Ryan's 'unconstrained spirit' honoured

Veteran broadcaster Gay Byrne has described Gerry Ryan as an “unconstrained spirit” who lived life to the full.

Byrne said the news of his former colleague's sudden death was a “terribly frightening thing” for everybody.

He described Ryan as a “terrific friend, a terrific drinker and a terrific guy to be with”. He was also someone who was highly intelligent and well-read.

He said he was a great broadcaster who was not afraid to take on issues. “He was tremendously arrogant in his views and opinions and he was very funny about it at the same time. You couldn’t possibly take offence,” Byrne said.

“He lived live to the full, he was full of fun and hilarity and pure bloody devilment and that is how I will remember him.”

He was generous in spirit and a “terrific daddy to his kids”, Byrne added.

Fellow RTE broadcaster Joe Duffy choked back tears live on air this afternoon as he recalled the “bold schoolboy” he first met in 1979 at Trinity College Dublin.

“He was the best company you could ever have. He was bold in every sense of the meaning of that word. He was brave in his broadcasting, he was brave in his life, he lived his life to the full,” Duffy said.

“He was bold in the sense of being cheeky, bold in the sense of being arrogant, bold in the sense that you loved hanging around with the bold schoolboy in your class.”

Duffy said his friend was the best company anyone could have, was insightful, very intelligent, extraordinarily generous and a great mimic.

RTÉ's Dave Fanning said Ryan was the funniest man he had ever met. “Within two months of going on air in the day time, he was the biggest thing in Irish broadcasting,” he said. “He took to it like a duck to water and more importantly the listeners took to him like a duck to water and to say he revolutionised broadcasting in Ireland would be a very small way of putting it.”

Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, long-time colleague Larry Gogan described Ryan as "the rock of 2fm".

British broadcaster Chris Evans, who credited Ryan with saving his radio career, described him as “absolutely one of the best broadcasters in the world. Fabulous, fabulous communicator. Very sad to hear he has left us. He really was the cream of our radio crop.”

On tonight's Late Late Show Ryan Tubridy said the "country has lost a great broadcaster and I have lost a great friend".

The show included a number of guests including Gay Byrne, Pat Kenny, Joe Duffy, Dave Fanning and Brenda Donohue paying tribute to Ryan.