Dublin apartment.
'There's something in you that just knows something's happened. You just, I don't know what it is, but I just knew something,' Lottie said. 'And then I walked downstairs, and our GP was at the front door, and I opened the door, and I just instantly, I was like 'where is he?'' Lottie Ryan has been praised following her emotional interview on the 15th anniversary of her father's death. Pic: RTÉ
'I thought maybe he was in hospital where I knew he was under a lot of stress, and I thought maybe he had just had a heart attack. But obviously it was worse than that, but something in you just knows. I mean so many people who lose someone, the pain and the intensity of that is something so hard.'
Lottie teared up when speaking about how her father would have reacted to her being married with a child, saying 'I hope he'd be really proud… I'd love for him to have met my son.
'I think he would've been an unbelievable granddad, and he would've been way better at babysitting than my mum because she never does it,' she joked. 'But I think… my brother [Rex] is an actor and I think that [Gerry] would've been at every play, all my siblings are so happy and in love and enjoying life. I think that he would be very proud of us, and how he handled everything. I hope he would be.'
A little bit speechless after that gorgeous interview. Gerry Ryan was my hero as a teenager #LateLateShow #gerryryan Well done Lottie 👏 — Sheena Crean (@SheenaWalsh) May 2, 2025
People loved Lottie's interview about her dad, with one writing on Twitter (X) 'Great interview with Lottie Ryan huge hugs to you both.'
'A little bit speechless after that gorgeous interview. Gerry Ryan was my hero as a teenager. Well done Lottie,' another wrote, while another wrote 'Very emotional interview with Lottie Ryan, your Dad would be so proud. Well done all.'
Gerry had five children with his then wife Morah, with his daughter Bonnie emotionally opening up about her last conversation with her dad; which wasn't exactly a good one.
'This day 15 years ago was the last time I ever spoke to my dad. It was on the phone and he was annoyed at me because I had gotten two parking tickets in the one week – so kind of fair enough,' she began.
'Anyway, I was annoyed at him because he was annoyed at me, and I remember handing the phone away to my sister and going, 'Ugh, take it. He's getting angry at me'
'I didn't say to him 'Goodbye' and I didn't say to him that I loved him. Little did I know the very next day I would find out that my dad had passed away and my whole world was going to be rocked forevermore.'
Bonnie went on to urge her followers to always tell their parents they love them, reflecting on the fragility of life.
'This is your reminder: Don't forget to say 'I love you', don't forget that life is so fragile and you just don't know what's coming around the corner,' she added. 'If you have your parents, give them an extra squeeze, or whoever you love in your life, because you just don't know what could happen.'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Toy Show star scores major role in new HBO series
Toy Show star scores major role in new HBO series

Extra.ie​

time11 hours ago

  • Extra.ie​

Toy Show star scores major role in new HBO series

A former Toy Show star is making his way to Hollywood as he's cast in HBO's upcoming Harry Potter TV series. Young Irish star Leo Earley stole hearts nationwide after he performed a monologue about hats for the Toy Show in 2024. Now, the Leitrim native is set to go global as he takes on the character of Hogwarts student Seamus Finnigan in the highly-anticipated series. Leo Earley on The Late Late Toy Show. Pic: RTÉ The role was previously played by Devon Murray in the original film franchise. In the latest batch of cast announcements, the IT Crowd star Katherine Parkinson was also announced to be playing Molly Weasley, the mother of Ron Weasley. Other additions to the cast include Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy, Johnny Flynn as Lucius Malfoy, Alessia Leoni as Parvati Patil, Sienna Moosah as Lavender Brown, and Bertie Carvel as Cornelius Fudge. Devon Murray (left) as Seamus Finnigan in Harry Potter. Pic: Warners Bros. Pictures Newcomers Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout will also take on the iconic roles of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, respectively. The cast includes John Lithgow as Professor Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Professor McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Professor Snape, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch and Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell. JK Rowling, the author of the books, is on board as an executive producer. Filming is taking place this summer in the UK.

Something For The Weekend – Anna Carey's cultural picks
Something For The Weekend – Anna Carey's cultural picks

RTÉ News​

time19 hours ago

  • RTÉ News​

Something For The Weekend – Anna Carey's cultural picks

Anna Carey is an Irish Book Award-winning novelist, journalist, editor and scriptwriter who spent her teens and twenties playing in bands. She is the author of seven acclaimed novels for young adults; her debut novel The Real Rebecca won the Senior Children's Book of the Year prize at the 2011 Irish Book Awards and her last book The Boldness of Betty was shortlisted for the same award in 2020. Her drama podcast The Famine Monologues was released by RTÉ in 2021 and her play The Making of Mollie was staged in 2024. Her latest novel Our Song is her first book for adults - read an extract here. We asked Anna for her choice cultural picks... FILM I'm a huge Ernst Lubitsch fan. Billy Wilder famously had a sign up in his office saying 'How would Lubitsch do it?' and I think that would still be a useful question for anyone trying to write comedy or romance or romantic comedy. The Shop Around the Corner is literally a perfect romcom and To Be Or Not To Be is just an incredible – and incredibly funny – anti-fascist film. Plus it has Carole Lombard in it, who I adore. I love his 1933 romantic comedy Design For Living. It's very much a pre-Code film, one of the daring movies made in the early 1930s before Hollywood introduced the Hays Code and started banning anything vaguely racy. Miriam Hopkins plays a woman who ends up in what's basically a throuple with Gary Cooper (good for her!) and Frederic March (meh). I paid homage to one of my favourite lines from Design for Living in a scene in Our Song. MUSIC I listen to a lot of French pop music. I've been a fan of classic French pop since my late teens and briefly ran a French pop club night in my early twenties, despite the fact that back then I didn't have a word of French (I did German and Latin in school and German in college). I started learning French at the Alliance Francaise about twelve years ago and once I could read French magazines I started discovering contemporary artists who aren't really big outside France. My favourites are all female solo musicians – Pomme, Pi Ja Ma and Clara Luciani, who are all very different but all make gorgeously melodic, kind of bittersweet music. In March I went to Lyon to see Clara Luciani play a big arena show and it was the most joyful thing – dancing for two hours with several thousand happy French people. BOOKS We're living in an excellent time for romantic fiction. My current favourite authors in the genre, who all have new books out this year, are Sarra Manning, Mhairi McFarlane and Katherine Center – I'm already looking forward to their next from romcoms, one of my favourite new books is Elaine Feeney's Let Me Go Mad In My Own Way, about a woman who has returned to her family home in the west of Ireland and her family's history of violence and trauma. That sounds so grim, but Feeney has the amazing gift of writing about big, serious issues with such humanity and wit that the book is utterly compelling and sometimes funny. I loved it. THEATRE I love Sean O'Casey's Dublin plays. My dad's family were all dock workers from the North Strand and I drew on my family history to write my last YA novel The Boldness of Betty, which is set during the 1913 Lockout. O'Casey's plays were a brilliant resource for Dublin dialogue from this period – like, if I wanted to check if a slang expression was in use at the time, I'd check the plays. They're funny and angry and sad and very Dublin, and they all still have a lot to say about class and conflict and colonialism. Also I wrote my German degree dissertation on Brecht and Weill's Threepenny Opera and John Gay's Beggar's Opera and I still have a soft spot for both of them. TV I really, really love good telly. I think as an artform that can do things no other medium can. In terms of programmes that are currently airing or have just aired, I loved the latest season of Hacks. I am so invested in the lead characters Deborah and Ava, it physically pained me when they were at odds. It's such a funny, humane show, and while its focus is on a 70-something and a 20-something woman, I love that my own generation is represented by the comedy genius Kaitlin Olson, who plays Deborah's daughter. Speaking of women of my generation, I'm also really enjoying the second series of Poker Face – I could watch Natasha Lyonne genially solving preposterous murders around America all day. GIG Throwing Muses were a hugely important band for me growing up. I first discovered them when I was 14 thanks to their 1989 album Hunkpapa and I was in total awe of Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly – I had never seen girls playing the guitar like that before. I still love them and I can't wait to see them when they play in Dublin in August. Speaking of women playing the guitar, I'm really looking forward to CMAT in the 3Arena later this year – her Fairview Park gig was my live music highlight of 2024. And my last gig was a brilliant concert at Féile Roise Rua in Arainn Mhóir in Donegal. It's a singing festival held on the island every May with lots of fantastic folk and trad artists. ART I absolutely adored the Evie Hone and Mainie Jellett exhibition currently running in the National Gallery – it was brilliantly curated and the art was incredible. I studied History of Art in college and spent a lot of time in the National Gallery back then, and I love how it's developed its approach to exhibitions over the last few decades. Outside of Ireland, two of my favourite exhibitions of the last decade explored the links between painting and fashion – Balenciaga and Spanish Painting at the Thyssen in Madrid, which explored the connections between the couturier's masterpieces and the works of everyone from Goya to El Greco, and Sargent and Fashion at the Tate in London. PODCAST I used to listen to a lot of podcasts and weirdly over the last year I've listened to fewer and fewer, mostly because I do most of my podcast listening on walks and for the last year I've spent my walks listening to French pop music and thinking about how to wrangle various issues in the books I've been writing. I do still never miss an episode of the unhinged and very funny Irish podcast The Creep Dive, and, when it's airing, the Hollywood history podcast You Must Remember This. TECH I am always trying and failing to spend less time on my phone. But I'll recommend Bandcamp, which allows you to buy music directly from the musicians and then stream it via the Bandcamp app. THE NEXT BIG THING... The band Poor Creature, featuring Ruth Clinton from Landless, Cormac MacDiarmada from Lankum and John Dermody from the Jimmy Cake. They're incredible live. Their first album All Smiles Tonight is coming out next month and I can't wait.

Pics: Late Marian Finucane's Kildare home hits market for over €1million
Pics: Late Marian Finucane's Kildare home hits market for over €1million

Extra.ie​

timea day ago

  • Extra.ie​

Pics: Late Marian Finucane's Kildare home hits market for over €1million

Late RTÉ presenter Marian Finucane's home in Kildare has hit the market for a €1.35million price tag. Located just outside of Naas in Co Kildare, Marian and her husband John, who passed away earlier this year, made the house, which is situated on a massive 22 acres, a home — which blends incredible modern architecture with serene surroundings. Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle The property is flooded with natural light throughout once you've gained access via the two electronic gates, and enter the home via the stunning courtyard. The entrance hall boasts an incredible vaulted ceiling, complete with architectural light panels that create a dramatic but welcoming space. A smartly designed study/library space provides a lovely serene indoor area, and the home also boasts a stunning expanded living room that is perfect for entertaining. Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle Built with functionality and style in mind, the open plan kitchen cum dining area is the heart of the home — and can be easily dressed up for entertaining, and just as easily stripped back for day to day dining, while providing ample natural light no matter the weather. The five bedrooms are generously proportioned, with each one offering a unique view of the incredible gardens. All five bedrooms also benefit from a private en-suite bathroom. Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle While the home itself is, obviously, incredible, the grounds on which the home is situated is where Stream House really shines — with a Zen-inspired Japanese garden, the area provides beautifully meandering streams, expansive reflective ponds and artfully crafted pathways and stonework. Complementing these gardens are the stud railed paddocks as well as a well-appointed stable yard, adding to the charm of the home. Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle As for who the home's previous owners were, Marian Finucane was of course, one of the country's most recognisable broadcasters. She and John met when she was 20 and he was 34, and despite not pursuing a romantic relationship, they began an affair a number of years later. The couple had two children together, SInéad and Jack, but unfortunately Sinéad passed away from leukaemia in 1990. The couple wed in 2015, and Marian passed away aged 69 in 2020. Widower John passed away five years later, in February of this year. Stream House, Punchestown, Co Kildare is available via J.P. & M Doyle, with an asking price of €1,350,000. Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle Pic: J.P. & M. Doylevv Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle Pic: J.P. & M. Doyle

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store