Gerry Ryan

[Thomas J Stamp]

As you may know Gerry Ryan was found dead today. Gerry was a broadcaster who was interested in many things, and one of those things was the state of the railways in Ireland.

It was because of him that I found out about Platform 11. I was driving along and one morning i found myself listening to Gerry talking about a tunnel under the Phoenix Park. Turns out that it was a railways tunnel and he was talking to a couple of guys about it. They told him all about how it could be used from Heuston and how Irish Rail had denied it could be used and all the rest that we know about. As far as I recall those guys were Derek Wheeler and Thomas Sheridan and they were talking about the organisation they were in called Platform 11 and Gerry gave out the details and treated the lads with respect and with interest in what they were talking about.

The thing is, it wasnt the sort of topic that you would expect to hear at - i think - ten am on the radio. I remember there was a commercial break and instead of winding up he continued the conversation after the break. Many broadcasters would have said, nah, no one would be interested in this, how can this be important, but he recognised its importance and its relevance and he gave Platform 11 a chance to be heard - maybe for the first time - on national Radio.

So thanks for that Gerry, on behalf of Rail Users Ireland and on behalf of all the members and Committee Members past and present. Thank you for giving us the chance and the opportunity and may you rest in peace.

[sean]

Gerry Ryan

R.I.P