The Front Pages
There’s only one story on the front pages of today’s papers as the untimely death of Gerry Ryan dominates all the headlines. Across the broadsheets and the tabloids, the Irish media is united in grief.  Gerry was found dead in his Dublin apartment yesterday afternoon after he failed to show up for the morning radio show on RTÉ 2fm that he’d hosted since 1988. He was 53.
Most papers have filled their front page with a picture of Gerry smiling warmly. The Irish Examiner combines this with tributes from his friends in the media.  “He lived life to the full, he was full of fun and hilarity and pure bloody devilment and that is how I will remember him,†says his early mentor Gay Byrne.
“Gerry was actually larger in life off air than on air. He’d entertain us all. He was very generous in every way,†says Pat Kenny. “So terribly shocking and sad… Life is just too cruel sometimes. RIP,†says Miriam O’Callaghan.
The Irish Times fondly remembered the “impish, irreverent, crass, supremely intelligent broadcasterâ€. “Tears for Gerry†says the Indo. The Irish Sun leads with “Gerry’s goneâ€, the Irish Daily Star’s deadline reads “Farewell to a national icon†and reports that it was Gerry’s girlfriend Melanie Verwoerd who went to his home after his radio no-show and recruited the help of a builder to break down the door. The Mirror reports on “The End of a Legendâ€.
Elsewhere there are reports that Quinn group founder Sean Quinn is devastated by the loss of 900 jobs at Quinn Insurance after administrators reported that more than a third of the workforce will have to go if the company is to remain viable.
The Sports Pages
It’s the end of a rollercoaster ride for a plucky Connacht side that fell at the penultimate hurdle of the Amlin Challenge Cup at the Sportsground last night. Michael Bradley’s men put on a terrific display and despite being desperately close to the line on more than one occasion, they couldn’t get over for a much need five pointer and were ultimately punished by the ruthless boot of Jonny Wilkinson.
There’s plenty more rugby to come this weekend, however and hopefully the other provinces in action will have a little more luck than the Westerners. After weeks of speculation, it was finally confirmed that Jonny Sexton will miss out for Leinster on a day when the Blues revisit the scene of one of their finest hours, a wonderful 41-35 defeat of Toulouse in Le Stadium in 2006. Keep an eye on our rugby section for all the news ahead of the big game which we’ll be following live on JOE Sports Saturday.
The tabs are awash with rumours that Rafa Benitez is outta here in the summer, with the Spaniard refusing to rule out a move to Italian giants Juventus. Alex Ferguson will be hoping his foe from across the M62 will do him a favour against league leaders Chelsea tomorrow in what will be a massive day in determining the Premier League champions. It looks like Chelsea’s to lose, but the way this season has gone so far, you can never be sure.
Before that, however, there’s the small issue of the final Champions League spot to sort out and today will go a long way to deciding who ends up in the elusive fourth place. Manchester City can end Aston Villa’s hopes should they defeat them at Eastlands, while Tottenham Hotspur should be able to stay in the race with a win over Bolton at White Hart Lane today. Both games kick off at 3pm and we’ll keep you informed with live updates in JOE Sports Saturday.
The first classic of the flat racing season, the 2000 guineas takes place in Newmarket, where all eyes will be on Aidan O Brien’s sensation, St Nicholas Abbey, who has been tipped for greatness. There’s loads more sport elsewhere to keep you entertained this weekend, the under 21 All-Ireland Football Final kicks off in Breffni Park in Cavan at 7pm this evening and the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championships will come to a conclusion at the Crucible.
We’ll be keeping in touch with it all here JOE.ie. Keep in touch with JOE Sports Saturday for live updates, while we’ll have the latest news, previews and match reports for all the sport this weekend in our rugby, football, GAA and sports sections.
Tales from the tabs
The tabs, like all the papers are full of tributes to Gerry Ryan after the RTE presenter’s shock death yesterday. Public figures from the entertainment, sporting and political worlds have all expressed their shock and sadness at Ryan’s tragic passing.
Elsewhere in the tabs this morning, the Star reports the bizarre story of Paul Moloney who was married in Galway yesterday…by his own father. Fr Michael Moloney was originally ordained in 1966, but left the priesthood after meeting his wife Marjorie while working as a missionary in Zambia. When Marjorie passed away five years ago, Michael application to rejoin the priesthood was accepted, allowing him to help Paul tie the knot with his partner Deborah Coyle, in Renmore, Galway yesterday.
‘Blitz the Slick’ shouts the Mirror this morning in response to news that the Americans are going to deal with the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico the only way they know how…bombing the shit out of it.
Around 210,000 gallons of oil a day are leaking from a broken well 5,000 feet below the surface off the coast of Louisiana and with the lives of thousands of birds, fish and other species in danger, Pentagon officials are now investigating whether the military can play a role in minimising the threat posed to wildlife.
Don’t worry we’ve been assured that they found weapons of mass destruction in the water before deciding to proceed with military action.
Today on JOE
JOE Sports Saturday is the place to be ahead of a massive day in sport, with the Premier League, 2000 Guineas, World Championship Snooker, the All Ireland under 21 final and crucially Leinster’s Heineken Cup semi-final against Toulouse all covered.
Elsewhere on JOE, check out the week in pictures, style icon Montgomery Clift and JOE.ie founder and CEO Niall McGarry’s tips to succeed in business.
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