On Friday afternoon the nation was shocked to hear the news of the passing of Gerry Ryan at the age of 53.
The outspoken and controversial RTÉ stalwart had enjoyed a long career with the State broadcaster. He joined RTÉ from pirate radio in 1979 and from 1988 until his death he was at the helm of a sometimes probing, sometimes controversial and always entertaining 2fm morning radio show.
During an impressively prolific career he co-presented the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 and more recently hosted the successful weight loss show Operation Transformation.
The first of his TV series Ryan Confidential, featuring an interview with Heather Mills, aired on Thursday night on RTÉ.
Gerry Ryan was born in Clontarf, Co Dublin in 1956. The father of five published his autobiography Would The Real Gerry Ryan Please Stand Up two years ago. He was separated from his wife Morah since 2008, and together they have five children.
Here we celebrate his life in pictures.
