Bono pays tribute to Gay Byrne

Calling in to the show from Auckland where the band are currently touring, Bono shared some of his fondest memories of Uncle Gaybo from his days as host of The Late Late Show.

“If you didn’t get on his show you didn’t feel you existed,” he said.

“When U2 got dropped from what would have been our first appearance on the show I was irate,” he said.

“I got the bus all the way out to Howth to explain to Gay that the Late Late Show was making a big mistake.

“I had Ally with me and asked the driver where Gay Byrne lived and he replied, ‘I’ll drop you there’.

“So I went in and knocked on his front door… And I’m very pleased to report he was not there.”

Bono also revisited the night he and Larry Mullen gave Uncle Gay a Harley Davidson motorcycle on the presenter’s last night as host of The Late Late Show in 1999.

“It seems like the wrong show to talk about the bike because I think Kathleen thought we were trying to kill him,” he joked.

“The band talked Gay down eventually from riding the Harley Davidson because he really loved the bike and he wouldn’t get it off it there for a while.

“He was a real enthusiast for his Harley,” Bono added.

Bono’s reminisces came as part of a star-studded night of tributes with Bob Geldof, Pat Kenny, President Michael D Higgins, Andrea Corr and Tommy Tiernan among those in attendance.