A packed house for the first Radio 2 broadcast Mass was a fitting tribute to the unique character that was Gerry Ryan. A big-hearted man was remembered not for his perfection, which he would never have claimed, but for his passionate love of life and of the many different characters that people our world. He had the capacity to touch them, both great and small. ‘You raise me up to more than I can be’ were the words with which Westlife sang him off the stage backed by a gospel choir. It was enough to make hairs stand up on the back of your neck. It was a sentiment many of his daily listeners would share.

If RTÉ are looking for a replacement for Gerry, they need look no further than his brother Matt (‘Mano’) who was the star turn of the day. He described how, at his mother’s knee, Gerry learned that the most important thing was how to make an impression as you entered the room. By the age of one, Gerry had already perfected his sense of timing, and dramatic effect. It never left him.

I remember at his mother’s funeral Gerry commented that with her theatrical sense of timing, nothing would suit her but to take her final curtain on Christmas Day. Gerry would have enjoyed the many ‘curtain calls’ he received yesterday – none more moving than from his own children.

Perhaps it was fitting that the last word was given to another great northsider of his generation, Bono, who ‘with or without you’, wished him well and looked forward to seeing him “further up the road”. Ní bheidh a leithéid ann aris