Kathleen Watkins, the broadcaster, author and widow of former Late Late Show host Gay Byrne, has died at the age of 90.
RTÉ reported that Ms Watkins, who previously worked for the broadcaster, died surrounded by family. She was the first continuity announcer to appear on RTÉ television on its opening night in 1961.
Her death comes just over five years after that of her husband. Gay Byrne was diagnosed with cancer in 2016, and died at the age of 85 in 2019. His death came some 55 years after the couple married in Ms Watkins’s native Saggart in 1964.
In 2020, a year after his death, Ms Watkins told The Irish Times how she occasionally found herself talking to her late husband.
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“Occasionally I do. And I forget, I make a mistake. I say: ‘I must tell Gay that,’” she said. “I miss him sitting in his chair. That’s all. That just sums it up. I look at the chair. Dreadful.”
After working for decades as a broadcaster, Ms Watkins, who was also a musician and singer, turned to writing in her 80s.
She wrote three successful children’s books about a pig called Pigín who lives in Howth, Co Dublin, where Ms Watkins resided with her husband for years, before moving to Sandymount. The character was brought to life by Ms Watkins for her five grandchildren.
She released two collections of selected poetry, the latest of which was published in 2020. Entitled One for Everyone, it referenced her husband’s famous phrase while host of The Late Late Show.
Speaking on RTÉ Liveline, her daughter Suzy Byrne told how Ms Watkins died at her favourite time of the day, just as the sun was rising on Thursday morning.
Her mother had been in and out of Blackrock Clinic for “long stints” over the past year, she said, adding that she initially had a fall on her way to mass on Christmas Eve, but was “absolutely perfect” until that point.
Ms Watkins was admitted to Blackrock Clinic on Sunday, and had been surrounded by family members who have been sleeping in her room since her admission, her daughter said.
She said her late mother’s adoration of her grandchildren was “renowned”, recalling how each of them wrote a letter to their grandmother for her 90th birthday, to tell her “all of the things that she meant to them”.
Her grandchildren spent time alone with Ms Watkins this week, rereading those letters to her.
“We had a very special week, she knew she was loved and we were with her this morning,” she said. “We’re devastated, but at the same time, we realise how lucky we were.”
Ms Byrne called into her late father’s grave on Thursday following her mother’s death, saying “she was ready to go to dad”.
President Michael D Higgins said he and his wife, Sabina, were “among the many who had the greatest regard and affection for her”.
“I know that this was shared in particular by all of Kathleen’s colleagues in RTÉ. Sabina and I convey our sympathy to them, along with so many in Ireland’s cultural life to which Kathleen made such a memorable contribution.
“These talents were demonstrated through her work as an artist and broadcaster, as well as a writer who was appreciated by people of all ages,” he said.
Mr Higgins said Ms Watkins “represented the best of her generation in so many ways and during such a formative period in our country”.
Taoiseach Simon Harris described Ms Watkins as a “magnetic person with a warm and witty personality and presence” and someone with “considerable artistic talent”.
Broadcaster Joe Duffy, meanwhile, remarked on Ms Watkins’ “stellar broadcasting career”, saying she was a “great friend to many”.
Tributes were also paid in the Dáil on Thursday to Ms Watkins.
Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl described her as a “national treasure” to people of his generation and “an inspiration to many. We send our deepest sympathies on behalf of the House to her daughters and to her extended family”.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin described her as a “famous musician, harpist, writer, broadcaster”.
Mr Martin said “I think she was an iconic figure in Irish broadcasting, and indeed, in terms of the history of modern broadcasting from the 1960s onward.
“She was a dignified woman who made an outstanding contribution in her own right to the worlds of music, broadcasting, and latterly children’s writing”, with books “which were extraordinary works in themselves”.
She is survived by her two daughters, Crona and Suzy, and her five grandchildren.
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