Fine Gael, after trying and failing to get former Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald and former Tánaiste Peter Barry to run, ultimately nominated the former civil rights campaigner and SDLP member Austin Currie.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Finance Minister Michael Noonan, Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore and Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin were reportedly furious with Prof Honohan's failure to close the deal as had been expected.
During the February 2009 snowfall Ryan reminded his listeners of a similar snowfall in 1982, when the Government even appointed Tánaiste and Labour party leader Michael O'Leary as the Minister for Snow.
On 19 July 2012, she was involved in an on-air mix-up when she read out the main Six One News headline (which was Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore's revelation that he had first heard of Health Service Executive chief Cathal Magee's resignation in the media).