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The Irish Sun
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- 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."
Irish Daily Mirror
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
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."
