GAYBO’S SCHOOL BEATINGS TERROR DREADED

Broadcasting legend, 84, suffered regular attacks from his teachers at CBS

GAY Byrne has revealed he used to dread going to be school because of the regular beatings he suffered from teachers.

The Irish broadcasting legend said he’s happy rules have changed since he was a student at Synge Street Christian Brothers School in Dublin.

Gaybo, 84, added: “I look at my grandchildren today and how much they love going to school full of joy and happiness and so upbeat that they’re going to see their teachers again.

“In my schooldays you turned into Synge Street in dread, knowing you were going to be beaten that day, everybody knew.

“The approach to education today couldn’t be more different and it’s great.”

The former late Late Show presenter has been off the airwaves for more than two years after he was diagnosed with cancer in late 2016.

Speaking to Ireland’s Own, Gaybo said he’s hoping to make a return to the airwaves soon – even though his wife Kathleen Watkins stopped him from going back last year.

He added: “Ideally I would like to get back to doing my Sunday afternoon radio show on Lyric FM, but my wife and daughters tell me I’m not ready and won’t let me do it.

“I may not make it back in January but it is my intention to do it, so we will see how things go. It’s only a small radio show, but like with any job, you have to be in the proper form to do it.”

The TV icon said his life has “changed forever” in the two years since he discovered he was ill. But after struggling through tough cancer treatment he revealed he’s excited for 2019.

Gaybo said: “If I had known ill health during my life I would probably have been better able to cope with being sick. The life I knew has changed forever. I can no longer ride my bike. I walk with a crutch, and am curtailed in my diet.

“The treatment is very heavy, and it really sets you back on your heels. But having said all that, I’m still here, and looking forward to the new year.”

Gaybo also recalled the moment RTE producer Tom Mcgrath came to him with the idea for the Late Late Show.

He said: “Tom had been working for a Canadian television station and had seen The Tonight Show in the States and wanted to produce something similar in Ireland.

“Initially it was to be a summer filler, and he wanted me to present it. I accepted it and it first aired on July 6,

TALKING TO IRELAND’S OWN

Synge Street School in Dublin Gaybo has been fighting cancer