48 Facts About Gay Byrne

1.

Gabriel Mary "Gay" Byrne was an Irish presenter and host of radio and television.

2.

Gay Byrne's time working in Britain with Granada Television saw him become the first person to introduce The Beatles on-screen, and Byrne was later the first to introduce Boyzone on screen in 1993.

3.

In 2010, The Irish Times said Byrne was "unquestionably the most influential radio and television man in the history of the Irish State".

4.

Gay Byrne was approached to run in the 2011 Irish presidential election but declined to run, despite topping early opinion polls.

5.

Gay Byrne was the son of Edward Gay Byrne, who joined the Irish Volunteers in 1912.

6.

In 1913, Edward Gay Byrne enlisted as a professional trooper with the British Army's 19th Hussars cavalry regiment, given a background as a horseman from his father's employment by the Earl of Meath as a coachman in County Wicklow.

7.

Gay Byrne was discharged from the British Army at the war's end in 1919.

8.

Gay Byrne later took part in the Irish War of Independence.

9.

Gay Byrne's siblings were Ray, Al, Ernest and Mary; all but Mary predeceased him.

10.

Gay Byrne was born on 5 August 1934 and grew up in The Liberties in Dublin.

11.

Gay Byrne first lived with his family at 17 Rialto Street, Rialto, Dublin, before his parents moved to 124 South Circular Road, Dublin, in 1944.

12.

Gay Byrne attended Rialto National School and a number of other schools for short periods.

13.

In December 2009, Gay Byrne returned to his old primary school on Synge Street to launch an online children's book club, and read an extract from Marita Conlon-McKenna's storybook In Deep Dark Wood.

14.

When he was young, Gay Byrne was inspired by the broadcaster Eamonn Andrews, who had a successful career on British television, and "wanted to be what he was".

15.

Gay Byrne worked with Granada Television and the BBC in England.

16.

At Granada, Gay Byrne became the first person to introduce the Beatles on television when they made their small-screen debut on local news programme People and Places.

17.

Gay Byrne finally worked exclusively for the new Irish service after 1969.

18.

Gay Byrne introduced many popular programmes, with his most popular and successful programme being The Late Late Show.

19.

Sunday with Gay Byrne attracted 55,000 listeners through "word of mouth": no advertising and no mention in the RTE Guide.

20.

Gay Byrne once commented on the emptiness of RTE at this time of the week:.

21.

Gay Byrne was noted for wearing a "Bing Crosby sweater" when presenting The Late Late Toy Show.

22.

On 21 May 1999, Gay Byrne presented his last edition of The Late Late Show.

23.

Gay Byrne was presented with a Harley-Davidson motorcycle by Bono and Larry Mullen, Jr.

24.

Gay Byrne returned to The Late Late Show as a guest twice during Tubridy's first season as presenter, the latter appearance on the day of Gerry Ryan's death.

25.

Gay Byrne compered the finals of the Castlebar Song Contest in 1966 and 1967.

26.

Gay Byrne presented the Rose of Tralee festival for 17 years until 1994.

27.

Between 1989 and 2001, Gay Byrne hosted the RTE People in Need Telethon several times.

28.

Gay Byrne hosted The Gay Byrne Music Show and Make 'Em Laugh, a series about comedy in Ireland, Gaybo's Grumpy Men and Class Reunion.

29.

Gay Byrne launched Joe Duffy's autobiography Just Joe in Harry's Bar in October 2011.

30.

In March 2006, Gay Byrne was appointed as the chairman of the Irish Road Safety Authority, a public body given the task of improving road safety in the Republic of Ireland.

31.

The media advised Gay Byrne, who had enjoyed an avuncular relationship with the public as a performer over many decades, against such a move.

32.

On 13 August 2011, Gay Byrne announced that he would not be a candidate for the Presidency.

33.

Gay Byrne performed a one-man show in front of a sold-out audience at the Gate Theatre on 18 September 2011.

34.

Gay Byrne was married to Kathleen Watkins, formerly a well-known harpist.

35.

Gay Byrne first met Watkins, a native of Saggart, County Dublin, in 1957.

36.

The Gay Byrne family lived on Howth Head in Dublin and in later years in Sandymount in Dublin.

37.

Gay Byrne relied on an accountant friend, Russell Murphy, to manage his finances, and was personally distraught when upon the accountant's death in 1986, it was found that most of his savings had been squandered, and this had been hidden from him.

38.

Gay Byrne continued to play jazz recordings on the radio during his "retirement".

39.

In later years, Gay Byrne revealed he had hearing loss in one ear.

40.

Gay Byrne thought originally that it was due to working in the television and radio industry for over 50 years that caused his hearing loss, but later found out it was genetic as his mother, his sister and three brothers all had hearing problems.

41.

In 2011, Gay Byrne experienced a health scare at his home in Sandymount when he struggled to breathe.

42.

Gay Byrne was admitted to St Vincent's hospital complaining his lungs felt as if they were "made of concrete" and there was "nothing going in" and that he expected to die.

43.

Gay Byrne told listeners he would be taking a one-week break before returning to work.

44.

Gay Byrne died on 4 November 2019 at his home in Howth, aged 85, after a 3-year battle with prostate cancer.

45.

Gay Byrne's funeral took place on 8 November 2019 at St Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Dublin and was shown live on RTE; several thousand fans lined the route of his cortege from his home in Howth to the Church with thousands more gathering outside the church.

46.

Gay Byrne's coffin was carried by family and friends, including his eldest grandson, Cian.

47.

Gay Byrne was laid to rest, privately at Saint Fintans Cemetery, Sutton.

48.

Alongside Terry Wogan, Gay Byrne was one of two Irish broadcast giants, but he was described as solely "the most famous Irish broadcaster in history", and he was lauded by the media as "the man who changed Ireland".