Memories of the Ryan connection

Hundreds of thousands of words have been written about the legendary 2FM broadcaster Gerry Ryan and how he had a unique connection with the people of Ireland via his three-hour morning programme. As his wife Morah said at his funeral last week: "When the red light went on in studio, Gerry lit up." Once the Ryan line opened each morning, the calls flooded in on myriad topics, from the sublime to the ridiculous. He touched the hearts of people in every county in Ireland and countless have stories and memories to relate about the late Gerry Ryan, including Aine Duffy from Cavan town. The senior pharmaceutical technician at Cavan General Hospital was one of the famous 'wild women' who went to South Africa with the Gerry Ryan Show, for a competition organised in conjunction with The Sunday World. They chose five wild women to undertake scary tasks like the highest bungy jump ever in that country, a safari, white water rafting, abseiling and mountain biking down Table Mountain. Aine fondly recalls Gerry reading out the challenge at the time and sending off her letter to the show. On the strength of that letter she was short-listed and then interviewed - live on radio. "On the spur of the moment on the show, I told them the story about the incident when I was just 14. Dad had just got a new Ford tractor and I went for a test drive around the yard... unfortunately I couldn't get it stopped and I flattened the cow shed!" Gerry thought this was hilarious and soon afterwards Aine got the news that she had worn the trip to South Africa with a number of other women from around the country. There was another Cavan link with the programme in South Africa then, as the Sunday World reporter there was Joanne McElgunn from Belturbet. While in South Africa Gerry was based at a studio in Capetown, while the wild women were out performing the various map-cap tasks. They spent two nights in the Sabi Sabi game and wildlife reserve. "We reported all the live drama back to the programme as it happened on mobile phones," recalls Aine. The journey home was nearly as wild as the adventures in South Africa, as it involved seven plane flights over two days. Even though everyone was wrecked, Aine remembers Gerry keeping everyone going with his humour. The Gerry Ryan Show wasn't too everyone's taste, but it has been to Cavan a few times at Virginia Show, where the Bailey's Cow competition provided some fun, and in Ballinagh, where Brenda Donohoe watched the Christmas tree being illuminated. Among the townspeople interviewed was Eddie Brady, a big hit as he outlined the history of Ballinagh in his unique style.