Journalist, magazine and newspaper editor, radio and television presenter, barrister, purveyor of the Twitter machine and scourge of politicians of all hues, Vincent Browne, it has to be said, could never be accused of being idle. On Thursday night, the veteran broadcaster will present his final Tonight with Vincent Browne show on TV3. Sean O'Rourke gathered some colleagues, friends and victims together to pay tribute to the broadcast career of the sure-to-be-missed Browne.

Former Fine Gael TD and senator, Maurice Manning knew Vincent Browne in UCD – they were in Young Fine Gael together. According to Manning, although Browne may have caused "a few splits in the party," there was always excitement when he was around.

After Sean played a clip of Browne and former Fianna Fáil TD Conor Lenihan locking horns on television, he asked a laughing Mary O'Rourke – Lenihan's aunt – what she thought. She couldn't say who won the bout, but she declared it was one of the better ones. Of her own experience being on Browne's programme, Mary described it as having its ups and downs:

"I remember going in so many nights from TV3 seething and saying, never again will I go on that programme."

That's the sort of statement that was no doubt made by many's the guest of the Tonight with Vincent Browne show, but most of them were like Mary: of course she did go back on that programme again, many, many times.

"It's very easy to say there won't be another one like him, but there genuinely won't be another like him in the broadcasting sphere."

Was it a valid criticism of Vincent Browne, Sean asked Gerry O'Regan, following another clip, that he kicked people around for fun? The Irish Independent columnist, while acknowledging that Browne has been "probably one of the most outstanding journalists of our era", lamented the fact that, in his opinion, Browne resisted changing the format of his TV show, which O'Regan thought meant it became stale and predictable.

Regular Tonight  contributor Marie Louise O'Donnell, spoke about Browne's strong personality:

"He was always extremely independent of thought and mind and unafraid and kind of fearless."

These qualities, Marie Louise told Sean, can lead to what appears to be rudeness or insensitivity, but strong personalities like Browne generally want to get to the kernel of the subject at hand, without worrying too much about pleasing an audience or – presumably – a panel of contributors.

When Marie Louise stated that Browne had "a kind of justified fury", Sean wondered if it was mock-fury, but both Marie Louise and Mary O'Rourke insisted that it was real and justified fury.

Vincent Browne, imperator furioso: ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann!

The final episode of Tonight with Vincent Browne airs Thursday night at 11pm on TV3.

You can hear the whole discussion, including some choice clips – well worth a listen – from Vincent Browne's broadcasting career, as well as the rest of the Today programme, here.