Gay Byrne was a unique figure, not just in Irish broadcasting, but in Irish life and it is hard to think of any parallel elsewhere to his influence over such a long period. In no other time could a supposed light entertainer like Gay Byrne have stood at once for a challenging modernity and a comforting continuity. But what made him so extraordinary was the injection of this persona into a culture that needed it. He embodied – as himself a perfect example of social mobility – the aspirations of an urbanising, liberalising and gradually more prosperous society. His greatness lay, not in the way he talked to us, but in the way he got us talking among ourselves.

Source: The Irish Times November 04, 2019 20:37 UTC