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Irish Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Midway through his interview with Brendan O'Connor, Bono confesses
Midway through his interview with Brendan O'Connor (RTÉ Radio 1, Saturday and Sunday), Bono confesses to a failing that has been evident to listeners since he's been on air. 'I'm not very succinct,' the U2 frontman says by way of explaining his convoluted answers to O'Connor's questions. The host seems happy enough to let his guest speak at his own pace, possibly viewing any verbal rambling as a small price to pay for having one of the most famous people in the world on his show for an hour. But O'Connor's indulgence extends only so far, and eventually he asks, tactfully but firmly, about the criticism Bono faced for accepting the US Presidential Medal of Freedom from Joe Biden in the light of American support for Israel's invasion of Gaza: 'When you look back on that now, do you think maybe was it wrong at this time to take that from America?' For once the response seems pretty clear. 'Being a conscientious objector with somebody else's conscience is quite a stretch,' the singer replies with a weary chuckle. He speaks of his 'real relationship' with Biden, built on work together on aid projects, while noting that United States arms shipments to Ukraine and Israel were tied up together: 'These are complex affairs.' Softening the mood, O'Connor highlights Bono's own expressions of compassion for the suffering in Gaza, but his guest still appears more concerned with the brickbats aimed at him. 'It's strange, this competitive empathy that's going around: 'I feel this wound more than you',' he says, just a touch sourly. READ MORE It's a revealing, unflattering moment, though it says more about the singer's all-too-human sensitivities than about his views on Gaza. But for O'Connor it vindicates his approach of allowing proceedings to unfold at a relaxed pace before venturing into contentious territory. [ Bono calls for end to war in Gaza as U2 perform Sunday Bloody Sunday at Ivor Novello awards Opens in new window ] Not that the conversation has been particularly dull beforehand. His meandering aside, Bono is in a loquaciously reflective mood as he's quizzed about his relationship with his late father ('I became close friends with my father after he passed, which is not so smart') and with his bandmates, particularly since the absence of Larry Mullen, the group's drummer, from U2's much-hyped Las Vegas residency: 'That was a real challenge for us.' He's also more self-deprecating than his prickly take on the Biden medal kerfuffle might otherwise suggest. 'When you get a certain level of recognition, it's inevitable you turn into a bit of a caricature,' he says. Former US president Joe Biden shakes hands with Bono after presenting the Medal of Freedom during a ceremony at the White House in January. Photograph: Leigh Vogel/UPI/Bloomberg The encounter underlines O'Connor's ever greater prominence in Radio 1's roster, coming as it does after the JNLR listenership survey placed his show as the station's second most popular programme. (He's surpassed only by the seemingly unsinkable dreadnought that is Morning Ireland.) After five years in his slot, he knows how to strike the balance between probing celebrity chats, candid human-interest interviews and more offbeat items, such as his larky conversation with the former Pogues member Cait O'Riordan about the often fractious dynamics within a band. 'I do remember me and Shane [MacGowan] throwing stuff at each other on stage,' O'Riordan says by way of empirical case study. And while there's the odd flash of sly humour or jaded realism familiar from his newspaper-columnist persona, the host easily blends sympathy with curiosity when talking to the academic Mary Ann Kenny about her memoir on the breakdown she suffered following the death of her husband. 'Our lives and our grip on reality can spiral out of control so quickly,' O'Connor says, with tangible sincerity. For now, however, he's steering a steady course. [ The Episode by Mary Ann Kenny: Moving memoir about loss and healing exposes troubling frailties in mental health services Opens in new window ] Indeed, O'Connor's profile within RTÉ seems only likely to rise now that Joe Duffy is entering the home straight as host of Liveline (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays). Having taken a two-week break after announcing his retirement, Duffy proves that his fabled broadcasting antennae are still twitching as he returns for his final stint. On Tuesday he keeps a debate about the mandatory wearing of school uniforms bubbling along, hearing out both sides while injecting some welcome levity, as when one caller traces the origins of such attire to educational traditions in Britain. 'Not only did the British give us The Fields of Athenry, the Famine, TB and everything else we blame them for, you're saying they gave us uniforms?' the host exclaims with mock outrage. Duffy's emotions are all too raw and real, however, when he speaks to Ali al-Najjar, a Sligo-based doctor, about the sickening violence the Israeli military has inflicted on his family in Gaza. With remarkable composure, Najjar recounts how nine of his sister Alaa's 10 children were killed by an Israeli missile strike on their home on Friday, May 23rd. He only learned of the terrible news through social media: 'I saw the horrible pictures of charred bodies being pulled out of the rubble, and those were her kids.' He also recalls recent conversations with Alaa, a paediatrician, in which she described the hellish experience of life in Gaza in terms that now sound like an atrocity foretold: 'We believe we are already experiencing what doomsday is.' When Duffy describes the slaughter of Alaa's family as unspeakable beyond words, he's being truthful in several ways: while his voice is hushed, it's as if he's unable to find the right words for what he's hearing rather than for dramatic effect. But he keeps talking to Najjar, who despite his grief and anger avoids blind hatred, praising Israelis who have sympathised with his family's unimaginable loss. It all makes for harrowing listening, and sometimes awkward listening too: Duffy raises the issue of Hamas's seizure of Israeli hostages only to pull back, conscious that he's adding to his guest's shocking burden. Above all, Najjar's testimony is a damning condemnation of Israel's obscene actions in Gaza, his humane restraint only adding to the power of his indictment. Duffy makes pointed reference to Bono's line about 'competitive empathy' but largely acts as witness rather than host, letting Najjar have the succinct, searing last words: the names of his nephews and nieces. Moment of the Week On Wednesday Oliver Callan (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays) enjoys the company of the actor Sorcha Cusack, one of the Irish thespian dynasty. Cusack is in gloriously unguarded form as she recalls her actor parents, Cyril ('He was tricky') and Mary ('She wasn't very good on film'). Things become slightly unstuck, however, when Callan plays a clip of Cusack in the movie Snatch, playing the mother of Brad Pitt's Traveller boxer. Asked about her accent in the film, Cusack replies: 'I think it's a pikey accent, they said.' Suddenly alarmed at the pejorative term for Travellers, Callan tries to exculpate his guest by noting that it was in the script, only for her to repeat it: 'I'd never heard the word.' 'No, it's a slur,' Callan states definitively, snatching Cusack from the jaws of more embarrassment.
Irish Times
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
RTÉ's Oliver Callan enjoys biggest gain in radio listenership, according to JNLR's latest survey
RTÉ 's Oliver Callan enjoyed the biggest gain in radio listenership, the latest Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) figures show. Callan's show now has 355,000 listeners after a full year on RTÉ Radio 1 at 9am, with his audience rising 6,000 since the last JNLR survey, which covered the 2024 calendar year. This is 25,000 higher than the listenership he inherited a year ago. Radio 1 is the most popular station in the State, reaching 1.3 million listeners every week. Its market share of 35–54 year-olds has grown, outperforming all other stations in that demographic. RTÉ 2FM retains its position as the most-listened-to by 15-34 year-olds, now reaching 714,000 listeners every week. Brendan O'Connor added 5,000 listeners on Saturdays since the last survey, taking his audience to 363,000, while his Sunday listenership was up by 3,000 to 369,000. READ MORE On weekdays, Morning Ireland added 5,000 listeners since the last survey to register an audience of 471,000. This meant it comfortably retained its place as the most listened-to programme on Irish radio. Today with Claire Byrne has 348,000 listeners, down 1,000 since the last survey, while Louise Duffy's audience of 223,000 dropped 5,000. News at One recorded an audience of 297,000 – down 10,000 since the last survey – a decrease that can likely be attributed to post-election fatigue. Joe Duffy's Liveline is down 7,000 listeners since the last survey, with its audience of 307,000 advancing 6,000 year-on-year. Ray D'Arcy dropped 2,000 to reach 192,000, while Drivetime dropped by 5,000 to a listenership of 221,000. Sunday with Miriam has held strong at 304,000. IRISH TIMES GRAPHICS RTÉ 2FM, which recently launched a new schedule after a number of interim presenter stints, saw its breakfast slot audience fall by 4,000 since the last survey to 148,000; its drive-time show is down 12,000 at 133,000. Speaking about the latest figures, Patricia Monahan, director of audio at RTÉ said: 'We are privileged that so many listeners continue to choose to engage with us every week, making RTÉ stations the most listened to in Ireland. We are particularly delighted to welcome new and younger listeners as we expand our reach and relevance to new audiences.' Today FM has 914,000 weekly listeners, making it the State's most listened to commercial radio station. The station recorded a daily reach of 466,000 and a market share of 7.9 per cent. The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show's audience of 204,000 is up 2,000 since the last survey; Dave Moore is down 4,000 to 193,000; while Ray Foley's audience is recorded at 153,000, a drop of 11,000; and Louise Cantillon took a hit of 14,000, bringing her listeners to 107,000. On the same station, The Last Word with Matt Cooper was down by 4,000 at 163,000. On Bauer Media Audio's national stations, Newstalk's Pat Kenny Show remains the most popular programme on commercial radio, with 224,000 listeners, down 13,000 from the last survey; Andrea Gilligan's Lunchtime Live audience is down 5,000 to 134,000; and Moncrieff is down 4,000 to 108,000. At the weekend, market share soared for The Anton Savage Show, whose Saturday figures are up 10,000 to 133,000, matching its Sunday listenership, which is up 5,000; Off the Ball is up 21,000 to 157,000 on Saturday, and a boost of 19,000 since the last survey brings its Sunday audience to 146,000. The JNLR survey, compiled on behalf of the radio industry by research firm Ipsos, shows 3.83 million people listened to the radio every week for the past 12 months. That was down by 70,000 listeners compared to 3.9 million last year.
