Irish Legend Gay Byrne Dies Aged 85
 

Probably our most well known/loved TV Presenter :love: No one ever did the Late Late Show(the original late late show :p ) Justice after he retired :'(

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The death has been announced of RTÉ broadcaster Gay Byrne.

He was 85 and had been ill for some time.

In a statement, his family said: "It is with sadness that Kathleen, Crona and Suzy wish to announce that their beloved Gay has died peacefully at home today, surrounded by his family.

"We wish to thank everybody for their love and support during Gay's illness. Particularly the wonderful teams in the Mater Hospital, St Francis Hospice and the Irish Cancer Society".

After first airing in 1962, The Late Late Show went on to become one of the world's longest running chat shows thanks to Byrne's relaxed but knowledgeable presentation style.

This allowed him to combine light entertainment with serious current affairs discussions and matters of human interest.

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2019...580-gay-byrne/

aw Gaybo, to quote Louis Walsh, I grew up watching him :sad:

RIP

I'll never forget this one show where they were giving away a prize at the end of the show and he would phone the person whose name he pulled out of the box. So he dials the number and asks to speak to the woman named on his card and the woman who answers is like "Is this some sort of a joke?" and she's getting a bit upset/annoyed and Gay is wondering wtf is wrong with her and it turned out that the woman named on the card was the lady who answered the phones daughter and she'd been hit by a car on her bike and killed a few days earlier :skull: this was all going on on live TV but he handled the whole thing so well. Couldn't imagine Ryan Tubridy doing that :nono:

I remember that Channel 4 used to show his show here, after Countdown.

OMG horrendous, he was a consummate professional and a gentleman

He always came across as a very caring gentle soul R.I.P Gay

Nice man on tv..I thought he would be much older though.

Can someone pm me when it's acceptable to make a joke about his name please.

RIP

...awww... he was a good age, but cancer is the cruellest and has no respect for anyone...so many people will hold him in their hearts and thoughts forever with great love and affection...and that’s all any of us can hope for in our lives...Gay :lovedup:...

...I was just reading The Guardian article and tribute to him...and they related this story from 1966...

‘During a quiz item for married couples in 1966 Byrne asked a contestant what colour nightie she had worn on the night of her honeymoon. She hadn’t worn any, she replied.

The bishop of Clonfert, Thomas Ryan, protested in what became known as as the “bishop and the nightie” incident, splitting the country into those who were scandalised and those who roared laughing.’


...also from the article...

“Through his work in radio and on television he challenged Irish society, and shone a light not only on the bright but also the dark sides of Irish life,” said the president, Michael D Higgins. “In doing so, he became one of the most familiar and distinctive voices of our times, helping shape our conscience, our self-image, and our idea of who we might be.”

Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach, said: “The story of his remarkable contribution to Irish life is the story of how we changed and evolved as a society over the past 60 years. A consummate entertainer, he also provided a voice for all those who had been silenced or were afraid to speak up, and he forced us to confront things that needed to be challenged in our society.”


...a very loved and much respected man...:love:...