A 2008 promotion on The Gerry Ryan Show, "Aero Hunt For the Hunk" (30 September 2008), led to this Ryan jest. Colm & Jim-Jim's response: "I hope this doesn't stick!". [2] The catchphrase "You pick and we'll prick" was then adopted in reference to contestants picking a numbered balloon for the breakfast hosts to burst to see if it contained a prize. [3]
The Gerry Ryan Show (often referred to as The Ryan Show, The G. Ryan Show[4] or GRS) was RTÉ 2fm's mid-morning radio show. Presented by Gerry Ryan until hours before his sudden death, it was launched in March 1988[5] and ran from nine until midday on weekday mornings.
Described by the BBC as "a de facto forum for the nation, the radio equivalent of The Late Late Show on RTÉ television",[6] the show, in its later years, popularised the satire of Nob Nation, spawned the cross-media event Operation Transformation and provided a launchpad for the career of Ryan Tubridy. Siobhan Hough was resident producer of the show.[1]
Sponsorship
At the time of his death Ryan had the largest audience on RTÉ 2fm.[7][8] He presented the station's only show which was regularly among the top twenty Irish radio shows in Ireland, a show which commanded around €4-5 million for RTÉ per annum, mainly through advertising (one thirty-second advertisement during the show cost €900).[8] This meant RTÉ would have earned €27,000 through advertising per day.[9]
In March 2008 RTÉ's difficulties in securing a sponsor for a number of their radio shows was placed under the spotlight. The Gerry Ryan Show was one of the shows given away for cheaper than the normal rates.[10]
Format
The show consisted of topical interviews and phone-ins via the "Ryan Line".[11][12] Ryan began by discussing the headlines of that morning's newspapers. Following the news update at 10:00, he introduced that morning's Nob Nation, a satirical slot which featured impersonations of politicians and RTÉ media personnel comparable to rival station Today FM's Gift Grub. GRS was preceded by the ever-changing breakfast slot,[13] currently occupied by The Colm & Jim-Jim Breakfast Show. Stand-in presenters included Gareth O'Callaghan,[citation needed]Rick O'Shea, Jenny Huston, Avril Hoare[14] and even axed breakfast host, Marty Whelan.[15] There were also contributions from Evelyn O'Rourke, Brenda Donohue, Valerie Sweeney,[16]Fiona Looney (weekly) and Jenny Huston. Looney and Ryan's fondness for one another led to Looney being dubbed Ryan's "on-air wife".[17]
Willie O'Reilly was the show's executive producer until June 1999, and was chief executive of Today FM at Ryan's death.[18]
History
1988–1994
Ryan found the time period around the start of GRS exciting - "the whole machine shook... it was like the space-shuttle engines starting up". The defining moment of the show came in 1993. When Levinia Kerwick was raped and her rapist was convicted but given a suspended sentence, she rang GRS to air her feelings.[19] For the first time it occurred to Ryan that the story was more important than the question. Following this, The Ryan Show became something of a national institution as the oldest show still running on 2fm.
1995–2000
In 1997, Ryan's wife Morah, from whom he later separated,[20][21] phoned her husband's show and, under the name Norah, told half a million listeners that her husband dumps his underpants on the floor before hopping into bed every night, doesn't put his clothes on hangers, had not cleaned the dog's mess from the back yard for weeks and never puts the rubbish out for the dustbin men. When she was done she asked her husband: "You would do that now, wouldn't you Gerry?" The interview was nearing its finish when he realised what was happening after hearing his crew laughing in the Montrose control room. An embarrassed Ryan informed his listeners: "This is my wife talking".[22]
"Wouldn't it be great to see Mary Harney with no clothes, running around getting a whip and being put on a bus!"
Ryan attempts to explain to an irate caller, who is upset at the withdrawal of cervical vaccinations for schoolchildren, how ridiculous the proposition of government ministers giving up their state cars would be. He was adamant that such expenses were not to blame for the current recession that grips the Irish nation.[23]
In November 1999, RTÉ broadcaster Paddy O'Gorman "outraged the medical establishment" after an appearance on The Gerry Ryan Show to discuss World AIDS Day when he said that AIDS was not a heterosexual disease, but exclusively a gay one.[24]
2001–2007
Broadcaster Ryan Tubridy began his career with The Gerry Ryan Show, working as a teaboy before obtaining his own breakfast show, The Full Irish, a programme which Gerry Ryan once claimed was "the most exciting broadcast at that hour of the morning since Ian Dempsey started on Today FM". Ryan has since stated his belief that it was "a giant act of folly" for Ryan Tubridy to move to RTÉ Radio 1. Ryan viewed Tubridy as "kind of like a son" whom he used to (and still does) lecture frequently. He said he begged him "on bended knees" and "over whiskey" to stay with 2fm but at the same time Ryan was impressed that Tubridy was willing to compete with him directly.[19]
Tubridy has credited Ryan with being "one of the few gentlemen in [RTÉ]", saying he had been "very kind to me when I started out in RTÉ making tea and coffee and right all the way up to the very day I got The Late Late Show job".[25]
In 2004, Ryan was the subject of controversy when he cancelled an interview with the Taoiseach of the time, Bertie Ahern. Ahern had agreed to appear on The Gerry Ryan Show after the delivery of that year's government budget but moments before he set off for RTÉ's Donnybrook headquarters, the show's producers rang his office and informed aides that they no longer wished to interview him. Associates of the Taoiseach were said to be "fuming" over the affair, saying "you can't just ask for an interview with the most powerful man in the country and then ditch him as if he was some stand-in celebrity."[26] Ahern was replaced by RTÉ's economics reporter George Lee.
2008–2010
A complaint against a July 2008 programme which featured an author reading about life as a homosexual prostitute was upheld by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission.[27]
On 12 September 2008, Ryan invited listeners to text in their reasons for loving Ireland in an attempt to dispel all the bad-weathered, financially troubling and futuristically worrying news that was dominating the headlines at the time. 50 of these reasons were later published on the show's website. These included the scenery, Guinness, potatoes, the seas and coastline, whiskey, Barry's and Lyon's tea, Kimberley and Mikado biscuits, the smell of turf, red hair, homemade brown bread, oysters, Baileys coffee, hurling, Irish comedians, Irish history, the River Shannon, Podge and Rodge, Irish literature, bacon and cabbage, Irish stew and the GAA.[28] Some of the choices had connections to the show such as the show itself, Riverdance (first introduced to the world by the presenter) and, although not the case at the time, The Late Late Show, which Ryan presented the following month.[29][30]
Despite repeated reshuffles which have seen all other presenters shifted around, RTÉ never moved The Ryan Show from its traditional slot.[31] After a brief period of decline in his audience, all of the recent JNLR figures showed a consistent and significant increase in his listenership - with his audience growing by almost 15% in the course of the past year (The Irish Times, 16 May 2008). The Green Day single "Know Your Enemy" received its first play on Irish radio on The Gerry Ryan Show on 16 April 2009.[32]
". . .the nation seemed to go into collective shock when the biggest snow fall in 40 years hit this country", read Ryan from a report of the chaos caused. "Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald even cut short his sun holiday in the Canary Islands as the country came to a standstill. The snow was up to 1.5 meters deep in some areas and temperatures dropped as low as minus 7 degrees. Gale force easterly winds caused electricity to be knocked out in many areas and businesses and schools closed all across the country."[12]
Ryan attracted a complaint for using "coarse language" whilst debating on blasphemy on 29 April 2009. The presenter asked: "Would it be considered blasphemous if someone said on air that 'God is a bollocks?'" but the complaint was later rejected.[33]
A 45-year-old caller from Dublin gave an interview in November 2009 about urges he had to stalk, rape and murder women, including air hostesses at Dublin Airport. The interview led to a garda investigation.[34]
His death on 30 April 2010 brought about the end of The Gerry Ryan Show. Fiona Looney presented the show that day prior to the discovery of his corpse in his Leeson Street apartment.[35][36] Two tribute shows were presented by Evelyn O'Rourke and Brenda Donohue on 1 May and 4 May.[37][38][39][40]Ruth Scott presented the three-hour slot from 5 May until 7 May, described by RTÉ as "an appropriate music programme".[40]The Colm and Lucy Show then began for one month on 10 May.[41][42]
The final JNLR figures for The Gerry Ryan Show, released less than a month after Ryan's death, showed the radio programme was Ireland's most listened to among the 20-44 market at this time.[43] This led to Siobhan O'Connell, writing in The Irish Times's financial section, to call any new show in that slot "the biggest prize right now in radio".[44]
The now cross-media event Operation Transformation originated on The Gerry Ryan Show.[45]
Undercurrents
In 2010, Ryan launched Undercurrents, a Friday slot airing unsigned unplaylisted Irish acts who then had their details published on his website.[46] The Irish Independent's John Meagher disagreed that this was typical of RTÉ 2fm and Gerry Ryan.[47]
A spin-off show of the demoed songs premiered on RTÉ 2XM on 5 March 2010, presented by GRS researcher John Bela Reilly.[48]
Following Ryan's untimely death on 30 April 2010, Meagher hoped Undercurrents would be continued by his replacement as "it was a most worthwhile initiative to help young bands garner significant airplay".[49]
Related Research Articles
Ryan Tubridy is an Irish broadcaster. His broadcasting career with RTÉ spanned over two decades, where he presented shows on radio and television, most notably The Late Late Show on RTÉ One from 2009 to 2023. Other shows he presented include RTÉ 2fm's The Full Irish (2004–2009), RTÉ One's Tubridy Tonight (2004–2009), RTÉ Radio One's The Tubridy Show (2005–2010) and The Ryan Tubridy Show (2015–2023). He also hosted the Rose of Tralee contest on two occasions and worked for BBC Radio.
RTÉ 2fm, or 2FM as it is more commonly referred to, is an Irish radio station operated by RTÉ. The station specialises in current popular music and chart hits and is the second national radio station in Ireland.
Gerard Ryan was an Irish presenter of radio and television employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). He presented The Gerry Ryan Show on radio station RTÉ 2fm each weekday morning from 1988 until hours before his sudden death. He was presented with a Jacob's Award for this show in 1990.
Martin "Marty" Whelan is an Irish radio and television personality currently working for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). His early television credits included the game shows Millionaire and Fame and Fortune, and the weekday afternoon show, Open House.
Ian Dempsey is an Irish presenter of television and breakfast radio. He is the long-running presenter of the breakfast show on Today FM, self-titled The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show, which runs from 6-9 am each weekday. He has won several major awards for his programmes and was the Republic of Ireland's tenth most-listened-to broadcaster in 2007.He is the son of Fran Dempsey( best known as Forty Coats on children’s television).
Ryan Confidential is an Irish home-produced television programme which was broadcast on RTÉ One until 2010. It was presented by Gerry Ryan, until his unexpected death at the age of 53 on 30 April 2010. The programme was created by the producer David Blake Knox.
Lucy Kennedy is an Irish television and radio presenter.
Nob Nation is the title of a series of topical comedy pieces broadcast since November 2006 on two national radio stations in Ireland, RTÉ 2fm and RTÉ Radio 1. The programmes are broadcast Monday through Saturday each week. Nob Nation is written and produced by Oliver Callan.
The Colm & Jim-Jim Breakfast Show was an Irish breakfast radio show, broadcast weekdays on RTÉ 2fm. The show, hosted by Colm Hayes and Jim-Jim Nugent, began broadcasting in March 2007 when the duo moved from rival station FM104.
Operation Transformation is a health and fitness programme airing on RTÉ One in Ireland. The show is a cross-media event broadcast via radio, web and television on RTÉ 2fm, RTÉ.ie and RTÉ One since 2008. Prior to this it had been limited to radio but has since expanded onto the web and television. It is comparable to US television show The Biggest Loser.
Marty in the Morning is RTÉ lyric fm's breakfast show, presented by Marty Whelan.
Oliver Callan is an Irish vocal and performance satirist and impressionist known as the creator of Callan's Kicks, Nob Nation and for frequent appearances on The Saturday Night Show. He rose to fame during the 2000s when his daily Nob Nation slots aired on RTÉ Radio. His Callan's Kicks creation on RTÉ Radio 1 has been described by The Sunday Independent as "the best comedy show the national broadcaster has ever produced".
The Ray D'Arcy Show is the title given to two differing versions of a radio programme hosted by Ray D'Arcy, originally broadcast on Irish commercial radio station Today FM from the late 1990s until 2014 before transferring in February 2015 to the country's national public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann-owned radio station RTÉ Radio 1. The show is broadcast each weekday afternoon.
Evelyn O'Rourke is an Irish broadcaster employed by RTÉ
The Tubridy Show was an Irish talk-based entertainment radio programme presented by Ryan Tubridy. It was broadcast on Mondays to Fridays at 09:00 on RTÉ Radio 1.
The Colm and Lucy Show was an Irish talk radio show broadcast on RTÉ 2fm. It was presented by Colm Hayes and Lucy Kennedy. The Colm and Lucy Show began on 10 May 2010 and was a temporary replacement for The Gerry Ryan Show in the vacant 09:00–12:00 midday slot during weekdays. It was produced by the same producers who worked with Gerry Ryan before his death on 30 April 2010.
Colm Caffrey, known professionally as Colm Hayes, is an Irish radio broadcaster and sometimes television presenter. He formerly presented weekend breakfasts on RTÉ 2fm.
Lottie Ryan is an Irish television and radio presenter with RTÉ, Ireland's public service radio and television broadcaster.
Tubridy was a talk radio show, presented by Ryan Tubridy each weekday morning on RTÉ 2fm, from September 2010 until July 2015. Along with The Colm Hayes Show, which succeeded it on the schedules until 2013, Tubridy was intended as a long-term replacement for its long-running predecessor The Gerry Ryan Show.
Claire Byrne is an Irish radio and television presenter.
↑ Robinson, Stephen (2 March 2000). "Homosexual AIDS A Hoax and a Fraud". Hot Press. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2009. In November of last year, O Gorman guested on The Gerry Ryan Show on RTÉ 2FM, the subject of which was World Aids Day, an event designed to increase awareness of HIV and AIDS issues. In the course of the broadcast, O Gorman claimed that AIDS was not a heterosexual disease, and that barring intravenous drug users and heterosexuals who had contracted the virus through blood product transfusions, the disease was exclusively the province of gay men.
↑ Meagher, John (26 February 2010). "Loaded: Whose choice is right?". Irish Independent. Retrieved 3 March 2010. "This is exactly what RTÉ 2fm is good at doing," Ryan gushes. "It's what we have been doing since the early days of the Dave Fanning Show and we are continuing to do it." Er, well actually, Gerry, 2fm have not been doing it. Just ask any number of bands out there who have struggled to get their music played on RTÉ's so-called "youth" station.
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