Irish broadcaster Gerry Ryan died on 30 April 2010, aged 53. He had been presenting The Gerry Ryan Show since 1988 and at the time of his death had the largest audience on RTÉ 2fm. Ryan also hosted several television series, including Secrets, Gerry Ryan Tonight, Ryantown, Gerry Ryan's Hitlist and Operation Transformation and Ryan Confidential, as well as one edition of The Late Late Show in 2008. He co-presented the Eurovision Song Contest 1994 with Cynthia Ní Mhurchú. He died at his Upper Leeson Street apartment in Dublin, with his body found by his partner Melanie Verwoerd. The broadcaster had split from his wife Morah in 2008; the couple had five children together.

Ryan's death provoked tributes from politicians, colleagues and ordinary people alike, culminating in a mass outpouring of public and private sympathy as thousands of people queued over several days to sign books of condolence at RTÉ's radio centre and at the Mansion House. The media and psychotherapists compared this to public reaction following the death of Michael Jackson. His death was spoken in terms such as "practically br[inging] Ireland to a standstill", having "a seismic effect on Irish society" and having "shocked the Irish nation". The Irish Times reported that its website had the biggest traffic spike since its launch, following Ryan's death. Google said it was the most searched story of the year in the country.

It subsequently emerged, following an inquest in December 2010, that the broadcaster was a heavy alcohol drinker and cocaine user, and that cocaine was a contributory factor in his death. This led to comparisons, including from broadcaster Marian Finucane and drugs minister Pat Carey, with the 2007 death of model Katy French. According to journalist Kevin Myers, Ryan's usage of cocaine surprised many of those who mourned his sudden death and, he said, this realisation of double standards has upset much of the public. RTÉ admitted that it had censored coverage of Ryan's cocaine habit.

A media debate on the ethics of both journalism and Twitter, through which many people discovered Ryan had died, ensued after his death. The manner in which some RTÉ personalities reported the death led to RTÉ bringing in new rules on how its stars should use Twitter. Ryan's funeral on 6 May 2010 was broadcast live online and to his listeners on RTÉ 2fm, marking the first time in its history that the predominantly musical station aired a Mass. The ceremony included performances from both U2 and Westlife. Ryan was buried privately at Dardistown Cemetery in Cloghran. Several posthumous lifetime achievement awards have since been collected by the Ryan family on behalf of Gerry.

Death On the night prior to his death Ryan telephoned his radio producer, Alice O'Sullivan, to tell her he would not be able to broadcast The Gerry Ryan Show the following morning. He said he was "feeling drained" but insisted that he did not require a doctor.

On the morning of his death Ryan did not present his radio show. Fiona Looney presented instead, making the ironic comment to Colm Hayes when asked if she was ready: "Not really because I got a call at ten to seven this morning, and I always presume somebody's died... and then I presumed Gerry had died because the phone call was from his producer. But he isn't totally dead, he's hanging on". Meanwhile, musician Jerry Fish travelled to Dublin from his County Carlow home to rehearse the song "All the Time in the World" which he and Ryan were scheduled to perform at the National Concert Hall on 5 May as part of a Mooney special. He noticed Ryan's absence and Looney's presence on the radio show and was concerned at his inability to contact the former.

Ryan's girlfriend, Melanie Verwoerd, also noticed his absence from the radio and found herself unable to get through to him via telephone. She went to his flat in Leeson Street Upper, Dublin 4, arriving at 12:30 to break and enter with the assistance of a builder located nearby. They found Ryan dead on the bedroom floor of his Leeson Street flat. There was no visible indication that a crime had been committed or that Ryan had deliberately killed himself. Emergency services were called and the flat was sealed off as the media gathered outside. A doctor entered the flat at approximately 15:00 and spent 20 minutes inside before leaving, with Ryan's body being taken away at a later stage.

RTÉ delayed announcing the death until Ryan's family were told. The death was already being discussed on Twitter and had been announced on Newstalk. Rumours about Ryan's death spread online, though the news remained unconfirmed for a time. Rick O'Shea posted several Twitter messages, including "Am attempting to verify the Gerry Ryan story doing the rounds... Calm heads lads...", followed by "Can anyone tell me where the Gerry Ryan story is coming from?" then, finally, "Jesus". Miriam O'Callaghan tweeted the previous hour — "Tragically it is true. So terribly shocking and sad. Life is just too cruel sometimes. RIP." — before deleting it but not before TV3 picked up on it for their News@5:30 bulletin. They also noted a message from Today FM's Ian Dempsey, formerly a colleague of Ryan at RTÉ 2fm, which stated: "Gerry Ryan RIP – shocking news just breaking – a big loss to radio and Ireland". An online war was also breaking out during the afternoon between rival journalists, including Matt Cooper, Frank Fitzgibbon and Adrian Weckler. Rival radio station Dublin's 98 placed a video on YouTube of Ryan's corpse being taken from his apartment and driven away in an ambulance.

The Ryan family issued the following statement through RTÉ: "Gerry Ryan died today. Morah and his children are in complete shock. Please respect their privacy at this time". RTÉ informed Fish that Ryan had died, with the musician promising to perform the song anyway as a tribute.

Response

Politicians Ryan's death attracted tributes from politicians, including the President and several taoisigh. Mary McAleese said Ryan "was an extraordinarily talented broadcaster whose unique communication skills and larger than life persona entertained and enlivened a national audience over many years. His untimely death will be widely mourned, by his colleagues at RTÉ and his many fans, but most especially by his family and friends who are in my thoughts and prayers". Taoiseach Brian Cowen issued a statement saying he was "deeply saddened" at the death of an "informed and intelligent, forthright and articulate" broadcaster, that "Gerry was a household name and a broadcaster of immense talent and popularity", and describing Ryan as "one of the greats of modern Irish broadcasting on radio and television".

Minister for Culture Mary Hanafin said Ryan had "stretched and extended boundaries of radio broadcasting in Ireland" with his "legendary" existence and "comfortable personal style with interviewees". She later queued with members of the public to sign her name in a book of condolence at RTÉ's radio centre. Green Party leader and Minister for the Environment John Gormley paid tribute. "Gerry's ability as a broadcaster to take both the serious and light hearted stories was second to none. His good humour concealed a keen intellect and a commitment to straight journalism – he was a fair and accurate commentator". Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan was "very saddened".

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny spoke of his "deep shock and regret" and "recognise[d] the enormous contribution Gerry Ryan has made to broadcasting in Ireland and to the development of Irish society as a whole over the last 25 years". Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern expressed his regret at the loss of "a giant of Irish broadcasting". There were other tributes from the Labour Party communications spokesman Liz McManus, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, Seán Haughey and Lord Mayor of Dublin Emer Costello.

Media

International media across several continents reported on Ryan's death, including BBC News, The Boston Globe, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, Herald Sun, The New Zealand Herald, Sky News, Thaindian News, The Times of Malta, The Vancouver Sun and The Washington Post among others.

Many of Ryan's RTÉ colleagues "struggled to hold back their tears on air" as they learned of his sudden death.

Gay Byrne, describing Ryan's death as a "terribly frightening thing", said he would remember the broadcaster as being "full of fun and hilarity and pure bloody devilment". Larry Gogan described Ryan as "the rock of 2fm" on Drivetime. Dave Fanning said that Ryan "revolutionised broadcasting in Ireland would be a very small way of putting it". Liveline presenter Joe Duffy was reported by The Irish Times to have "choked back tears live on air" on the afternoon of Ryan's death.

UK broadcaster Chris Evans said Ryan was "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". The presenter had written about Ryan in his autobiography after being converted to him whilst in Killarney and was inspired to return to radio. Evans expressed his gratitude on Eamon Dunphy's Newstalk radio show.

The Independent Broadcasters of Ireland said "A great voice has been lost to Irish radio and the entire industry is deeply saddened to lose one of Ireland's most professional broadcasters".

On RTÉ Radio 1, The Marian Finucane Shows presenter opened her Saturday radio show by reminiscing on how Ryan used to discuss the morning newspapers. Today with Pat Kenny opened the following Monday with the presenter describing "an ache at the heart of everything we do" and expressing his "happ[iness] for my part to canonise him in the hierarchy of broadcasting greats".

Quentin Fottrell, radio reviewer with The Irish Times, said "The tributes on all radio stations to Gerry Ryan were a testament to his 20-plus years presenting the morning show on RTÉ 2FM and the powerful presence this most unassuming of mediums has in the lives of ordinary people. Whether or not you knew him personally or were a regular listener, it was difficult not be moved by the thousands of messages".

RTÉ delayed the launch of their new season schedule by 24 hours as it clashed with the date of Ryan's funeral. Among the changes was the axing of long-running holiday programme No Frontiers, which presenter Kathryn Thomas knew about for several days but did not speak of in public.

Hot Press featured Ryan on the cover of the issue published after his death.

The Late Late Show

The Late Late Show was due to be broadcast on RTÉ One on the night of Ryan's death, a Friday. A tribute sequence was arranged between the news breaking of Ryan's death and the programme's broadcast. Presenter Ryan Tubridy expressed his grief on air by saying the "country has lost a great broadcaster and I have lost a great friend" and compared the RTÉ radio centre to "Hamlet without the prince". Tributes on the show came from, among others, Gay Byrne, Pat Kenny, Joe Duffy, Dave Fanning, Brenda Donohue and David Blake Knox. Kenny expressed his belief that Ryan "with Mr Wogan and Mr Byrne, you are the holy trinity as far as I'm concerned". Duffy wondered about a comment Ryan had made during an interview with Heather Mills which had been broadcast the night before, in which he had said he had "two artic truckloads full of regrets".

The tribute led to The Late Late Shows highest audience ratings of 2010.

Grease actress Stockard Channing, a guest on that night's edition of The Late Late Show, spoke of feeling like she had interrupted "a stranger's funeral" as audience members were still in tears when she arrived. Channing alleged that no death in her native United States would receive such an emotional reaction.

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