Kenny: 'Gerry Ryan, I'm really going to miss you'
Pat Kenny opened his radio show this morning with a heartfelt tribute to his friend and colleague Gerry Ryan.
"There is an ache at the heart of everything we do (in RTE)," he said, adding that Ryan was "a true original…deeply perceptive and intelligent".
Kenny ended the tribute with: "Gerry Ryan, I'm really going to miss you."
A book of condolence will be opened today for the Ryan family.
The 53-year-old was found dead on the floor of his bedroom on Friday in the Dublin flat he moved into after separating from his wife Morah.
A post-mortem examination is expected to be carried out tomorrow to establish the cause of the father of five’s death, which gardaí are not treating as suspicious.
Tributes have poured in for Ryan from political leaders, friends and former colleagues.
A book of condolence has been set up at the official residence of Lord Mayor of Dublin Emer Costello for fans to pay their respects to the outspoken DJ.
“There’s such a public grief and such a public outpouring of emotion in relation to his death,” Ms Costello said. “So many people are just in shock. He was part of the fabric of the nation.”
The lord mayor said her heart went out to Mr Ryan’s family and his partner, Melanie Verwoerd.
“People want to pay tribute and say farewell to one of the greatest broadcasters,” she added. “He really did such a huge service for the country.”
Several thousand people signed books of condolence this weekend at the capital’s RTE Radio studios, including Tourism Minister Mary Hanafin and former taoiseach Albert Reynolds.
More than 40,000 people have also visited a page set up in his memory on the social networking website Facebook.
U2 frontman Bono described Ryan as Ireland’s weathervane.
“I don’t know how the country can fill this hole that’s left,” the rock star said. “Any room was brighter when he was in it.”
Funeral arrangements are yet to be finalised for the presenter, who announced the separation from his wife in March 2008 after 26 years of marriage.
Ryan’s heartbroken family appealed for privacy and said they were in “complete shock” over his death.
The often controversial DJ was given his eponymous popular chat show on 2FM in 1988.
With his irreverent, iconoclastic and often brash style, he went on to become a household name, attracting a daily audience of more than 300,000 listeners.
Ryan has also hosted several television series including Secrets, Ryantown, Gerry Ryan Tonight, Gerry Ryan’s Hitlist, Ryan Confidential and Operation Transformation.
The book of condolence will open from midday at the Mansion House until Wednesday.
