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Extra.ie
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Another famous face declares Áras bid -- but he's not the first bird-brain to run
In a week where the race to be the next President of Ireland has been heating up, one famous face from the world of celebrity has declared his interest in moving into the Áras to However, the top personality may well get out his spirit level and do a bit of tinkering before he moves in. Declaring his interest as he launched the new Chadwicks superstore in his home district of Sallynoggin, Dustin the Turkey said he believes he has what it takes to replace Michael D in Áras An Uachtaráin. 'The President thing is very important,' he says. 'But I have to keep my wing in at the building also, you know? I was one of the frontrunners. I was the first sort of celebrity to run for President against Mary Robinson and all them other people. In a week where the race to be the next President of Ireland has been heating up, one famous face from the world of celebrity has declared his interest in moving into the Áras. Pic: RTÉ 'I have to say Mary was the best choice and she did do Ireland proud, but the bang of feet off that woman, I'm not joking, you. And she was putting a torch in the window welcoming everyone in. A place in the northside and you're leaving your door open? You're just going to be robbed. 'Around 15 paintings went missing, 14 statues from the garden and two of Michael D Higgins's dogs.' So are the rumours true that Dustin is going to run again? 'I am going to run,' says the Den favourite. 'I just have to get rid of Joe Duffy at the moment,' and there is the other great opening that Dustin has his eye on – the hot seat of Liveline. 'I just have to get rid of Joe Duffy at the moment,' Dustin remarked. Pic: Mary Browne via RTÉ 'Sure Joe Duffy's job is stupid,' he says. 'All you have to do is say: 'Mildred phoned in there and she had a coffee and it was too hot. And funnily enough, Sheila is on the line and she said her coffee was too cold.' 'And then people go mad and you get Baby Bear to ring in and say his coffee was just perfect. It's the easiest job in the world.' Dustin adds that 'Joe was the ringmaster and we were all the clowns that were phoning in.' With names such as Katie Hannon, Philip Boucher-Hayes and Dermot Whelan in the frame, the race to the Liveline chair will be a hotly contested one. With names such as Katie Hannon, Philip Boucher-Hayes and Dermot Whelan in the frame, the race to the Liveline chair will be a hotly contested one. Pic: RTE And given that Dustin is a former RTÉ employee, in this time of crisis and flux at the national broadcaster, he believes that the top brass at Montrose will be looking carefully at his CV. 'I genuinely think that I have a good chance of getting it,' he says. 'Because let's face it, Joe Duffy is a turkey and I am a turkey, so why not replace a turkey with a turkey?' But there's one person Dustin might give the Liveline up for. 'I think RTÉ should bring back Ryan Tubridy,' he says. 'I think the man is a genius. If they'd given him another 15 years on The Late Late Show, he could have been the next Anton Savage or Pat Kenny. That's how good that man was. 'I think RTÉ should bring back Ryan Tubridy,' Dustin says. 'I think the man is a genius. Pic:'But life in RTÉ is good, I mean they have the longest-running comedy show in the world – Fair City has been on screen for over 30 years. It's one of the best comedies I've ever seen anyway.' He adds: 'I offered to bring The Den back and make some decent television, but they said: 'No, that might keep the people happy, so we won't do that.'' But the real reason The Den didn't come back, Dustin insists, is that like the Gallagher brothers of Oasis, there is a serious rift in the camp. 'Zig and Zag weren't talking to each other for legal reasons to do with Vogue Williams,' he says. As for his plans for his Presidential role, Dustin has big ambitions. Pic: PA Wire He adds: 'I don't want to go into it. Vogue's a good friend of mine, she's 79th in line to the throne.' At Chadwicks in Sallynoggin, Dustin was joined by Olympic boxer and brand ambassador Jack Marley, and the bird-brained builder insists the area in south Dublin is where he was born. 'That's where the egg was found,' he says. 'And plus, the first bird I brought to a Debs was called Sally Noggin. She was lovely. Well, if you don't include the Seoige sisters. That was an expensive night, both of them wanted to go with me, so that's two orchids, two boxes of chocolates, and you know, you're up in Moore Street last minute.' As for his plans for his Presidential role, Dustin has big ambitions. 'I think people haven't been looked after equally in this country,' he says. 'I would just make sure everyone is more equal. In other words, I'd be siphoning money off meself.' In fact, he would turn to those building skills to transform Ireland's Presidential seat. 'I'd turn it into a bowling alley and make some money – I mean, no one needs to live in a house that size, let's be honest,' he says. 'I mean, I'd just like to be President, and I have represented Ireland at the highest level – Eurovision. And I am so big in Azerbaijan, I can't walk down the street in Baku.' Mickey D did do a good job, but nobody wants to listen to him doing poems. And we both have the same tailor as we're both the same size. When Louis Copeland is knocking up a suit for Mickey D, he knocks one up for me too and only charges me half.' It is only when I ask a probing question about bird flu that Dustin becomes enraged. 'Are you blaming me for bird flu?' he says. 'That was one night. I went to Coppers, and it wasn't my fault that those women from Tipperary were throwing themselves at me. 'They'd just won the camogie final. I do look after myself, I've trimmed down – I usually do that coming up to Christmas.' And if his campaign for the Presidency fails, Dustin still has his trade to fall back on. 'I started Mrs Murphy's gates in 1990, but I had to take three months off for the World Cup to get over the shock. I am due to finish it by 2029,' he says. 'I'm doing another gig, the Children's Hospital, that's run over slightly, so I won't go into that.
Irish Times
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Liveline contenders: ‘Crazy levels of speculation' about who will step in to replace Joe Duffy
The departure of Joe Duffy from RTÉ late last month could serve as a catalyst for a reimagining of the Liveline brand and even lead to an overhaul of the national broadcaster's afternoon schedule, according to sources within the station. The leading contenders to take over from Joe Duffy as the full-time presenter of Liveline were all tight-lipped yesterday as to whether they are still in the running for one of the most high-profile and highly paid roles in Irish broadcasting. An RTÉ spokeswoman declined to be drawn on exactly when Duffy's successor will be announced, only confirming that the recruitment process is ongoing, with no announcement likely until the autumn. [ 'Love you all, it's been a privilege': Joe Duffy presents last Liveline as he retires from RTÉ Opens in new window ] The Irish Times understands that senior management are actively considering a major reboot of the Liveline brand, rather than simply slotting in a replacement presenter. READ MORE A shake-up of the afternoon schedule is possible, although there has been no confirmation that it is a done deal. Talk of any big changes to the line-up is purely speculative. Katie Hannon , who has served as Duffy's most regular stand-in over recent years and has had high-profile full-time roles across television and radio, remains the front-runner to take over. Her Monday night television show Upfront was recently cancelled by RTÉ – a move which led to speculation that it would free her to take on Liveline in a permanent capacity. However, when making the announcement about the show's cancellation, the broadcaster played down the timing, saying it was connected to a change in strategy and well-publicised financial pressures, and nothing to do with the departure of Duffy. Philip Boucher Hayes , the host of Countrywide who is very highly regarded by senior executives in Montrose, has had a range of high-profile roles on radio and television over the last two decades. He has also been a regular substitute Liveline presenter over recent years. Philip Boucher-Hayes has had a range of high-profile roles on both radio and television over the last two decades. Photograph: Ruth Mejber Colm Ó Mongáin is also said to be in serious contention for the hot seat. Boucher Hayes has already presented the programme for two weeks this summer, while Ó Mongáin has been the stand-in this week. Another candidate being talked about in at least some quarters is the current host of the 9am-10am slot, Oliver Callan , although he is a fairly recent arrival at radio centre. He is performing very strongly in his current slot. None of these four responded to queries from The Irish Times yesterday. 'RTÉ will run a process over the coming months to appoint Joe's successor, with an announcement expected in the autumn,' was all a spokeswoman for the broadcaster would say. Other contenders in the frame amid what one RTÉ insider described as 'crazy levels of speculation' include the two Drivetime presenters, Sarah McInerney and Cormac Ó hEadhra , while the bookies have also suggested former Today FM presenter Dermot Whelan as a long-shot for the role. Whoever does take on the job will be paid significantly less than Duffy, who, until his departure at the end of last month, was the highest earner at the national broadcaster. Figures released last year showed he earned €351,000 for his work there, significantly ahead of the next-best-paid broadcaster Claire Byrne , who was said to have earned about €280,000. RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst , who earns €250,000, has made it clear that he will establish a salary ceiling at the organisation at the €250,000 level. Joe Duffy has left Liveline - but who will replace him? Listen | 26:20
Irish Times
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Presidency is not a Rose of Tralee contest for over-35s. Some qualities are non-negotiable
Pulling names from a hat. This is what Irish democracy was reduced to in recent months as the media conducted virtual auditions for the next Uachtaráin na hÉireann . Joe Duffy, Linda Martin, Conor McGregor, Mary Hanafin, Fintan O'Toole, Michael McDowell, Heather Humphreys, Barry Andrews, Michelle O'Neill, Seán Kelly, Frances Fitzgerald, Mick Wallace, Geraldine Byrne Nason, Colum Eastwood, Frances Black, Peter Power, Peter Casey, Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, Jarlath Burns, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, Mike Ryan, Micheál Martin, Mary Lou McDonald, Gerry Adams, Uncle Tom Cobley and all. Anyone with name recognition, a two-piece suit and an ability to string a cúpla focal together – or not – has been given a twirl. It's been mildly entertaining; a sort of Rose of Tralee for the over-35s. Certainly, some excellent potential candidates have been mentioned in dispatches. As for others, I can only echo the woman in Dublin's O'Connell Street when Channel Four News invited her to contemplate a President McGregor – 'Jesus, Christ, I'd leave the country.' Remember, the bum on the seat in the Oval Office was, once upon a time, treated as a comedic diversion, but we need not look that far for proof. Our own country, after all, selected a turkey to represent us in the Eurovision Song Contest. This week, two contestants have been announced. Both are serious candidates with appeal for entirely different classes of voters. Former EU commissioner Mairead McGuinness has the fluency and boardroom polish of a Fine Gael blue blood. Independent TD Catherine Connolly applies her polish to advocacy for peace and justice. Others are limbering up on the sidelines. Declan Ganley, a socially conservative businessman, and Aubrey McCarthy, a first-time senator, are reported to be seeking Oireachtas nominations, while Aontú dangles the promise of a super candidate. Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin wait and watch like snipers behind the ditch. It's time the rest of us started taking this election seriously. READ MORE Few events exposé Ireland's innate Pontius Pilate syndrome quite as sharply as a presidential election. Maybe it's a native postcolonial sense of powerlessness that creates ripples of ridicule in the discussion. Each time a vacancy occurs, the bellyaching starts that the office is but a frivolous waste of money and should be abolished. The same impulse marks the conversation about neutrality; the idea that, in the greater scheme of things, Ireland is too insignificant for its constitutional pacifism to impinge on the global realpolitik. Currently, there are those arguing that the Occupied Territories Bill won't make any difference to besieged Palestinians in the West Bank and, ergo, we should wash our hands of it. If what Ireland does is irrelevant, why are Israel's propagandists operating a virulent anti-Ireland campaign with the help of useful idiots in the Trump administration? When a so-called diplomat like Mike Huckabee resorts to cartoonish stereotyping about the drunken Irish, you know you've got them worried. [ Taoiseach rejects US politicians' claims that Occupied Territories Bill is 'diplomatic intoxication' Opens in new window ] The argument that the role of president is devoid of real power is an odd perspective to cling to after 35 consecutive years of radical presidencies. Since the start of the summer, broadcasters and headline writers have been puzzling over the mystery of why nobody appeared keen on the €330,000-a-year job. Could it be the boredom of seven years languishing in the Park that is deterring them? Or maybe it's the cut-throat election campaign? The bigger mystery is that one glaringly obvious reason for the hesitancy goes unmentioned – fear of failure. The bar has been set so high by Mary Robinson, Mary McAleese and Michael D Higgins that, sooner or later, some incumbent will not be the most popular person in the land. That consideration narrows the field of potential contenders to the truly committed and those who truly ought to be committed. Ireland's international relationships are changing dramatically. The country is no longer the beggar of the EU, the cap-doffing neighbour of the UK or the all-singing, all-dancing darling of the US. We need a president who can, simultaneously, represent its evolving identity abroad and those it is leaving behind at home. Many of the names that have been floated have a certain cachet. Most have read a book or two, know to work the dinner cutlery from the outside-in and not to speak with their mouths full of food or fury. But this is not a beauty contest. It's not even a personality contest. The X factor being sought is character. Instead of asking who we want to be the next president, we might more usefully ask what we want them to be. [ The next president should be selected by lottery. It could be you Opens in new window ] Brave, for starters. I want a president who will not buckle under intimidation. Someone with the fortitude Higgins showed when he rejected Israel's anti-Semitism smear as 'a slander against Ireland' . I want a president who will show solidarity with Irish citizens in Northern Ireland when their tricolour and effigies of their political leaders are set aflame on Twelfth bonfires. I want a president who cannot but weep at the sight of man's inhumanity, as Robinson did during the Somali famine, thus drawing the world's attention to it. I want a president who is for all the people and not only those of her own persuasion, as McAleese demonstrated when she drew the ire of the Catholic hierarchy by taking communion at a Protestant service in Christ Church Cathedral. I want a president who will stand with immigrants in the face of racist protests. Someone who will visit GAA-playing Palestinian children from the Occupied Territories to assure them that the decision by the Department of Justice forbidding their Irish tour misrepresents this country's values. I want a president who will be unavoidably absent should the Taoiseach emulate Keir Starmer by unfurling an invitation for a State visit when he visits Trump next St Patrick's Day and the big bully turns up here. I want a president who will get out of the Áras to stand with victims of sexual and domestic violence, young people at risk of harm, the homeless, the sick, casualties of injustice and miscarriages of justice, artists and the caretakers of Ireland's natural ecology. The pages of history keep turning. Ireland has arrived at the chapter where it finds its voice. It needs a president who will encourage it to keep raising it, for the country's own good and for the greater good.
Irish Times
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Minister for Health makes emergency intervention after Taoiseach's joke ripples through the House
The Taoiseach put on his 'I'm going to say something funny now' face, the one where he smirks to himself because he knows he is just about to knock 'em all dead with a hilarious one-liner. He folded his arms tightly around his chest, giving himself a happy hug in advance of what he was about to say. Danny Healy-Rae had just made an impassioned plea on behalf of publicans in the village of Killorglin, Co Kerry. Fourteen of them recently applied to the District Court for an exemption to stay open until 3am during Puck Fair , but the judge permitted them to serve until only 2am. Outrageous carry on. Danny Healy-Rae was incensed. READ MORE Puck Fair has been going on in the Kerry village for more than 400 years, he told the Dáil. 'It has survived many obstacles – bad times, good times and it even survived Joe Duffy's attack on the goat.' Just to be clear, Joe Duffy didn't physically attack the wild goat, which is captured and crowned King of Killorglin for the duration of the three-day festival. The recently retired broadcaster merely facilitated some very heated Liveline phone-ins about the welfare of the goat during its short stint in captivity. Having risen above many setbacks, Danny hopes the festival will survive the docking of an hour off pub closing time. The publicans are set to appeal to the Circuit Court. So Killorglin only gets to serve until 2am on two nights during Puck Fair in August, 'yet we have to listen constantly about requests here in Dublin to open Dublin until six in the morning', complained Danny. What they are saying above in Dublin is, 'they want to bring back the night'. Puck Fair is an event where people come to meet each other once a year, or maybe only once every three or four years, he said. It seems the reason gardaí objected to a 3am finish was pressure on resources. 'Are Garda resources under so much pressure that we can't afford an extra hour each night until three o'clock to maintain the tradition that we've had in Killorglin? 'Twas open all night, you know, one time, Taoiseach.' Then Danny looked directly across at the Government front bench and did his bit for Kerry tourism. 'And seeing as ye are there now, I am inviting ye all to Puck Fair – the Taoiseach, the Minister for Justice, the Chief Whip and yourself, Ceann Comhairle. Ye are all welcome to Puck.' Micheál Martin got giddy at the prospect of everyone being welcome to Puck in Kerry. But on the subject of extending drinking hours and granting exemptions, he seemed to be suggesting a somewhat dodgy solution. 'There were many times in Kerry, apparently, when there were many lock-ins,' he said, cryptically, his voice trailing off. Not that he'd know anything about the type of things which might have happened at wild Fianna Fáil functions in the days before green tea. Nor, one assumes, was he saying that the good publicans of Killorglin should take the law into their own hands by allowing after-hours drinking. Perish the thought, and with the Minister for Justice sitting right beside him. Anyway, Micheál was about to unleash his funny gag. He smiled to himself, folded his arms and focused on Danny, who was all ears. 'I'd say you've outdone Leo Varadkar in terms of nightlife and you're extolling the virtues of going the whole way, like the whole night long, like you know …' What was he on about? 'Going the whole way … the whole night long, like you know.' Where was he going with this? Chief Whip Mary Butler, seated directly behind the Taoiseach, looked a little puzzled. Bellowing Danny was momentarily silenced. The Minister for Health made an emergency intervention. 'What?' she hissed loudly from stage left. Jennifer Carroll McNeill is not a woman easily shocked, but like the rest of us, she was probably wondering where Micheál was headed with his meandering line about knowing the virtues of going the whole way for the whole night long. Could Mary Lou McDonald be about to enter the presidential race? Listen | 41:13 The Taoiseach, delighted with himself, was oblivious until he got that little nudge from her and, suddenly, he realised what he had been saying. He turned, stricken, and stuttered to Jennifer about going the whole way 'in terms of nightlife, like!' as his voice went up higher and his accent went full Cork. 'Jaysus,' he chuckled. 'Bí curamach anois!' Telling himself as Gaelige to be careful now. 'So the big issue is drinking 'til 2am. It's the first time it's ever been presented to me in the Dáil like this: that you actually want us to go to 3am,' he continued, but now being ultra careful. 'Well, not me,' he hastily added. No. Not that anyone was thinking that. We were still back with Varadkar making a night of it. 'Until 6am, actually,' observed Sinn Féin's Aengus Ó Snodaigh. Danny was on his feet and roaring again. The Taoiseach was trying to talk. It was like closing time at Puck Fair. 'Taoiseach, your time is up,' called landlady Verona Murphy, or the Ceann Comhairle as she is also known, banging her bell and telling Danny to sit down. Things were getting a bit rowdy. Have they no homes to go to? 'Look it,' said Micheál, ignoring landlady Verona who was doing her best to maintain an orderly house and addressing Danny. 'I've the Minister for Justice alongside of me. He's heard your pleas.' Pleas to come down to Killorglin for the festival or try to do something to make sure the publicans get their extra hour when their appeal is heard? Jim O'Callaghan nodded away. Although it is most unlikely that Senior Counsel Jim is going to hotfoot it down to Killarney or Tralee Circuit Court any day soon to sort out a late exemption. 'He knows what the place is like,' murmured Danny, mysteriously. The Taoiseach had some good news for him about the Minister. 'He's undertaken to go down to the Puck Fair, okay?' We didn't see Jim being consulted on this, but he looked happy enough. 'I will see what I can do to attend as well, but I may not be around at that time,' added Micheál, deftly mapping his escape route. As it turns out, O'Callaghan has strong family links to the Kingdom and is very proud of his Kerry connections. His father, Jerry, came from Callaghans Cross just outside Castleisland. This is the sort of fact Danny Healy-Rae would most certainly know. Although nobody knows if Big Jim or Danny will be 'going the whole way – like, the whole night long' at Puck Fair until three in the morning this year. That's for the court to decide.
RTÉ News
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Bryan Dobson on the joy of retirement and his advice to Joe Duffy
A year on from his departure from the RTÉ newsroom, Bryan Dobson has no regrets about taking early retirement. In fact, he describes it as "intoxicating". The veteran news journalist talks to Janice Butler about new projects, the joy of grandchildren and the advice he'd give the newly retired Joe Duffy. "I sent him a card. I'm sure it's amongst the thousands of cards that he's got, to wish him well and to say, speaking from my own experience, that retirement is great," beams a relaxed and healthy looking Bryan Dobson, sitting in his office at his Dublin home, surrounded by books and paintings of the sea. He is talking about the recent departure of Joe Duffy from RTÉ's Liveline and his own retirement, which the broadcaster began last summer. "I think he could be very busy if he wants to be. The phone will ring with all kinds of offers, I would say. Enda Kenny, who I met around the time that I was retiring, said to me that you should do nothing or make any decisions for about six months. Don't make any commitments and then see how you feel. "So I more or less did that and I think that's good advice for anyone," he adds, content with his decision to leave at 63, after 37 years with the national broadcaster, or as he puts it, "to go out on a high." "How's everyone getting on in there"? he asks, always the gentleman. "I've had a bit of contact with a few people since I've left, but not that many." Having worked in the busy and high-pressure world of news for almost four decades, finishing his career on the News at One on Radio 1, Bryan admits he was surprised by how easy he found it to detach himself from the working environment. "I didn't have any withdrawal symptoms at all, and I expected maybe I'd have a little. But when I retired, I immediately went away for a week and then when I came back, I had things planned, so there was never a moment of missing work," he remarks. "It's gone very fast, too fast really. But I've kept pretty busy, which is good, but you're able to create gaps where you don't do anything or just have some time to yourself. The freedom is quite intoxicating. I left a bit early, earlier than retirement age, because I wanted to go while I was still enjoying the job and still looking forward to getting up and going in. I hated the idea of getting to the point where I resented having to go to work because I think that would show; hard to disguise that on the air. It was the right time," he adds. While he's taken the foot off the pedal, he's still taking on bits of TV work: his latest project, The Last Irish Missionaries, is on our screens this week. Last autumn, he was contacted by a production company to work on a documentary about the history of the evolution of the Irish missionary movement, and he jumped at the opportunity, saying that it appealed to his love of history and innate curiosity about people. In the two-part documentary, Bryan and journalist Dearbhail McDonald chart the evolution of the Irish missionary movement, from its earliest colonial era, right up to the present day, when far fewer people are entering the religious life. It's a story of self-sacrifice and philanthropy, as well as questionable politics and abuse cover-ups. The last missionaries are largely elderly and either retired or never coming home. So, what will be their legacy? This is what Bryan and Dearbhail examine over the two-parter. "It was a chance to hear their testimony," says Bryan of the people they met for the show. "And it struck me that a lot of people will connect to this documentary because there mustn't be a family or a community in the country that doesn't have some connection with those missionary priests and nuns. My wife had an uncle who was a Holy Ghost father, and he'd come home every three or four years, and I remember talking to him about his experiences in Nigeria," he adds. Bryan and Dearbhail got to travel the country and the world, with a "brief trip to the Philippines" for Dobson, to explain the origins and impact of the Irish missionary project, for better and for worse, and to assess its legacy. "It's very interesting to watch the evolution of missionary thinking. In the early stages, it was conversion and spreading the word of the gospel and then as the enterprise grew, they began to see very quickly that there were huge social needs: education, healthcare and then it evolved into social justice and social structures and that's where you get this image of the radical priest or revolutionary figure. There was this sense of standing with the people and understanding their suffering," explains Dobson with his newsman's hat on. What was his takeaway from working on the project? "I was struck by a few things. We asked the interviewees why they ended up where they ended up, and they almost looked puzzled by the question and said, 'because we were sent', so there was extraordinary obedience. Then there was a life-long commitment; they were there to stay and in many cases, they never came home. Nothing deviates them from their mission, and I found all that fascinating." He remarks that after decades of grilling politicians and reporting from high-profile events (he covered two papal conclaves and would be "greedy to want to cover a third"), it was nice to have the time to delve into a project like this over a number of months. "It was lovely. My day-to-day job was news. When the day was over, you started on a fresh page and off you went again. The chance to spend time with people and give them the opportunity to tell their story was an honour. It's always a great privilege. When it was all over and the filming was finished, I felt a little bit sad, I missed working on it," he reflects. Another outlet that's keeping him busy is his role as the chairperson of the new State Commemorations Advisory Committee, which has been established with the aim of advising on the planning and delivery of commemorative events. "When you join these committees, they say it's only a couple of meetings a year, and then it turns out to be a bit more," he laughs. "We had our first meeting recently, and the purpose is to advise the Minister and his officials on events that might be commemorated and how they might be commemorated over the lifetime of the Government. There's some stuff going on this year around the 250th anniversary of the birth of Daniel O'Connell and the committee has some ideas on what should be commemorated," he explains. Any plans to reflect on his life and career in a memoir, as his former colleague Miriam O'Callaghan will be doing in a memoir this autumn? "I had a couple of publishers that contacted me after I retired to see if I was interested, but I'm not at the moment," he answers. "I doubt that I'd have much of interest to put into it, to make a book out of my mundane life," he laughs. "I might be tempted to write something for my children and grandchildren. We'll see, but not at the moment anyhow." Away from occasional work projects, family life keeps Bryan busy in retirement. He's a picture of health, having lost almost four stone over the last number of years, with healthy eating and cycling. He and his wife Crea became grandparents again at the start of this year, with the arrival of a granddaughter, Lucy, the second child for his daughter Sophie (he has another daughter, Hannah). "We've two now", he says proudly. "Myles will be four in October, and Lucy was born in January, and she's very sweet," he smiles. "Being a grandparent is so much fun. I never knew my grandparents, but they take a more relaxed approach to things now, and the kids can get away with a lot more with their grandparents." His "escape" is to go sailing, which he plans to do over the summer. He laughs that his wife "stays firmly on dry land." He has a sailing buddy who joins him for these trips. "I'll be floating around on a boat next week. That's the plan," he says. "We go around the Irish Sea. The boat is in Carlingford at the moment so we'll go up and take it out. It's all a bit aimless; we just go wherever the wind takes us. We took it up to Carlingford last weekend and we sailed through the night on the shortest day of the year. It was beautiful." With the world news so chaotically fast now, does he ever miss the cut and thrust of reporting the stories of the day? "I follow the news and like everyone else, my jaw is on the floor most days with what's going on, and I am horrified by it. But I don't miss it from the point of view of being a reporter. I really have managed to shut that door in professional terms. I think it's because I had a good, long run, I did everything that I'd reasonably expected to do," he answers. "In the past, I would have listened to the news as a journalist, working the angles, but now I tend to listen to it as a citizen and voter, and that's been an interesting change. I didn't expect that."
