Renowned Irish broadcaster Gay Byrne has died aged 85.
Tributes have flooded in from across the world for the RTE giant, who hosted the Late Late Show for more than 30 years.
Born in Dublin in 1934, he became a household name in his native land and further afield.
He started work as a newsreader and continuity announcer on Radio Eireann in the late 1950s before moving to Granada Television in Manchester, where he worked on a variety of shows, interviewing acts including The Beatles.
The father of two had been undergoing treatment for cancer.
He is survived by his wife Kathleen, their daughters Crona and Suzy, and their families.
RTE director-general Dee Forbes said: “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.
“His 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.”
For a time he commuted between Dublin and UK, working for both the BBC and RTE, but came back to Ireland full-time in the late 1960s as presenter and producer of The Late Late Show, on which Boyzone made their debut appearance in 1993.
The programme went on to become the world’s longest-running chat show.
He also presented a long-running radio show on RTE Radio 1, first known as The Gay Byrne Hour and then The Gay Byrne Show.
The show had a close relationship with its listeners, many of whom wrote to or phoned Gay to comment on the issues of the day, and with their own stories.
Over his long career Gay presented The Rose of Tralee, The Calor Housewife of the Year competition, as well as a range of special programmes.
He presented his final daily radio show in 1998 and his final Late Late Show the following summer.
Mr Byrne was described as a man “of great charisma” by Ireland’s president Michael D Higgins.
Mr Higgins added: “Gay Byrne was someone who exuded warmth and presence, who was possessed of effortless wit, charm and who had a flair for broadcasting.
“This was combined with an innate gentleness as a person, professionalism and humour.
“Through his work in radio and on television he challenged Irish society, and shone a light not only on the bright but also the dark sides of Irish life.
“In doing so, he became one of the most familiar and distinctive voices of our times, helping shape our conscience, our self-image, and our idea of who we might be.
“Beyond compassion, which he had in abundance, he had a sense of what was just.”
