Gay Byrne

This article is about the Irish television presenter. See Gabriel Byrne for the Irish actor.

Gay Byrne

Gabriel Mary Byrne, known as Gay Byrne and nicknamed Gaybo (born 5 August, 1934) is an Irish broadcaster. He was the presenter of the Late Late Show, the world's longest running chat show, from 1962 to 1968 and from 1969 until 1999.RTÉ press office. His regular morning radio show is credited with breaking many Irish social taboos, such as bringing topics like abortion into the public domain. Few would disagree that for many years he has been a legendary figure among the Irish people and he has been referred to as "the most famous man in Ireland". He also hosted the Irish version of Who wants to be a millionaire? from 2001-2002.

Gay Byrne was born in Dublin. After being educated by the Irish Christian Brothers at the Synge Street CBS he insisted on attending Trinity College, Dublin, which Roman Catholics in Ireland could not attend without a bishop's dispensation, and most did not bother to try to get one from Archbishop McQuaid. Byrne, however, persevered, and got one with the proviso that he not join any of the University's clubs. He later entered the world of insurance.

In 1958 he moved to broadcasting when he became a presenter on Radio Éireann. He also worked with Granada Television and the BBC in England. While at Granada, he introduced The Beatles on their very first tv appeaarance.

In 1961 Telefís Éireann (later RTÉ) was set up. He finally worked exclusively for the new Irish service. He introduced many popular programmes such as Jackpot, Film Night and The Rose of Tralee. However, his most popular and successful programme was the Late Late Show.

On 6 July, 1962, the first episode of the Late Late Show was aired. Originally the show was scheduled as an eight-week summer filler. The programme, which is still broadcast, has become the world's longest running chat show. The show became a forum where controversial topics such as the Roman Catholic Church, contraception, AIDS, unemployment, homosexuality, clerical sexual abuse, divorce, and other hitherto taboo subjects were discussed openly in Ireland, alongside book reviews, celebrity visits, and music acts like U2, who first came to prominence in Ireland due to their performance, Sinead O'Connor, the Boomtown Rats, Noel Gallagher (who rushed from a concert to perform on the "Late Late"). Other guests included politicians, successive Archbishops of Armagh, members of the British Royal Family and Presidents of Ireland.

The show had much to do in shaping the new Ireland that was emerging from the 1960s. Byrne himself was not a radical social reformer, however the show and its guests had a radical effect on the people of Ireland. Indeed it was often said that, "there was no sex in Ireland before the Late Late Show!" On 13 September, 1985, the programme returned to a Friday night slot.

Gay Byrne was also a successful radio broadcaster. He is best remembered for his two hour morning show, The Gay Byrne Hour, later renamed The Gay Byrne Show (1972 - 1999). In the early nineties he cut down on his work load. Joe Duffy, another popular Irish radio broadcaster, was brought in as co-host of The Gay Byrne Show. In 1994 he retired from presenting the annual Rose of Tralee festival after 17 years.

On 21 May, 1999, he presented his last ever Late Late Show before handing the reins to arch rival Pat Kenny. Bono gave a Harley-Davidson motorcycle to Byrne on his last night hosting the Late Late Show. The bike was later auctioned for charity. The show continues with Pat Kenny as host.

"Uncle Gaybo" has not completely disappeared from our screens however. He has hosted the Irish version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, The Gay Byrne Music Show and Make 'Em Laugh, a series about comedy in Ireland. He also appears on radio occasionally. He has most recently presented a television series called Class Reunion. He has also mentored Ryan Tubridy, RTÉ's newest chat show whose broadcasting skills won plaudits from Byrne.

In a somewhat surprising move, on the 27 March 2006 Mr. Byrne was announced as the new chairman of the Irish Road Safety Authority, a public body tasked with improving road safety in the Republic of Ireland. Gay is an outspoken critic of current road safety policy. On 12 May 2006, Gay appeared as a guest of Pat Kenny on the Late Late Show to talk about his new role as head of the Road Safety Authority.

Gay Byrne is married to Kathleen Watkins, a well-known harper and singer, and they have two daughters ([link]). Gay Byrne has won numerous television awards and has been awarded an honorary doctorate from Trinity College, Dublin.

Byrne wrote two autobiographies, the second of which, entitled The Time of My Life, was published in 1989. In 1999 he was awarded the Freedom of Dublin City.Gay was recently appointed chairman of the road safety association of Ireland.

He and his family live in Howth, County Dublin.

Radio Telefís Éireann presenters and hosts
Chat show hosts: Gay Byrne \| Frank Hall \| Pat Kenny \| Mike Murphy \| Ryan Tubridy
News & Current Affairs: Charlie Bird \| John Bowman \| Barry Cowan \| Donagh Diamond \| Sean Duignan \| Brian Farrell \| Mark Little \| John O'Donoghue \| Bill O'Herlihy \| Olivia O'Leary \| Sean O'Rourke
Sports: Eamon Dunphy \| Johnny Giles \| George Hamilton \| Jimmy Magee \| Michael O'Hehir \| Tracey Piggott
Newsreaders and Announcers: Anne Doyle \| Don Cockburn \| Derek Davis \| Bryan Dobson \| Charles Mitchel \| Maurice O'Doherty \| Emer O'Kelly

See also: List of programmes broadcast by RTÉ

Gay Byrne

Footnotes

See also