THE WORLD of Irish broadcasting has been stunned by the sudden death of Gerry Ryan, one of Ireland’s most controversial and successful broadcasters.
Mr Ryan (53) called in sick on Thursday night to say he was feeling drained and would not be hosting his 2FM morning show, but told colleagues not to worry and that he would not be needing a doctor.
The popular broadcaster’s body was discovered in his apartment in Leeson Street Upper at around 12.30pm yesterday by his partner Melanie Verwoerd, who was alarmed when he was not at work and was not answering his phone.
She called to his apartment and with the help of a builder working nearby managed to break the lock on the hall door of the apartment and gain access at 12.30pm.
Garda sources said Mr Ryan was found on the floor of his bedroom beside his bed. There were no visible injuries on his body and no signs of a break-in or any disturbance at the apartment. The exact cause of death will not be established until after a postmortem is carried out.
His death has shocked his fans and RTÉ colleagues, many of whom struggled to hold back their tears on air yesterday.
RTÉ director general Cathal Goan said it was a “moment of inexpressible grief” for the broadcaster. Mr Ryan had been a fixture at RTÉ for nearly all his career and his 2FM Gerry Ryan Show, with more than 300,000 listeners every morning, made him the “rock” of the station, according to colleague Larry Gogan.
An emotional Joe Duffy described Mr Ryan as the “boldest broadcaster in every sense of that word”. Gay Byrne described him as an “unconstrained spirit”.
Mr Ryan was separated from his wife Morah, with whom he had five children. A brief statement from the family said they were in “complete shock”.
Brightest light on the airwaves is extinguished too soon: page 9