Joe Duffy has backed the calls to name an RTE building after Gay Byrne saying: “I’d paint the sign myself’.
Councillor Mannix Flynn last week called for the national broadcaster to honour their biggest star with his own building on RTE’s Dublin campus, following the legendary presenter’s passing, aged 85 earlier this month.
Backing the suggestion this week, Gaybo’s long-time pal and colleague Duffy, 63, said he’d be the first person there to get the ball rolling with the project.
Speaking at the An Post Irish Book Awards, he said: “Yeah absolutely we’ve a building in RTE, a new building that’s called stage 7 I think.
“I think absolutely it should be renamed the Gay Byrne building. Definitely, absolutely, totally completely, 100 hundred percent - I’ll paint the sign myself.”
He added: “I’ll decorate the new building.
“It’s stage 7 we’ve rechristianed it The Gay Byrne memorial building. I’ll paint the sign. “Seriously.”
Meanwhile, amid money trouble in RTE, where top earners have been asked to take a 15% pay cut, Duffy said he has never said no when the broadcaster have asked him in the past.
He said: “I’ve never been found wanting when RTE came to me and I’ll never be found wanting on this occasion either.
“Simple as that. They’ve come quite a few times before and I’ve always said yes.
“But I’m here because of a book I wrote about 186 children who were killed and I’m very keen to remember them on universal Children’s day which is today (WEDS).
“And I know the RTE thing people are interested in but the presenters have never been found wanting. Never.”
