Gerry Ryan is 10 years dead

Woke Hogan

I didn’t like his programme at all but I’m surprised to see the “”I’m a TV licence payer” brigade slagging Ryan off for not taking a paycut during the last years of his programme.

The Gerry Ryan Show was a hugely popular money spinner for RTE. Surely the free market acolytes of boards.ie would agree that his salary above all would be safe because he was such a consistent money spinner.

Oh look, a seashell. They say if you press it to your ear you can hear the soothing waves of the sea rolling into a shore. Allow me to try it out.

...

What’s that? These people don’t care about how much a programme costs or how much money it earns, they’re just misers who don’t want to spend a penny towards state funded broadcasting? They’re too thick to understand the benefits of publicly funded media? Dimwits, you say? Why, I can’t hear the sea at all from this shell, just reams and reams of ignorant inconsistent scutter.

BrenMar

Xertz wrote: »

To be fair to Gerry Ryan and his legacy, I think you need to look at the earlier years of his radio show. It was very fundamental in shaking Ireland out of deep, deep conservatism in the back in the late 80s and into the early and mid 1990s.
Topics were discussed, with total irreverence to the social mores that dominated Ireland at the time, with a lot of humour and a whole lot of intelligence too and it drove debate, brought people out of various dark corners and was a hugely useful forum.

He was a truly great radio broadcaster and by all accounts I've ever heard, a very decent colleague to many over the years too and very down to earth, despite the profile. Unfortunately, like many a celeb before him and probably many after him, he went off the rails towards the end of his life and let's face it, Ireland's not exactly immune from substance abuse issues be they drugs or alcohol. I think we can become rather holier than thou on these issues and it's a big part of why we don't face them down as a society too.

However, I think you have to see him in context and across the full span of the Gerry Ryan Radio Show. He did have a big impact on Ireland over those years and in many ways that show was one of the key places where post-conservative Ireland emerged. It was the 'auld wans' (and I remember many of them) tuning in saying "Oh he's a disgrace" while listening to items about topics that were previously totally taboo mixed with solidly entraining radio. He also wasn't a shock jock in the modern sense, he had the intellect to really tease out topics and often dealt with very serious issues in a nuanced, caring and very decent way, very much in the tradition of Irish radio broadcasting going back over the years.

To me, Gerry Ryan is definitely a legendary Irish broadcaster and I think you just have to see the positives with the negatives and the person for who he was, flaws and all.

I find the whole holier-than-thou thing, where people are written off because of something like a drug issue or whatever else is just a load of moralising b/s. People have flaws, but they're not exclusively defined by them. It's important to be able to see the whole person and their whole career in context - that's how we actually learn and that's what life is like in general. It's rarely perfect.

Excellent post.

BrenMar

Xertz wrote: »

To be fair to Gerry Ryan and his legacy, I think you need to look at the earlier years of his radio show. It was very fundamental in shaking Ireland out of deep, deep conservatism in the back in the late 80s and into the early and mid 1990s.
Topics were discussed, with total irreverence to the social mores that dominated Ireland at the time, with a lot of humour and a whole lot of intelligence too and it drove debate, brought people out of various dark corners and was a hugely useful forum.

He was a truly great radio broadcaster and by all accounts I've ever heard, a very decent colleague to many over the years too and very down to earth, despite the profile. Unfortunately, like many a celeb before him and probably many after him, he went off the rails towards the end of his life and let's face it, Ireland's not exactly immune from substance abuse issues be they drugs or alcohol. I think we can become rather holier than thou on these issues and it's a big part of why we don't face them down as a society too.

However, I think you have to see him in context and across the full span of the Gerry Ryan Radio Show. He did have a big impact on Ireland over those years and in many ways that show was one of the key places where post-conservative Ireland emerged. It was the 'auld wans' (and I remember many of them) tuning in saying "Oh he's a disgrace" while listening to items about topics that were previously totally taboo mixed with solidly entraining radio. He also wasn't a shock jock in the modern sense, he had the intellect to really tease out topics and often dealt with very serious issues in a nuanced, caring and very decent way, very much in the tradition of Irish radio broadcasting going back over the years.

To me, Gerry Ryan is definitely a legendary Irish broadcaster and I think you just have to see the positives with the negatives and the person for who he was, flaws and all.

I find the whole holier-than-thou thing, where people are written off because of something like a drug issue or whatever else is just a load of moralising b/s. People have flaws, but they're not exclusively defined by them. It's important to be able to see the whole person and their whole career in context - that's how we actually learn and that's what life is like in general. It's rarely perfect.

Excellent post.

ShatterAlan

Long_Wave wrote: »

One of the greatest Irish men of living memory died 10 years ago this month, how time flies

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHA (cough) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Whatever one may think of him, nobody on the radio today can hold a candle to him.

branie2

Agreed

tdf7187

the dark phantom wrote: »

He was his own man which particularly in the 80's was unique in Ireland. He was leader never a follower.

I thought he was sound back then but the drugs took over and turned him into a bloated hypocrite. I'm sorry that he died in active addiction.

tdf7187

Zascar wrote: »

I remember how someones posted here that their mate put him in an ambulance, so we knew but the family etc didn't.

Can't believe that's 10 years ago. Fun times.

I was working for an organisation with links to RTE in 2007 and there was definitely gossip that he had a coke problem at that point.

ILoveYourVibes

Only ten years? It seems like longer.

MrMusician18

What I came fathom is that RTE had an obese man present operation transformation.

It always seemed like the oddest choice.

OU812

MrMusician18 wrote: »

What I came fathom is that RTE had an obese man present operation transformation.

It always seemed like the oddest choice.

Fiona Looney devised & created the show, he was a part owner in it & came with the package to have it made.

Hangdogroad

I only listened to his radio show the odd time so mainly remember him for his gawdawful tv shows. The only one that he seemed to work out in was School Around The Corner.

AllForIt

Happy deathday Gerry Ryan

Rubberchikken

God he never deserved to be called great or any variation.of it.
He was a hypocrite and a poor radio presenter.
If he hadn't been such a tool with his drug taking maybe he'd be alive today. His loss.

GMSA

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Whatever one may think of him, nobody on the radio today can hold a candle to him.

Jennifer Z thinks she can though.

Zak Flaps

893bet wrote: »

Hope it gets the thanks you hope for to make up for being a horrible miserable cynic.

Looks like it did.

Rikand

arcticmonkeys wrote: »

1:08 Gerry asking the important questions lol. 2FM's never been the same for better or worse some will argue.

That was brilliant. Thanks so much for linking that. I miss Gerry Ryan

dd973

Towards his later years he always looked like he should have been a contestant on Operation Transformation not the presenter. Used to see him now and again around Clontarf.

Arghus

10 years. It doesn't feel that long ago. I had no strong opinions on him, I didn't listen to his radio show.

A lot of people still love relishing the fact that cocaine abuse contributed to his death. I don't really see the need to dance on his grave over that. He had a sad end in the end. And as for hypocrisy, you'd swear he was the only man in Ireland taking coke during the Celtic Tiger years.

RWCNT

Those t-shirts that punk band made with him on were the business.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/dublin-rock-band-defend-gerry-ryan-dead-junkie-t-shirts-as-legitimate-point-26812399.html

CoBo55

I loved his radio show never listened to 2fm since he died.

Feisar

I didn't have strong opinions on him as others had said. I remember Secrets being a good laugh years ago. My parents gave out about him on the Eurovision saying he made a balls of it? Was to young at the time to notice. I don't have many memories of him on the radio, just wouldn't have been a big radio person during his time.

Sephiroth_dude

arcticmonkeys wrote: »

1:08 Gerry asking the important questions lol. 2FM's never been the same for better or worse some will argue.

"Was it Brazilian or what?" Lol

Jonybgud

For me Gerry Ryan was part of the white noise of the 80's and 90's. No earth moving overwhelming greatness, just a splash of colour in an otherwise grey backround.

He was a naughty boy who used that irreverence to further his career, nothing wrong with that.

Anyone expecting a radio host or entertainer to have to live a monastic lifestyle just because they are occasionally in the lime light is just as hypocritical as what the memory of Gerry Ryan is now being held to account for.

Laois_Man

I didn't listen to his radio show

His one-off stint at presenting the Late Late Show was very awkward at times - he wasn't cut out for TV. I only have vague memories of Secrets and School Around the Corner. I hated Operation Transformation! Not coz of G Ryan - I still hate it!

OU812

OU812 wrote: »

Whatever you think about him, Radio has not been able to replace him.

No because RTE are not looking for a Gerry replacement, they only want to hire fools that pretend to be funny and try to entertain the 20 somethings that don't listen to radio in the first place.

Dee Forbes is on a mission to attract the youth and is destroying RTE in the process, it at an all time low since she became director general. I've no problem with them trying to attract the youth but they're not going to do that by having silly presenters talking crap and playing really bad pop music.

RTE need to get RTE Gold on 2fm and cater for the generations still listening to Radio and RTE Gold is probably one of the best stations RTE have.

They seem incapable of finding someone who can relate to actual other Human beings, to be able to have proper discussions related to that actual struggles in Peoples lives.

This is why 2FM is dead. No one I know listens to it any more. To save costs it should go, it's of no value to the tax payer today. The music they play is also horrible crap.

Gerry was a good presenter, he was exactly what 2Fm needed but sadly Gerry had serious Personal and illegal issues that seen RTE seemed to ignore, his funeral even if I remember had members of government and event he president ? all supporting the memory of someone supporting a serious drug addict who supported the criminal activities of drug gangs. You couldn't make the sh1t up if you tried.

paw patrol

chrissb8 wrote: »

You'd swear because he did coke he's an abhorrent person. Weird irrational logic.

i didn't like him as a presenter , he was an ill informed sh1tehawk no better than a parish priest ranting from the pulpit.

but I defo agree , I do find the coke hatred a bit odd.

Hangdogroad

Anyone remember the Lambo thing? That's going back a bit circa 86/87. I recall our teacher at the time talking about it and calling it for what it was early on. A cheap manufactured publicity stunt on the part of RTE.

branie2

Gerry had a great rapport with kids

MrMusician18

Hard to believe he is 14 years gone