Ireland Mourns Death Of Its Top Broadcaster Gerry Ryan

Gerry Ryan was one of the nation’s best-known broadcasters in all of Ireland, was found dead in his apartment yesterday morning. The nation of Ireland mourned the loss of Ryan who was discovered only after failing to broadcast his morning radio show. The Irish broadcasting legend was 53 years old. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Writing for the AP, Shawn Pogatchnik reports:

Since 1988 Ryan, a Dublin pioneer of pirate radio who had an early reputation as a “shock jock,” has hosted a three-hour morning radio show on national broadcasters RTE called simply The Gerry Ryan Show. It features live phone-ins, interviews and political satire.

He also fronted myriad RTE television talk shows and celebrity interviews — his Irish name recognition underscored by program titles such as “Ryantown,” “Gerry Ryan Tonight,” “Gerry Ryan’s Hitlist” and “Ryan Confidential” — and was known for his outspokenness and coarse humor.

After police discovered Ryan’s body Friday, his radio station RTE2 broke off its usual programing to play nonstop music for more than an hour as grief-stricken station employees absorbed the news.

Tributes poured in from all corners of Ireland’s political and entertainment communities, led by Prime Minister Brian Cowen, who lauded Ryan as “one of the greats of modern Irish broadcasting.”

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