Gay Byrne has finished the current season of his weekly RTÉ lyric fm programme but left listeners in some doubt if he would return after the summer.
After thanking his regular listeners at the end of Sunday's show, he said: "That's all I can say" before paraphrasing a line from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
"If we shall meet again in the autumn, why then, we shall smile, if not, why then, this parting word well made.
"And all of those good things."
The veteran broadcaster suffered a heart attack in December but returned to present his radio show a few weeks later.
As one of the country's best-known presenters, Gay Byrne became a household name during his long tenure as host of The Late Late Show.
From 1973 until 1998, he also enjoyed a distinguished radio career with The Gay Byrne Show on RTÉ Radio 1.
The show broke new ground with its coverage of hitherto untold stories which had enduring human interest for listeners.
His lyric fm show, Sunday with Gay Byrne, mostly consists of vintage jazz music, with commentary on affairs of the day, and on his favourite plays, books and films. He also presents the Meaning of Life television series on RTÉ One.
