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The sudden death of RTÉ broadcaster Gerry Ryan occurred on 30 April 2010. He was 53. Ryan had been presenting ''The Gerry Ryan Show'' since 1988 and at the time of his death had the largest audience on RTÉ 2fm.〔 Ryan also hosted several television series, including ''Secrets'', ''Gerry Ryan Tonight'', ''Ryantown'', ''Gerry Ryan's Hitlist'' and ''Operation Transformation'' and ''Ryan Confidential'', as well as one edition of ''The Late Late Show'' in 2008. Ryan co-presented Eurovision Song Contest 1994 with Cynthia Ní Mhurchú. He died sixteen years later at his Upper Leeson Street apartment in Dublin, his body found by his partner Melanie Verwoerd. The broadcaster had split from his wife Morah in 2008: the couple had five children together. Ryan's death provoked tributes from politicians, colleagues and ordinary people alike, culminating in a mass outpouring of public and private sympathy as thousands of people queued over several days to sign books of condolence at RTÉ's radio centre and the Mansion House. The media and psychotherapists compared this to public reaction following the deaths of Michael Jackson and Diana, Princess of Wales.〔 His death was spoken in terms such as "practically br() Ireland to a standstill", having "a seismic effect on Irish society" and having "shocked the Irish nation". ''The Irish Times'' reported that its website had the biggest traffic spike since its launch following Ryan's death.〔 Google said it was the most searched story of the year in the country. It subsequently emerged, following an inquest in December 2010, that the broadcaster was a heavy alcohol drinker and cocaine user, and that cocaine was a contributory factor in his death. This led to comparisons, including from broadcaster Marian Finucane〔 and drugs minister Pat Carey,〔 with the 2007 death of model Katy French. According to journalist Kevin Myers, Ryan's usage of cocaine surprised many of those who mourned his sudden death and, he said, this realisation of double standards has upset much of the public. RTÉ admitted that it had censored coverage of Ryan's cocaine habit.〔 A media debate on the ethics of both journalism and Twitter, through which many people discovered Ryan had died, ensued after his death. The manner in which some RTÉ personalities reported the death led to RTÉ bringing in new rules on how its stars should use Twitter. Ryan's funeral on 6 May 2010 was broadcast live online and to his listeners on RTÉ 2fm, marking the first time in its history that the predominantly musical station aired a Mass. The ceremony included performances from both U2 and Westlife. Ryan was buried privately at Dardistown Cemetery in Cloghran. Several posthumous lifetime achievement awards have since been collected by the Ryan family on behalf of Gerry.〔〔 ==Death== On the night prior to his death Ryan telephoned his radio producer, Alice O'Sullivan, to tell her he would not be able to broadcast ''The Gerry Ryan Show'' the following morning.〔 He said he was "feeling drained" but insisted that he did not require a doctor. On the morning of his death Ryan did not present his radio show.〔〔〔 Fiona Looney presented instead,〔 making the ironic comment to Colm Hayes when asked if she was ready: "Not really because I got a call at ten to seven this morning, and I always presume somebody's died... and then I presumed Gerry had died because the phone call was from his producer. But he isn't totally dead, he's hanging on". Meanwhile musician Jerry Fish travelled to Dublin from his County Carlow home to rehearse the song "All the Time in the World" which he and Ryan were scheduled to perform at the National Concert Hall on 5 May as part of a ''Mooney'' special.〔 He noticed Ryan's absence and Looney's presence on the radio show and was concerned at his inability to contact the former.〔 Ryan's partner, Melanie Verwoerd, also noticed his absence from the radio and found herself unable to get through to him via telephone.〔 She went to his flat in Leeson Street Upper, Dublin 4, arriving at 12:30 to break and enter with the assistance of a builder located nearby.〔 They found Ryan dead on the bedroom floor of his Leeson Street flat. There was no visible indication that a crime had been committed or that Ryan had deliberately killed himself. Emergency services were called and the flat was sealed off as the media gathered outside.〔 A doctor entered the flat at approximately 15:00 and spent 20 minutes inside before leaving, with Ryan's body being taken away at a later stage.〔 RTÉ delayed announcing the death until Ryan's family were told. The death was already being discussed on Twitter and had been announced on Newstalk.〔 Rumours about Ryan's death spread online, though the news remained unconfirmed for a time.〔 Rick O'Shea posted several Twitter messages, including "Am attempting to verify the Gerry Ryan story doing the rounds... Calm heads lads...", followed by "Can anyone tell me where the Gerry Ryan story is coming from?" then, finally, "Jesus". Miriam O'Callaghan tweeted the previous hour — "Tragically it is true. So terribly shocking and sad. Life is just too cruel sometimes. RIP." — before deleting it but not before TV3 picked up on it for their ''News@5:30'' bulletin.〔〔 They also noted a message from Today FM's Ian Dempsey, formerly a colleague of Ryan at RTÉ 2fm, which stated: "Gerry Ryan RIP – shocking news just breaking – a big loss to radio and Ireland".〔 An online war was also breaking out during the afternoon between rival journalists, including Matt Cooper, Frank Fitzgibbon and Adrian Weckler.〔 Rival radio station Dublin's 98 placed a video on YouTube of Ryan's corpse being taken from his apartment and driven away in an ambulance.〔 The Ryan family issued the following statement through RTÉ: "Gerry Ryan died today. Morah and his children are in complete shock. Please respect their privacy at this time".〔 RTÉ informed Fish that Ryan had died, with the musician promising to perform the song anyway as a tribute.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Death of Gerry Ryan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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