Ryan hosted several series of television shows during his career . '' Secrets '' was a popular Saturday night show which was not well received by critics . Producer Kevin Linehan , was removed from the show to work on the Millstreet Eurovision and asked Ryan to co-present the event with Fionnuala Sweeney . They later met and Linehan informed Ryan that RTÉ had objected to his proposal . He did , however , co-present the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest alongside Cynthia Ní Mhurchú where he had the honour of introducing Riverdance as the interval act . He had watched Michael Flatley and Jean Butler put the act together , choreographing it and rehearsing it " fifty or sixty times " and later wrote of being offered the opportunity to invest a stake of £ 20,000 in the act . Ryan turned it down , a decision he later admitted regretting . Ní Mhurchú later credited Ryan with telling her to not take herself too seriously . After Pat Kenny decided to stop commentating on the Contest in 1999 , Ryan was the favourite to succeed him as Irish Commentator . Although the position was fulfilled by his friend Marty Whelan
1994 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1994
Gerry Ryan