Marty Whelan happy at RTE despite approaches by 'people outside of RTÉ'
Presenter Marty Whelan has been approached with offers by people outside of RTÉ - but the TV and radio stalwart says he is "very happy" where he is.
The Lyric FM presenter has no plans to retire and step away from his breakfast show any time soon ahead of his 69th birthday in June.
Marty started working for RTÉ as DJ with Radio 2 in 1979, but briefly left the national broadcaster to work on Century Radio.
When this shut down in 1991, Marty was grateful to eventually return to RTÉ, where he has worked on numerous radio and television shows, and hasn't been tempted by outside offers.
He said: "You know, I have been approached by people outside of RTÉ who have asked me about my plans, and I've always said, 'No, I'm very happy here'.
"You must remember I went before and because of that I'd be very wary. I'm not 27 anymore."
Marty now works on a one-year contract for Lyric FM, a set-up which he admits "would have frightened the life" out of him in the early days of his career.
He told the RTÉ Guide: "Unlike some colleagues, I don't use an agent. Maybe I should have.
"But don't forget, I left for a period and then returned, and I was delighted to be back and so many people were good to me.
"What happened can be soul destroying, but I believe that the knocks made me stronger."
The Dubliner added that he doesn't feel fear anymore when it comes to work.
"[Fear] has been knocked out of me. I took a few leaps of faith and surviving those really helped.
"I've been very fortunate to be still in this business, and I think that's because I have always been very determined.
"My folks instilled that in me. My dad's great advice was that if there is a barrier in front of you, you must figure out a way forward."
This week, Marty is back in the commentary box for Eurovision, which is taking place in Basel, Switzerland.
The RTÉ star will commentate on Tuesday and Thursday's semi-finals, as well as the grand final on Saturday, and is backing Ireland's entry EMMY to go all the way.
The annual TV event has been shrouded in controversy in recent years due to Israel's involvement.
In 2022, Russia was excluded from Eurovision for the country's invasion of Ukraine, and hasn't returned since.
But Israel is still involved, despite growing calls for their suspension as the war in Gaza has killed more than 50,000 people.
"Elements of the Song Contest have always been political," Marty said of the controversy.
"Look at the Balkans, where countries who now vote for each other were once at war.
"In any case, the European Broadcasting Union make the call. They made that call on Russia but as you know, they haven't made the call on anybody else."
When asked if they should, Marty replied: "I couldn't possibly say as my job is to commentate on an event which is purely entertainment."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
5 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
‘It exploded in my face', cries RTE star as he reveals cooking nightmare he had in front of live audience
RTE star Donal Skehan has revealed the cooking nightmare that almost left him seriously harmed. The popular Irish chef recently appeared at Bloom Festival in cooking demonstration for audience members. 2 Donal Skehan has recalled his cooking catastrophe in front of a live audience 2 Donal was almost seriously harmed by the incident However, in a live cooking nightmare, Talking about the incident on his podcast with "I hadn't even started cooking at this stage, I couldn't open the oven door, because the top oven was hanging off so I shunted it up." The dad-of-two explained how he went ahead and put a pastry inside the oven but quickly realised that the oven door was still hanging off. READ MORE IN RTE Donal added: "I just thought, 'Grand, I'll fix this and be a hero for everyone'." Arthur asked Donal if he was panicking whilst the situation unfolded but he admitted: "No, I was joking with the audience saying, 'Oh Jesus, who put this oven together?'" The Dubliner then recalled how he tried to fix the oven door by sliding it back into its bracket when disaster struck. He said: "I confidently thought I had fixed it, but I think the pressure had got the glass and it just went poof." MOST READ IN THE IRISH SUN The glass completely exploded over Donal during the live set, thankfully without any injury. Donal continued: "The feeling of the hot glass shattering over my head and then I could feel glass going down my shirt. Donal Skehan slams Arthur Gouroulian's career move "The worst part was that I was convinced some of it had got in my eye too." Arthur humorously remarked: "You know that was my worry because when I saw the video I was revelling in the fact that it happened to you, I was laughing my head off. AUDIENCE SUPPORT "But at the same time I panicked because, you could have lost an eye." Donal confessed that the audience's support really helped him to recover from the incident quickly. He gushed: "They really got behind me. To anyone who was there, thank you so much, you made it the best craic ever." "I literally felt like I was doing a comedy show after that." Thankfully, Donal's cooking demo went on to be a flying success as he managed to fit in a spot of karaoke too.
Irish Independent
5 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Philly McMahon: Judgment Day is here and there could be casualties in more than one county
I watched Hell for Leather the other night on RTÉ. Missed the start of it, of course. But by the end I was almost overcome with a weird mix of nostalgia, pride and perspective. A fresh appreciation for what it is about Gaelic football that drives us and drives us nuts at the same time.
Extra.ie
7 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Ed Sheeran fans hit back at Irish claims
Ed Sheeran has been defending his family roots after a social media backlash when the singer claimed to 'identify as Irish'. Speaking to the LOUIS THEROUX PODCAST, the Galway Girl singer told stories of how proud he is of his Irish roots and about how his grandparents met and married, against all odds. While Ed's grandmother Nancy was a Catholic from the South, her husband was a Protestant from Northern Ireland, so when they fell in love during World War II it caused a whole lot of bother on both sides of the family. Ed Sheeran. Pic:for Coachella In fact, it was the bitter fall out among his grandparents families that inspired his hit 2017 song 'Nancy Mulligan', named after his grandmother. The folk song tells the story of his grandparents being shunned for marrying outside of their religions. He went on to tell the remarkable story of their love, and added that they had a 'very romantic' relationship considering nobody turned up to their wedding. Both families were against the union but the couple persisted against the odds and married anyway, later going on to have eight children. Reflecting on the romance, Ed said, 'They got engaged and no one turned up at their wedding. He stole all the gold teeth in his dental surgery and melted them down into a wedding ring, and they wore borrowed clothes to get married'. Ed Sheeran. Pic: Dana Jacobs/FilmMagic As well as Ed's father John they shared Jim, Bill, Peter, Chris, Mary-Anne, Bridget and the late Sally as well as 23 grandchildren, with Ed spending many holidays with his grandparents in County Wexford. Mrs Sheeran previously said that despite her grandson's incredible success, he's still her grandson to her. Pic: RTÉ/YouTube The 'Perfect' hitmaker went on to say that he was 'really proud' of his Irish cultural roots, and that he didn't feel that he had to 'just be British', as it was down to 'how you feel'. 'My first musical experiences were in Ireland, I grew up with trad music in the house. So I identify culturally as Irish, but I was obviously born and raised in Britain.' Whether his fans see Ed Sheeran as Irish or British, the fact is he's a worldwide superstar proud of his heritage and his close links to the oul sod. We'll take that!
