Gay Bryne’s daughter, Suzy has opened up about the loss of her father as well as memories of his incredible life.
Four years after the legendary broadcaster passed away, Suzy confesses that she can still feel his presence.
Ahead of the release of her new book, Dear Gay: Letters to the Gay Byrne Show, Suzy has been reflecting on Gay and her relationship with her father.
Gay and his wife Kathleen are the parents to two daughters, Suzy and Crona. The family have always been extremely close-knit.
“I go to his grave in Sutton a lot and still feel his presence, like when I was preparing to speak at the launch of his book,” Suzy shared with the RTÉ Guide.
“I had to follow Joe [Duffy]’s speech and was so nervous, but in that moment, I could hear dad saying to me, ‘You have a job to do so just get up there and do it.’.”
She went on to say that she can often feel his presence.
“I talk to him at the grave and get upset sometimes, thinking, ‘I hope I’m doing things right’. I’d love to believe that he can see the kids, that we are all doing okay, and mum too is still going well more than four years after he left us.”
She went onto say that her father was often filled with regret that he wasn’t able to spend more time with his children.
“I remember Dad saying to me one time, after he observed my husband Ronan spending so much time with our kids, that, ‘I wish I was more involved with you.’,” she went on to say.
“And yet all the same, I would say to him that he always knew where he was; we could see him on TV or hear him on the radio and we were in and out of RTÉ all the time.
“I think that reassurance helped him. And we had so many wonderful times with dad later in his life too. Himself and mum were like a double act. Mum understood Dad’s role so well and was happy to step back from her own career in broadcasting.”
