Gerry Ryan RIP

I know i Havent blogged in short while but I think today calls for a tribute to one of Irelands most beloved broadcasters.

Yesterday afternoon,a little after lunch time, the news broke over the web that Gerry Ryan had died. At first I thought it was some kind of joke or rumor gone wrong,but as I heard my roomates in my apartment also discovering the news it became apparent that this was no joke.
Gerry Ryan had passed away.
I was in shock and confusion,most like the majority of Ireland when the news started to sink in. It was just so out of the blue, my first immediate thoughts were his family.His children. They had just lost their father, and as they had once called him, their best friend.

Gerry was a very talented man. To be quite honest he has been the voice of Irish Radio for many many years. He pushed the boundaries of broadcasting with questionable topics that other radio presenters were too afraid to cover. He swore,he drank, he laughed, he mocked,he cared.
For many people in Ireland Gerry was the start to their day. He talked as if he was talking to his friends and left no issue off the cards. He poured his heart and soul into his job and even revealed some personal experiences to help feel a bit more closer to the irish public.
Above all Gerry was a friend to everyone.
Anyone who listened to his radio show,could feel that warmth and friendlyness that poured from his voice. Mornings will NEVER be the same without him.

In my family, ever since I was younger,it was always gerrys show that was put on in the mornings. wether it was my mother,my granny or my grandad,someone always had his show playing in our house. Mam never fully liked him, she had once worked in a bar in Dublin and had served Gerry when he was a lot younger, and said she thought he thought of himself as a big shot. But she admitted,from his radio show it sounded like he had changed his attitude since then(marrige,mortgages and children do this according to her!)

My mum wasnt the only one to have had words with gerry in my family. I did aswell :)
Waaaaaaaay back in 2007 when I was in TY and i wasnt afraid to run my mouth. I had rolled outta bed and turned on the radio to hear some woman on gerrys show talking about TY and Work experience, she seemed to strongly believe that work experience MUST be based on what career you want. I thought she was talking crap,as I had just done my W.E and thought how the hell was a 16year old supposed to know what to do with their life?? So I text the station giving my view, 10 minutes later I get a call from RTE asking me would I be willing to speak to Gerry on the show about my view?
Of course I said yes, and within the next 5 minutes I heard a ''helloooo robynn!! good morning to you!''
I was aware I was on national radio at that moment so tried to keep cool, so I explained to Gerry how I Felt about TY,work Experience and how I didnt think it was fair that Teenagers are expected to know what they want to be at such a young age.
Gerry was lovely,and asked all the right questions and laughed here and there when I said something teenagery. But he asked what I wanted to be and where I wanted to go to college and what will I be doing for the rest of TY. It was quite bizzare,I felt like i really was talking to a friend on the phone,completely forgetting that half the nation were tuned in.
Anyone else whose ever been on his show will say the exact same thing.
We finished up our converssation with gerry wishing my the best of luck in future,and telling me he had no doubt I would get on well in life, no matter what path I chose, Which was nice for an adult to tell a naive,mouthy 16 year old.
Gerry seemed to like me( or find me highly opinionated)as my convo with him ended up in his Saturday picks where he re-ran the best bits of the week. Cheers Gerry.

So now the big guy at RTE is no longer with us. Irish Radio is going to change, but no one will ever be able to fill gerrys shoes.Its a sad fact that we wont hear that cheery,comforting voice in the mornings anymore.If I were you id go listen to a few of his shows,just for fun,even If u never listened to him that much give it a shot and then you'll know what im talking about when I say that Ireland has lost a dear friend.

RIP xoxoxoxo