‘I hope you're sitting down - Gerry Ryan has died' – Colleagues reflect ahead of 15th anniversary of broadcaster's death

Irish Independent

29-04-2025

The 2FM broadcaster died unexpectedly from cardiac arrhythmia in 2010, and tomorrow marks the 15th anniversary of his passing.
Fanning was a friend and colleague, he first worked with Ryan at Big D pirate radio before they both began in RTÉ.
They travelled around the country together and hosted concerts such as Lark in the Park and Beat on The Street.
When Fanning heard that Ryan was being moved to an early-morning slot at 2FM, he thought it was going to fail.
'I thought daytime listeners were a bit more conservative and within two weeks it was the biggest thing on radio and it stayed that way,' he said.
'So I thought it was great he was going there but I thought he would be curbed but of course you couldn't curb Gerry.'
His outstanding memory of the broadcaster is his good humour.
'Gerry had a sense of humour like no one else I know. He was in the 1pc who just had it. He never told a joke in his life and wouldn't be able to tell a joke, but he could talk about the cup of tea in front of you now and would have you on the floor. He just had that quality,' he said.
The news of Ryan's death stunned listeners and those who worked with him.
'I could not believe it. I was in shock. So was everyone. I mean you're 53 years old – what? ... It was just mad, stupid, terrible… He was a big presence on the radio and it was very sudden. And he was very young. And it was very stupid that it happened.'
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Fianna Fáil politician Cynthia Ní Mhurchú presented the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest at the Point Depot, now the 3Arena, with Ryan.
'My overall memory of working with Gerry Ryan during that Eurovision period was fun, it was overwhelming fun,' she said.
'On the night itself, I know Gerry was extremely nervous of heights and we had to come to the stage via a plank like a trapeze artist. We descended from the ceiling on an electronic plank and he was extremely nervous – so that is why we ended up holding hands.'
Ireland won the Eurovision in 1994 with Charlie McGettigan and Paul Harrington's Rock 'n' Roll Kids. Meanwhile, Riverdance, starring Michael Flatley and Jean Butler, was staged for the first time.
'So that Eurovision was the Eurovision as far as I am concerned,' Ní Mhurchú said.
Brenda Donohue worked on the Gerry Ryan show as a roving reporter. Her first report was after she spent the day down Dublin sewers - she instantly clicked with Ryan.
'He was great company. Serious when he needed to be… he threw himself into it and was such a naturally fluid broadcaster and very dynamic personality,' she said.
Her favourite programmes were when they were on road, or segments that had a sense of 'divilment' to them – such as when Ryan ran a 'Houseslob of the Year' contest to rival the Calor 'Housewife of the Year'.
Or when he claimed live on air that himself and the entire production were presenting the show in the nude to mark World Naturist Day.
It was, of course, a joke, but the station was inundated with complaints, including one from one of his producer's mother.
Brenda was preparing for her youngest son Harvey's first birthday when she heard about his death. She received a call from her husband, who told her he had heard a rumour.
'He said, 'I hope you're sitting down. I just heard that Gerry Ryan has died'. This was about 1pm and I said that's not true'. Then I rang Noel Kelly [Gerry Ryan's agent] and he confirmed it,' she said.
Brenda and several other of Ryan's colleagues went on The Late Late Show to discuss the death of the broadcaster.
'And we were talking in the past and it was all very surreal. Then there was the funeral and we made shows immediately after because the public wanted to express their memories and feelings… It was a very hectic time," she said.