Gerard Ryan (4 June 1956 – 30 April 2010) 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.

[3] In 1997, Morah famously telephoned her husband's show and, under the name Norah, told half a million listeners intimate details concerning his personal household habits.

Ryan said they dressed as if they were in a band and behaved as such as well, booking into "awful hotels", drinking heavily and staying out late in "dodgy nightclubs".

They were good friends; Fanning was "a kind of hyperactive, Southside rock guru" and Cagney was "this obsessive, meticulous Corkman who would annotate every single millisecond of what he played on-air".

In 1987, Ryan and a group of volunteers spent time in the countryside of Connemara as part of The Gay Byrne Show.

[10] Ryan claimed to have killed and eaten a lamb to survive, earning him the nickname "Lambo", though the story turned out to be a hoax.

[13] The Gerry Ryan Show was subject to several upheld complaints to the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI),[14][15][16] although once escaped punishment when he said "Would it be considered blasphemous if someone said on air that 'God is a bollocks?'".

[17] Ryan was noted for the enjoyment he took in discussing topics such as sex, bodily functions, and food – as well as current social and political issues.

[18] Disgraced former PR guru Max Clifford claimed, after Ryan's death, he could have, like Graham Norton and Terry Wogan, had a successful broadcasting career in the UK and said he was similar to "Michael Parkinson at his best".

Following the news update at 10:00, Ryan would introduce 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.

[25] In 1997, Ryan's wife Morah, from whom he later separated, telephoned 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.

[26] In 2004, Ryan caused uproar when he cancelled an interview with the Taoiseach of the time, Bertie Ahern at very short notice.

[29] Producer Kevin Linehan, was removed from the show to work on the Millstreet Eurovision and asked Ryan to co-present the event with Fionnuala Sweeney.

[30] He did, however, co-present the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest alongside Cynthia Ní Mhurchú where he had the honour of introducing Riverdance as the interval act.

He described Ryantown as "the worst television experience I've ever had in my entire life", with producer Julie Parsons (who had previously worked on The Gay Byrne Hour) nearly having a nervous breakdown, according to Ryan.

Ryan describes it as "no less traumatic" as it nearly cost him his close personal friendship with the producer Ferdia McAnna.

Reports that Ryan was to be made producer as well as presenter and given a deal worth £500,000 – higher earnings than Byrne received –[33] proved unfounded when Pat Kenny took over the role in 1999.

[35][36] In positive notices unusual as per his television career, Ryan received praise for his guest role, even coping well with the traditionally difficult comedian Tommy Tiernan whose appearances on the show with Kenny led to complaints.

[37] The Evening Herald reported that when Tonight with Craig Doyle finished, Ryan was set to present a chat show in autumn 2010.

[43] Ryan said that just before this he came very close to signing a deal with Denis O'Brien to present a daytime programme on Newstalk which was about to go national.

[44] On 10 March 2009 he gave a lengthy speech on his radio show, at the end of which he declared he would agree to break his existing contract with RTÉ, and take a pay cut.

[55] Ryan spent several days on a drip in hospital in 2006 due to dehydration after contracting the winter vomiting bug.

[60] Shortly after midday on 30 April 2010, Ryan was found dead in the bedroom of his home on Leeson Street, Dublin.

[69] His funeral took place on 6 May, and was broadcast on 2fm, the home of Ryan's radio show and a first for the predominantly youthpop-oriented station.