Hundreds attended the funeral of broadcasting veteran Gerry Kelly at St Nicholas Church in Ardglass, where he was remembered as “the voice of sanity during insane times”. The Priests, a band Kelly had interviewed multiple times, performed at the mass.
Funeral and Tributes
Father Brian D’Arcy, who shared a longstanding professional relationship with Kelly, said his friend was “loved by thousands and thousands of people, north and south of the border”. He added: “There’s a sadness everywhere because Gerry was such a comforting presence.”
Reflecting on Kelly’s work during the Troubles, Fr D’Arcy noted the difficulty of running a talk show from Belfast: “Trying to get guests into Belfast that was being bombed, trying to compete with the Late Late and with other shows across the land, trying to be a regional broadcaster with a national reputation – that was no easy task and Gerry did that with an amazing amount of professionalism.” He described Kelly as “the voice of sanity during insane times”.
Career Highlights
Kelly, a former UTV and BBC Radio Ulster presenter, conducted many high-profile interviews, including with an eight-year-old Rory McIlroy as the young golfer chipped balls into a washing machine. He was installed in the Royal Television Society Hall of Fame in 1998 in recognition of his contribution to broadcasting.
In 2018, Kelly revealed he had been diagnosed with cancer two years earlier. Fr D’Arcy said the pair had a long conversation about “the possibilities of life, the possibilities of death” after the terminal diagnosis.
Legacy
Fr D’Arcy quoted Seamus Heaney: “If you have the words, there’s always the chance you’ll find a how.” He said: “Gerry had the words, and Gerry knew how to use words, and Gerry knew how to persuade people who didn’t want to come within a thousand miles of Belfast to come in and be guarded and be brought to studios and hopefully get home safe from it.” He added: “Gerry Kelly was a legend in broadcasting, one of the few legends that we’ve ever had, but a real legend who will never die.”
Over the 17 years of the Kelly Show, the broadcaster hosted 1,000 hours of live TV, interviewing 3,500 guests with more than 1,500 musical acts. Fr D’Arcy said Kelly was prepared for his last days: “He prepared the last interview with Saint Peter as well as he prepared his first interview on Kelly.” Quoting John O’Donohue, he concluded: “Let us not look for you only in memory… That’s Gerry. Gerry, may you continue to inspire us from your place in heaven. Rest in peace.”
