With last Friday’s confirmation of Rick O’Shea as the full-time presenter of RTÉ Radio 1’s Arena, the most turbulent period in the history of Ireland’s radio schedules has drawn to a close. Over the past six months, virtually every slot in the weekday schedules of both national talk stations has seen a change of personnel. … Read more
Readers of a certain vintage may recall a 1980s advertising campaign for an insurance company that bore the tagline, “We won’t make a drama out of a crisis”. Whatever the veracity of the claim in that particular instance, it’s a slogan that springs to mind when listening to Claire Byrne cover the war in the … Read more
She has only been on her new show for a few days, but Claire Byrne has settled into the role so effortlessly that she’s already slacking on the job. On Wednesday’s Claire Byrne Show (Newstalk, weekdays), the host is in conspicuously high spirits as she introduces her guest Aisha Tyler, the American actor. “We’re having … Read more
RTÉ has not had any difficulty filling top presenter roles despite the salary cap, Kevin Bakhurst has said. The director general of the broadcaster also said Claire Byrne, who left RTÉ for Newstalk, had not been “admonished” by the introduction of the pay ceiling. “She was not being admonished. Yes, she would have had to … Read more
After months of anticipation, Newstalk has launched its new schedule, with the freshly arrived Claire Byrne taking centre stage in typically solid fashion. Other changes are afoot, with new presenters taking over on both Newstalk Breakfast and The Hard Shoulder, but the presence of Byrne, whose unexpected defection from RTÉ last year sparked a flurry … Read more
Anton Savage is posing in a doorway for The Irish Times photographer. Like many national radio presenters who sometimes have to be photographed for their jobs, he’s quite good at vamping. He stands and sits, pops his head on his chin, offers smiles and serious countenances. He’s much as you’d expect from his radio shows: … Read more
Towards the end of the final weekday radio broadcast of Pat Kenny’s long career, something extraordinary happens when the stoic host’s stiff upper lip wobbles ever so slightly. “To be honest I’m a bit overwhelmed,” the veteran presenter and newsman says as he is flooded with messages from wellwishers. “My father used to quote the … Read more
As Pat Kenny (Newstalk, weekdays) finishes in the weekday midmorning slot that he’s occupied, in various iterations and on different stations, for nearly four decades, the arrival of Storm Chandra ensures that, whatever about dry eyes in the house, everything else is drenched. Characteristically, there’s little teary sentiment as the veteran presenter sees out the … Read more
Shane Coleman and Ciara Kelly are on the move, departing Newstalk Breakfast (weekdays) in February to take over early-evening hosting duties on The Hard Shoulder, but apart from being able to sleep on a bit later, their routine probably won’t change much. The presenters’ fondness for commuter-centred issues, in particular, should translate seamlessly to their … Read more
The kids are all right? Whatever the case when The Who originally made the claim, in the swinging London of 1965, it seems a dubious assertion in Ireland 60 years later. “Irish teenagers are succeeding in school but struggling in life,” the reporter Kate Carolan baldly declares on Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays), summing … Read more