TODAY MARKS THE first anniversary of the death of broadcaster Gerry Ryan with gardaí unable to find the dealer who supplied him with cocaine that a coroner later ruled had played a part in his death.
The Irish Independent reports that a team of detectives have carried out extensive inquiries focused particularly on the people who met or had been in contact with the broadcaster in the 24 hours prior to his death but to no avail.
This included interviews with former colleague Gareth O’Callaghan who had claimed that Ryan’s cocaine use was widely known within RTÉ.
It now looks unlikely that anyone will be prosecuted for the star’s death which a coroner found was caused by traces of cocaine in Ryan’s system which were likely to have triggered the cardiac arrhythmia which then led to his death.
A year on, Ryan’s family are remembering him at a small family gathering in Clontarf today with daughter Lottie, 25, saying that the family planned a celebration of his life.
One person who won’t be in attendance at the gathering is Ryan’s partner Melanie Verwoerd who discovered his body at his apartment in Leeson Street last year.
Verwoerd has spoken of her heartbreak at the death of her former partner and said she will always miss him in a statement printed in today’s Irish Times:
It is impossible to describe the void his death has left in my life. I will always love him. I will always miss him.
Meanwhile, RTÉ has no official plans to mark today’s anniversary with a tribute programme but the broadcaster has published photos of Ryan’s life and times on the entertainment section of its website.
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