Talk:Gay Byrne

Broadcasting style
IMO, there is a contradiction between the following extracts from the current version of this article:

No citation accompanies the first extract. The only citation offered for the second extract is an article on the RTE web site in which Gay Byrne is never mentioned. As someone who followed Byrne's career as Late Late Show host from the 1960s onwards, and who watches the current host occasionally, I have my own opinion on the matter. However, perhaps someone could find a reputable source to support either view. Jim Bruce (talk) 13:05, 19 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Since posting the above an anonymous editor has altered the second quotation completely so that it now asserts a contradictory point of view. It's still a point of view, though, and not supported by the reference cited. I have added an appropriate template. Jim Bruce (talk) 11:27, 25 July 2009 (UTC)

Old posts
his wife, harper or harpist? harpist is more correct? Yes certainly not harpie!

This entry has been completely sterilized of all controversy. It is almost Soviet style in it's reverence. What about all the interviews that went wrong, the money that he lost, the debates he lost or his endorsement of Brian Lenihan in 1990. Or even his friendship with Charles Haughey which lasted until he got a massive scoop on his final show. No wonder everybody locks back and seeing boredom. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.210.150.157 (talk) 19:45, 19 October 2008 (UTC) --- I have reformated an edited the article to wiki style. Duplication and verbosity cleared up.

Tayana 11:42, 10 September 2006 (UTC) ---

Cleanup
I removed the sentence "He later entered the world of insurance." This sentence does not make any sense, and is not supported or explained by anything else in the article. Perhaps it was purple prose for "he later took a job selling insurance"? At any rate, it seems entirely nonessential and I thought it was confusing. Jerry 23:28, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

WikiProject class rating
This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as start, and the rating on other projects was brought up to start class. BetacommandBot 15:44, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

Ludicrousness
"He has hosted for one season, the Irish version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Due to Byrne's ludicrously high salary for the show it only lasted one year." - How is "ludicrously" measured in this case? And is this the definitive reason why it lasted for just one year?Dunjohn (talk) 21:40, 29 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Definite POV, I have removed it. Snappy56 (talk) 11:36, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

Gaybo
erm, i was redirected here from entering Gaybo. whats up with that? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.107.2.147 (talk) 19:57, 17 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Gay Byrne is commonly known as "Gaybo" Bogger (talk) 09:00, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

Ed Byrne
Its still a little akward, but I am 100% positive that the battle honors of the 19th Hussars did not include fighting as part of the IRA. V. Joe (talk) 19:40, 19 December 2008 (UTC)

Also, the battle of the boyne was not during the irish war of independance, it was about 300 years earlier.

Byrne's grandchildren are not part of Byrnee's public persona
Having grandchildren is not notable (except to his family itself). Equally I wonder where is the rationale in naming his children explicitly. Are they individually publicly notable?, otherwise should their names not be removed also?. Wikipedia could become Hello! magazine?Octanis (talk) 21:35, 17 September 2011 (UTC)

Agree, this sticks out like a sore thumb. Half the paragraph about "personal life" is promoting his grandson. Am removing this as it's not relevant, unverified, and no citations given for any of it.Tt 225 (talk) 05:18, 21 January 2022 (UTC)

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 * Added tag to http://www.independent.ie/education/latest-news/gay-top-of-class-as-he-launches-online-childrens-book-club-1960598.html
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 * Added tag to http://www.independent.ie/national-news/i-dont-want-to-be-president-gay-byrne-pulls-out-of-race-2847752.html
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 * Added tag to http://www.independent.ie/national-news/race-for-the-aras-gay-byrne-calls-presidential-candidate-mcguinness-a-consistent-liar-2884265.html
 * Added tag to http://www.independent.ie/national-news/masterful-uncle-gay-enthralls-full-house-2880471.html
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 * Added tag to http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/im-slowly-going-deaf-gaybo-reveals-26783106.html
 * Added tag to http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/gay-byrne-in-hospital-after-suffering-heart-attack-34322971.html
 * Added tag to http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/radio-veteran-gay-is-walking-on-air-1902386.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070926234627/http://www.scoilnet.ie/lookathistory/Video2.aspx?FolderId=1&Id=491&ref=3 to http://www.scoilnet.ie/lookathistory/Video2.aspx?FolderId=1&Id=491&ref=3

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Weird stuff boi
SOmething's wrong with this lads. fix it up bois — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.242.63.149 (talk) 15:41, 5 October 2017 (UTC)

Uncle Britbo and re-Anglicisation of Ireland
I think we need to give more coverage to Byrne's status as a committed Anglophile and the role that he and his television show played in re-orientating Irish public cultural life back towards Britain. Including his introduction of decadent British pop/drug culture to a generation of Irish people (The Beatles). His hero and idol, Eamonn Andrews, was literally a Commander of the British Empire (!) and probably a British intelligence agent, given the history of the BBC. The article admits that Byrne is "unquestionably the most influential radio and television man in the history of the Irish State", but doesn't really go into the cultural aspects of what he was peddling (apart from his earlier pushing of jazz, which itself was also controversial in Ireland) and the nature of the product that he was socially conditioning the minds of millions of Irish people into. Politically, Byrne is considered firmly West British. Claíomh Solais (talk) 21:34, 8 January 2018 (UTC)

This really isn't a judgement for Wiki, but since you raise the point, his show in general terms was metropolitan and outward looking. The UK served as the most convenient and obvious conduit in that regard. Where else was he going to look for fresh and interesting material in 1967? Bantry? Hanoi Road (talk) 23:30, 23 November 2019 (UTC)