The board of UNICEF Ireland has issued a statement this evening clarifying the reason why the former partner of the late Gerry Ryan, Melanie Verwoerd was dismissed last week.

UNICEF goodwill ambassadors Liam Neeson and Vanessa Redgrave have pulled out of planned Unicef Ireland events after confirming they are “profoundly disturbed” by the dismissal of the group’s former executive director, Melanie Verwoerd.

THE action in dismissing Melanie Verwoerd by email is truly deplorable. Talk about kicking a woman when she is down.

MELANIE VERWOERD has been sacked as executive director of Unicef Ireland by email — despite recent praise from the board for her fundraising efforts.

THE partner of the late broadcaster Gerry Ryan has spoken of the void in her life on the first anniversary of his death.

IN death, as in life, Gerry Ryan has continued to with his unique talent for capture media headlines.

SEPARATED by the full width of the front row at Dublin Coroner’s Court, the two women in Gerry Ryan’s life were united yesterday through their shared love of the 2FM broadcaster and the dramatic circumstances of his death.

RECENT cocaine use was a “significant factor” in the death of broadcaster Gerry Ryan, an inquest has heard.

Irish broadcaster Gerry Ryan was under massive personal and financial pressure and had been taking cocaine before he collapsed and died at his home, an inquest heard today.

The inquest into the late Gerry Ryan has heard the broadcaster died from cardiac arrhythmia due to cocaine and alcohol consumption.

The partner of the late Gerry Ryan has told his inquest that the broadcaster was under incredible pressure and was seriously ill in the days before his death.

JAMES BOND veteran actor Roger Moore, a global goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, is in Ireland to mark the first birthday of a fundraising initiative he helped launch between the children’s charity and retail fuel supplier Topaz.

Gerry Ryan made his final journey from his family home today as friends and colleagues gathered at his funeral.

GERRY RYAN is likely to be laid to rest on Thursday and possibly in a private ceremony, a spokesman for his family said yesterday.

GERRY RYAN’S life changed beyond recognition in the past two years.

ORANIA, is a small, time-warp village in South Africa’s Northern Cape province; a small speck on the map in the scrubland edging the Karoo.

The earthquake that struck Haiti a week ago has left many thousands of children vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, UNICEF Ireland warned today.

Eight million children are in immediate danger of disease in Burma, according to the UN global aid agency.

THE South African embassy in Ireland is refusing to recognise the trade union which fought to end the apartheid system through the Dunnes Stores strike.