Veteran RTÉ presenter Gay Byrne has died aged 85.
The star passed away at home earlier today, surrounded by his loving family after a short illness.
Broadcaster Joe Duffy made the heartbreaking announcement on his RTÉ Radio One show this afternoon.
Tributes for the legendary presenter have been pouring in from colleagues and friends.
RTÉ Director-General, Dee Forbes, has paid tribute to the journalist: “We are all greatly saddened by the passing of Gay Byrne who has been a household name in this country for so many years.”
“Gay was an exceptional broadcaster whose unique and ground-breaking style contributed so much to the development of radio and television in this country.”
“Gay’s journalistic legacy is as colossal as the man himself – he not only defined generations, but he deftly arbitrated the growth and development of a nation. Ireland grew up under Gay Byrne, and we will never see his like again. My deepest sympathies to Kathleen and his family.”
The current host of The Late Late Show, Ryan Tubridy has also paid tribute to his friend and mentor, describing him as a “once-off” which we “will never see again.”
“It is with enormous and profound sadness that I heard of the passing of my friend and mentor, Gay Byrne. He was the master, a once-off and the likes of which we will never see again.”
“I watched him as a child, worked alongside him as a young man and he guided me as I grew older and I will forever be indebted to him. We in RTÉ have lost a friend, a family have lost a father and a husband and the country has lost an icon. May he rest in peace.”
Gay Byrne was the first presenter of RTÉ’s hit chat show, The Late Late Show.
Across his long-standing career, the icon hosted The Gay Byrne Show on radio, as well as The Rose of Tralee, and his groundbreaking show The Meaning of Life with Gay Byrne.
The presenter hosted his final radio show for Radio One in June 1998, and his final Late Late Show the following summer in 1999.
He was diagnosed with cancer in 2017.
