Gay Byrne RIP

HildaOgdenx

valoren wrote: »

It is an indication of the quality of his broadcasting that over the length of his career that people can only point to the very few interviews that were duds. He wasn't infallible and given the length of his career he was forgiven for a few misses. I guess that's the way the Late Late show has gone. Byrne could do 99 professional, on point, entertaining interviews but he gets lambasted for grilling Annie Murphy or for showing disdain for Gerry Adams. He set a high standard and nowadays we see Tubridy doing 99 bland and mediocre “interviews” but then getting praised to the hilt for one which was actually par for the course for Byrne. I've always thought Byrne was the epitome of professionalism. Well researched, well prepared and well executed. Class. May he RIP.

I agree.

It's a great talent and skill to be a good interviewer - none of the current RTÉ chat show hosts have it. Gay Byrne had the ability too of knowing when to hold back and simply let a guest speak, often with hilarious or unintended results.

The show he did with The Dubliners, just to pick a favourite of mine, is absolute class. You have the feeling watching it that just about anything could happen, or be said and he just goes with it. Trying to picture any of the current RTÉ presenters handling it, and no, absolutely cannot.
He had a huge influence on many things and many people in Ireland. Was he perfect? No, he was human.

May he rest in peace and may his family gain comfort, in time that he is released from pain, and from the many good memories they will have of him.

tylercheribini

Edgware wrote: »

I presume it wil be a lineup of the usual suspects spouting predictable ****e

RTE canteeners are only ever a matter of feet away and Bono is only down the road.

ShamNNspace

"who wants to be a millionaire" was a bit of a low point imo

Cork Boy 53

KWAG2019 wrote: »

The tribute show is going on air a day after his death so am I right in assuming it’s archive material?

I assume it will be a mix of archive material and live discussion, tributes etc in the studio. I believe that Michael D Higgins, Bob Geldof and Pat Kenny will be on. Don`t know who else will be.

KWAG2019

If it’s the usual suspects it’s time for bingo:
Joe Duffy
Mary McAleese
Bono
Brendan O’Carroll
The High Kings?
Pat Kenny
Ray Darcy
Twink
?

ToBeFrank123

tylercheribini wrote: »

RTE canteeners are only ever a matter of feet away and Bono is only down the road.

Also
Twink
Joe Duffy
etc

Guaranteed.

Am I missing anyone?

ToBeFrank123

KWAG2019 wrote: »

If it’s the usual suspects it’s time for bingo:
Joe Duffy
Mary McAleese
Bono
Brendan O’Carroll
The High Kings?
Pat Kenny
Ray Darcy
Twink
?

I don't think I can take any more of most of those.

KWAG2019

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

Also
Twink
Joe Duffy
etc

Guaranteed.

Am I missing anyone?

They might try to get Stephen Fry? Any foreigner who tweeted is fair game I suppose.

Cork Boy 53

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

Also
Twink
Joe Duffy
etc

Guaranteed.

Am I missing anyone?

Tubridy mentioned on his radio show that Michael D Higgins and Bob Geldof will be on tonight.
Add Eamon Dunphy to that list.

Letwin_Larry

high_king wrote: »

He wasn't. Byrne was an expert cute huir at playing both sides of the fence, with both thinking he was on their side. Overall though he was as anti Catholic as an RTE presenter could be then without being cottoned onto.

Never like Byrne on the political stuff, but I used to enjoy his lighthearted stuff on the radio, he was far better at that, than the poor me doom porn guests he infected RTE television with, that the Irish crave.

actually you are wrong.
he wasn't anti anything. he was no revolutionary. he was very much part of the establishment.

tylercheribini

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

I don't think I can take any more of most of those.

Ive hear Joe Duffy reel off the "Gaybo thought solpadine was a Spanish footballer" routine twice on different broadcasts already, third times a charm.

Robert_Beach

I bet Joe Duffy and the boys are mad as hell, if Gaybo had kicked it a few months earlier it would have given them time to get a book out, and freely advertise it day in and day out on every RTE show.

It's a nice scam they have going.

jonnogael

RIP but I have to say I never liked him.

is_that_so

Cork Boy 53 wrote: »

Tubridy mentioned on his radio show that Michael D Higgins and Bob Geldof will be on tonight.

It would be ironic if the numbers passed the current LLS ratings! Even in death!:)

Edgware

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

Also
Twink
Joe Duffy
etc

Guaranteed.

Am I missing anyone?

Surely Fr. Brian should be asked to give some insightful contribution and maybe get Annie Murphy and Gerry Adams on Skype. Also Nell McCafferty, she must be feeling very neglected in her old age . I'm sure Costumes could supply some extra incontinence knickers to avoid her making an embarrassment of herself

blinding

is_that_so wrote: »

It would be ironic if the numbers passed the current LLS ratings! Even in death!:)

Pretty Good Chance .

A Dead Gaybo has way more going for him , than the Dross RTE have Now .

Invisibleman

it'll be interesting when the dirt comes out in a couple of days, just like the drug addict Gerry Ryan

tylercheribini

Invisibleman wrote: »

it'll be interesting when the dirt comes out in a couple of days, just like the drug addict Gerry Ryan

Whuch dirt is this now? Pure speculation?

blinding

Invisibleman wrote: »

it'll be interesting when the dirt comes out in a couple of days, just like the drug addict Gerry Ryan

RTE made a big caboot about Coke-Head Ryan alright .

Its Coke-Heads like Ryan that put the Money into the Drug Gangsterism .

He was a disgrace and no one to be looking up to .

bitofabind

Ah god, Gaybo was such a part of the fabric of Irish life, seeing all these old LLS clips and hearing his voice everywhere just reminds me of how much of a place he held in so many childhood memories.

Waking up to his voice booming around the house from the kitchen radio as a kid, Friday nights by the fire with a live commentary from the folks throughout the Late Late Show and playing "guess who the guest is" as Gaybo was teeing them up. The Toy Show and his mad intros and knitted jumpers every year!

One stand-out for me was the Omagh tribute show a few months after the bombing in 1998. God it was such a pivotal time in Irish society, with the Good Friday Agreement just a few months earlier, and the rawness and pain emanating off the TV as survivors talked about their family members is just so vivid to me. That man who had lost three generations of his own family and Gaybo saying he hopes the bombers "rot in hell".

When I think of living through that time in Irish history, this is the memory that stands out. It's like he set the tone of the country during those three hours on a Friday night, he knew when to ask the difficult questions and when to sit back and give someone their moment. He was a master producer - he knew when he was on a fast-track to those invaluable "TV gold" moments and he broke all the broadcasting rules - that prize winner piece that has been mentioned so many times, would never see the light of day in today's packed ad-revenue focused TV scheduling roster, it'd long have been cut off and it's probably just as well, as I can't think of anyone that would have the skill and fluency that Gay had to handle such a moment.

I've watched that clip a few times down through the years, and that poem that Brendan Kennelly read at the end has always stuck with me. It's really beautiful and poignant. I thought it would be nice to quote it here again:

“Begin”

Begin again to the summoning birds
to the sight of the light at the window,
begin to the roar of morning traffic
all along Pembroke Road.
Every beginning is a promise
born in light and dying in dark
determination and exaltation of springtime
flowering the way to work.
Begin to the pageant of queuing girls
the arrogant loneliness of swans in the canal
bridges linking the past and future
old friends passing though with us still.
Begin to the loneliness that cannot end
since it perhaps is what makes us begin,
begin to wonder at unknown faces
at crying birds in the sudden rain
at branches stark in the willing sunlight
at seagulls foraging for bread
at couples sharing a sunny secret
alone together while making good.
Though we live in a world that dreams of ending
that always seems about to give in
something that will not acknowledge conclusion
insists that we forever begin.

FrancieBrady

Edgware wrote: »

He was a moderate drinker in later life and liked a whiskey. He had no time for heavy drinking and saw the damage that such drinking had on family life especially among the poorer sectors of society.
The usual Shinner element criticised him for his attitude to wearing the Poppy etc but he did come from a Dublin working class environment where many families had either lost parents, uncles etc in World War 1 or where many survivors with serious injuries were still living.

No more than Duffy, and a whole host of the media, he never accepted the simple fact that there were many many people in Ireland who had a different experience with the British than he and his family had. Even when it was abundantly clear from what was happening in the north.

A classic type of Irish person in that respect and thankfully being replaced by a more balanced and fair type.

Your Face

R.I.P. Gaybo.

An icon of Irish broadcasting.

He offered a forum to the Irish people and didn't shy away from controversy even at the cost of exposing himself to criticism.

Cork Boy 53

is_that_so wrote: »

It would be ironic if the numbers passed the current LLS ratings! Even in death!:)

There was a rebroadcast of the 1987 LLS Dubliners tribute on RTE after Christmas a few years back which got higher ratings 30 odd years on than any of the then current season shows (with the exception of the Toy Show) did.

KWAG2019

I should add to tribute show bingo: panti bliss.

chrissb8

Invisibleman wrote: »

it'll be interesting when the dirt comes out in a couple of days, just like the drug addict Gerry Ryan

He did coke like alot of people do. Some of them aren't addicts or let it get in the way of their work. Why define him by that. It's like calling Jimi Hendrix a junkie depsite his talent or calling Hemmingway a drunk. People do drugs it doesn't mean they are that drug and defined only by that.

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

I think Tommy Tiernan is the only Irish presenter that can live up to his ability.

Joe_ Public

Cork Boy 53 wrote: »

There was a rebroadcast of the 1987 LLS Dubliners tribute on RTE after Christmas a few years back which got higher ratings 30 odd years on than any of the then current season shows (with the exception of the Toy Show) did.

Probably my single favourite entertainment show of all time. It is absolute perfection from first reel to last. Utterly sublime music and even bono manages to come off looking well in it for possibly the last time ever on national tv

Letwin_Larry

i dont think i can take much more of this.
yer wan ciara Kelly is on Newstalk with her gushing ad naseums.
it's just getting far too repetitive now.

MadYaker

Letwin_Larry wrote: »

i dont think i can take much more of this.
yer wan ciara Kelly is on Newstalk with her gushing ad naseums.
it's just getting far too repetitive now.

It’s a massive love in alright, much fawning from all corners of the media. It’s understandable though. He was a role model and inspiration for lots of big media personalities today. He was a bit before my time and the late late was never a thing in my house so it’s kind of lost on me.

Cork Boy 53

Letwin_Larry wrote: »

i dont think i can take much more of this.
yer wan ciara Kelly is on Newstalk with her gushing ad naseums.
it's just getting far too repetitive now.

Joe Duffy still to come on RTE this afternoon. I presume the whole show will be a Gaybo tribute.