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The Irish Sun

RTE star Marty Whelan opens up on ‘soul destroying' career knock as he weighs in on retirement ahead of 69th birthday

RTE star Marty Whelan has opened up on his "soul destroying" career knock as he weighed in on retirement plans ahead of his 69th birthday. The Dubliner first graced the ears of our nation in 1979 working with the national broadcaster RTE to host a series of shows on 2FM. Advertisement 2 Marty Whelan has commentated on the Eurovision for 26 years Credit: Social Media Collects 2 Marty is turning 69 in June Credit: RTE In 1989 Marty left 2FM to join rival station Century Radio in 1989 for a short stint as the station subsequently failed by 1991. However he returned to the broadcaster by the mid 90s and has remained since, experiencing many And ahead of his 69th birthday next month, Marty has no plans to retire or step away from his Lyric FM show any time soon and hasn't been tempted by outside offers. He told the RTE Guide: "You know I have been approached by people outside of RTE who have asked me about my plans, and I've always said, 'No, I'm very happy here'. Advertisement read more on marty whelan "You must remember I went before and because of that I'd be very wary. I'm not 27 anymore." The 68-year-old works on a. one-year contract for Lyric FM, which he has admitted would have "frightened the life" out of him back in the day. He explained: "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. Advertisement read more on the irish sun "[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. Greg O'Shea makes public apology after twerking in Marty Whelan's face "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." Marty's journey began back in 1987 when he hosted Eurosong in Dublin, the same year won Eurovision for a second time with his song Hold me now. Advertisement He became synonymous in Ireland for his coverage of the Eurovision and took on the role of commentating through all three stages of Eurovision with the national broadcaster since 2000. He will of course be back on air this evening to commentate on the first round of semi-finals for the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Basel in EURO FUN Marty will then be back on air for the second semi-finals on Thursday, May 15, where Ireland's entry Emmy, will be performing her hit Laika Party alongside 15 other hopefuls. If Emmy is successful, she will go straight to the final on Saturday, May 17, where 26 countries compete in the 69th annual running of Europe's favourite television show. Advertisement The Norwegian revealed how producers Emmy told The Irish Sun: "We have done some changes after the first rehearsal because seeing the prop in the first rehearsal, it looked very big so we had to change a bit of the choreography and my placement on stage because of that. "And also I had some rails on the rocket because I am standing on top of a rocket but the team didn't think it looked that great on camera so we have now removed the rails and we have a thing behind me instead."