IRELAND RUGBY CAPTAIN Brian O’Driscoll has defended another of Clontarf’s most famous sons by branding coverage of Gerry Ryan’s death as “disgusting”.

In the latest issue of Hot Press, on sale from today, O’Driscoll says he knew broadcaster Gerry Ryan from “out and about” and from being interviewed by him on his RTE show Ryan Confidential. He said:

I thought some of the coverage relating to his death was absolutely disgusting. Again it’s not something I know the ins and outs of, but I don’t feel as if the toxicology report should be made public knowledge. But that’s tabloid sensationalism for you. All of those papers are bought essentially on what’s said on the front-page. It’s four or five words that sell.

In the interview, O’Driscoll also speaks of the unforgiving career schedules that have meant he and his wife, actress Amy Huberman, are “bumping into each other every couple of weeks on the stairs”. He’s relatively philosophical about their hectic timetables though, saying “it’d be different if you were trying to raise kids”.

Read more in Hot Press magazine, out in newsagents’ shops today.