The Indo Daily: Fifteen years gone: how Gerry Ryan changed Irish airwaves
He was an undeniable force of nature in the world of Irish broadcasting. Controversy also didn't really faze the man, in fact, he made his career off the back of it.
His voracious appetite for life, and indeed becoming a major part of the lives of his audience, was quintessential Gerry Ryan, as was his signature rambunctious approach to the microphone. Love or loathe the man, you had an opinion about him.
But in the end, the life of Gerry Ryan was tragically cut short, with his sudden death as hotly debated as any 'Ryan Line' phone-in special.
Today on the Indo Daily, Fionnán Sheahan is joined by Mediahuis Ireland journalists John Meagher and Niamh Horan, to reflect on the days of a true broadcasting legend, his legacy on the Irish airwaves and to remember the days when the Ryan Line was open.
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Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
‘It's an Irish sisterhood' – Rose of Tralee 2025 gets under way with close friendships formed
Eighteen Roses took to the stage in Co Kerry last night for the first of two nights before the 2025 winner is crowned, but behind the scenes, they were forming friendships for life. Philadelphia Rose Shannon Emery (26), who was a member of the Kappa Delta sorority at Westchester University, said she feels a 'similar sense of sisterhood' during her time at the Rose of Tralee. 'I do feel it's a similar sense of sisterhood, but it's an Irish sisterhood, instead of whatever Greek organisation you're in. So it's kind of extra special that way,' she said after coming off the stage at the first rehearsal before the selection night yesterday. Not only have videos of American sororities, hailed as 'RushTok', been blowing up on social media, but the famous Kerry festival has also occupied our feeds on this side of the Atlantic. Ms Emery said she was 'excited' and 'ready' for the first selection night. She added: 'A lot of nerves and feelings and emotions are coming up, because it's kind of the end as well, but I'm excited.' 'It's been amazing working with these other 32 women and bonding with them.' Meanwhile, the residents of Ireland's highest village, Meelin, and some of Nancy Lehane's 48 cousins are expected to show up at MTU's Sport Academy to support the Cork Rose (22), who is tipped as favourite to win the Rose of Tralee title. When asked whether any pressure comes with that, she said she 'doesn't really think about it'. 'The girls are absolutely lovely. Great craic. We're having so much fun,' she said. 'It's very full-on for us to be doing every day, but being there for each other, we've become very close in a very short space of time.' The highlight of being the Cork Rose for Ms Lehane was to see the 'excitement it brings to people' closest to her. 'The parades were amazing, just going up and seeing everyone so excited, my family and friends,' she said. Kerry Rose Laura Daly (23), from Ballymacelligott on the outskirts of Tralee, has been involved in the festival since she was a little girl. It was the equivalent of Christmas in our household 'I would have grown up dancing in the parade as a little girl, and that was just embedded,' she said. 'My nana had a huge love for the festival. Every year, we'd gather together; it's what brought our family together. It was the equivalent of Christmas in our household. As I got a little bit older, I started volunteering on the street side of the festival. 'I had the opportunity last year to come up here to MTU and work behind the scenes. In the mix of all that, I was choreographing the parades, too. 'It was not until I was up here last year working and took a moment in the very back of MTU when an incredible Irish artist, Lyra, was singing, and it was so powerful. 'And I just stopped and went, 'This is something that I would love to be a part of on the other side'.' She said it now feels like a 'full-circle moment' for her to become the Kerry Rose, adding she is 'extremely proud of every single one' of the 32 Roses. 'We are up for rehearsals right now, and the girls are trying on their dresses,' she said. 'We've had people crying just seeing each other's dress reveals, and it's just that sense of immense pride. We have seen each other at our highs, and we've seen each other at our lows, and to be here tonight, I know there won't be a dry eye between the lot of us.' Carlow Rose Katie Ryan (26) from Tullow, who is an only child, said being around Roses is 'making her realise what it's like to have siblings'. 'When you're looking at it, you just see the two TV nights, but when you're going and you're spending so much time with the girls, it's absolutely incredible,' she said. 'Because I'm an only child, it's really nice having the girls around all the time, because it's making me realise what it's like to have siblings and have that sisterhood together.' Yesterday morning, 18 Roses took to the stage to rehearse their performances ahead of the first selection night, which includes dancing, singing and even dog yoga and playing rugby on stage. Hosts Dáithí Ó Sé and Kathryn Thomas were supporting the Roses on stage, while Ó Sé kept reassuring the girls that the crowd 'will go crazy, crazy, crazy'. The second selection night airs on Tuesday at 8pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, revealing the Rose of Tralee winner
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
‘Do you realise I am Irish and we'd never put up with this?'
My younger sister Claire's final resting place is infused with the lavender scents of Provence and its rich palette of colours, painted by the famous native son Paul Cézanne. While he is also interred in Aix-en-Provence, Claire's artistic talents were more fully expressed in her gardening and cookery, DIY skills, and wicked sense of Irish humour, which never abated, despite a lifetime spent living in France. She was brave, too. So brave. She stayed spirited until almost the end, which was early on a sunny morning last October 2nd, 3½ years after she was first diagnosed with glioblastoma (a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumour ). That news was like being hit by a double-decker bus here on the boreens of the wild west in April 2021. I had wondered the previous day why she hadn't joined in a WhatsApp chat marking the first anniversary of our father George's death. READ MORE He had taken his final breath in his Westport nursing home as the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the globe. My sister had watched his funeral service remotely as some of our family sat in the front pews of an otherwise empty church. The last time she had been home for a funeral was for our mother's in 2018. Ironically, a year earlier, in May 2017, we had all gathered in the picturesque town of Mozzate, near Lake Como, devastated by the death of our youngest brother, Dermot, from pancreatic cancer . His ashes lie in a sun-soaked crypt with his wife's family, the Borghis. You could call Claire a wild child. Her teenage years were filled with rebellion as she straddled that time in Dublin, which was still a place we called 'town'. I can easily conjure the image of her sweeping through our kitchen in Lucan and straight out the back door as Daddy threatened and failed to ground her. Her long black cape and big curly head of hennaed hair defining her duskish shadow as she waited down the road for the 25 bus from nearby Dodsboro to town. It was the mid-1970s and she was part of the city centre scene, working in Captain America's on Grafton Street before moving over to Betty Wall's vintage clothes shop on Crown Alley in a dilapidated Temple Bar, which was almost transformed into a big bus depot. Claire always spoke French with an Irish brogue. She seamlessly transformed her sharp wit and sense of fun into the cadences of her French expressions In so many ways, these years of the Dandelion Market, patchouli oil and elephant flares defined my younger sister even though she lived most of her life in France, having met her husband-to-be Michel on a plane en route to Bangkok. Claire always spoke French with an Irish brogue. She seamlessly transformed her sharp wit and sense of fun into the cadences of her French expressions, charming her more reserved French friends, putting manners on the starched world of officialdom. 'Tu comprends, je suis Irlandaise et nous ne tolérerions jamais une réglementation aussi stupide.' Claire Lambert with daughters, Marine and Lucy, in her garden Which probably translated in Claire's dialect as: 'Do you realise I am Irish and we'd never put up with this kind of stupid shit?' Despite coming from a family splintered by our parents' separation when she was 24, travelling the world throughout her 20s, marrying in a civil ceremony in Aix-en-Provence in 1993, living for most of her life abroad, returning home infrequently, the yearning was always a deep part of her spirit. When home, she loved nothing more than picnics on Old Head beach, near Louisburgh, with the salt air of the Atlantic replacing the waves of heat from the Mediterranean. For me, it is not the proximity of a grave; it is about keeping my sister and brother alive in my heart We feel fortunate now, as we grieve her absence, that her two daughters, Lucy and Marine, have embraced their semi-Irishness. [ 'Do it for your daughter, mother, sister, friend': Cancer survivor urges public to join fundraising run Opens in new window ] Like Dermot's two sons, Patrick and Liam, whose primary home is with their Italian mother, they have embraced their daddy's home country by attending Irish universities. It is so comforting to hug this next generation, catch a gesture or look that enlivens the past, gather with the Irish cousins, laugh, cry, reminisce and tell stories. For me, it is not the proximity of a grave; it is about keeping my sister and brother alive in my heart. In November 2014, when George, our father retired after 44 years as Bridge Correspondent of The Irish Times , Claire came home for the shindig. The following day, we walked through Temple Bar, across College Green and up Grafton Street to McDaid's pub: that doughty institution of poets of the past. It was one of Claire's watering holes, too, when she worked in Captain America's. In the words of Paddy Kavanagh: 'On a quiet street where old ghosts meet, I see her walking now ... '
Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Carl Mullan shares classy gesture from Will Leahy after Rose of Tralee exit
RTE star Carl Mullan has said Will Leahy was one of the first people to call him to congratulate him on landing the Master of Ceremonies' job at this year's Rose of Tralee. It was revealed last Friday that Will had been dropped from the job of introducing the Roses at the Tralee festival after 20 years. 2FM Breakfast radio star Carl was announced as the new Master of Ceremonies. But speaking just hours ahead of Monday night's televised Rose of Tralee, Carl said Will was one of the first to call him and give him tips. He said: 'Will is an absolute pro and a legend. He was doing it for 20 years. So of course (it's big shoes to fill). I mean to follow someone like Will. It's a great honour is the biggest thing I would say. 'Everything you need to know about Will Leahy is the fact that he was the first person on the phone to me, and he was giving me all the tips, all the pointers, all the banana skins, kind of everything like, you know what I mean? 'So knowing that you have someone like that on your side and helping you along the way and giving you advice is absolutely amazing.' The Dubliner said he is 'excited' to get going with the festival, which is hosted by Daithi O Se and Kathryn Thomas. 'I'm just really excited for it now, especially now that I've arrived in you can get a sense of the buzz around the place. 'It's nearly when you're at home and you're just waiting, that's the worst part, whereas now I'm just really excited. I always have to keep reminding myself as well. I'm like, if you can dance on live television, having not known at all how to dance the week beforehand, you can do anything.' He said laughing. But he said the Rose of Tralee 'isn't about me' but he will try and have a lot of fun with his master of ceremonies duties. 'Well, I think the most important thing I would say is, like, it's not about me, it's about the Roses, 'But, you know, I think there's definitely got to be points where I'll try and have a little bit of craic. 'And it's kind of funny as well, because you can go through rehearsals, but then when you're in the room, the energy can be very different. And you might say something that lands completely differently to how you expect. So to be honest with you, because this is my first time around, my main thing is, let's land it. Let's get it done. 'It's not about me, but I'm going to have fun with it as well,' he said. Will Leahy no longer Rose of Tralee MC after 20 years (Image: RTÉ) Ahead of tonight's Rose of Tralee festival, the Cork Rose is a strong favourite to be crowned, according to Ladbrokes. Nancy Lehane is a primary school teacher and multi-instrumentalist, who has been teaching since she was 14 years old. She is also a keen Gaelic footballer playing for her local club, making her just the fit for Rose contender (9/4). Alex Apati, a spokesman for Ladbrokes, said: 'The Rose of Tralee is finally here and Nancy Lehane from the Rebel County looks like she'll be taking the crown home this week, but as we know, this festival can be full of surprises!' But Nancy told us: 'It doesn't really make much difference. Like, I think this competition is not called that way at all.' Nancy said she applied to be the Cork Rose 'on a whim'. 'I kind of applied for it on a whim. I didn't really come in with any expectations at all, and I definitely didn't expect to win it. So I went to sign my boyfriend up to be an escort first, and I was filling out slightly under the cover of filling out the application form for him. 'Then we got to references. He declined after I asked him for his boss's number. So then I said, You know what? I'll go into the Cork Rose but never expected to be here. I'm supposed to be on holidays,' before adding: 'I've no regrets'. Elsewhere, 23-year-old Laura Daly is second favourite, representing the Kingdom. Laura is an aspiring teacher and dancer who started her own dance school whilst in college. Her determined spirit sits her at 4/1 to be crown in her home county. Celine O'Meara from Limerick is the first ever United Arab Emirates Rose. Her teaching and musicianship brought her to the UAE and she has excelled with her harp there performing all over the country, whilst also beginning a modelling career. She is 5/1 to win. Fluent Irish speaker and judicial assistant Edel Cronin is 12/1 to be the first Dublin Rose to win the coveted title since 2003. Rose of Tralee 2025, hosted by Dáithí Ó Sé and Kathryn Thomas will be broadcast live tonight (Monday 18th August) and tomorrow, Tuesday 19th August from 8pm. Alex Apati of Ladbrokes commented: 'The Rose of Tralee is finally here and Nancy Lehane from the Rebel County looks like she'll be taking the crown home this week, but as we know, this festival can be full of surprises!' Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
