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Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
From Pat Kenny to Ryan Tubridy: Five shock exits that rocked Irish radio
Pat Kenny, RTÉ Radio 1 to Newstalk, 2013: Marty Whelan, RTÉ 2FM to Century, 1989 Still remembered as a genuinely shocking moment, possibly because Century was the first nationwide rival to RTÉ. Whelan's move ended in tears, as his new home went kaput just two years later. He was blackballed by the national broadcaster but slowly redeemed himself on television and radio, and is now a beloved fixture on Lyric FM. Ray D'Arcy, Today FM to RTÉ Radio 1, 2015 The Kildare man talked about coming home when he made the surprise decision to quit his massively popular mid-morning Today FM show. His new slot, mid-afternoon on RTE Radio 1, hasn't exactly been a disaster – but has been pretty underwhelming. Ryan Tubridy, RTÉ Radio 1 to Q102 (eventually), 2023-24 Tubridy slunk out of Montrose under a cloud after the infamous payments scandal hit RTÉ, with him at the centre. Half a year, later he was back, with a syndicated show from Virgin Radio UK, simulcast to Dublin-based Q102. Early audience figures were OK, though they've dropped this year. Ian Dempsey, 2FM to Today FM, 1998 Another shocker, as RTÉ stalwart Dempsey – he of the eponymous radio show and, a few years earlier, popular television shows Dempsey's Den and The Beatbox – moved to a young whelp of a station that had only launched (under a different name, Radio Ireland, at that) the previous year. Did it work out for him? Oh, yes. And he's still there, doing very nice numbers in the JNLRs.
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
JNLRs: Weekend radio the big winner – but it's not all good news at RTÉ
According to the latest Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) figures, Brendan O'Connor and Miriam O'Callaghan on RTÉ Radio One, along with Alison Curtis on Today FM and Anton Savage on Newstalk, are all enjoying boosts in listenership. Overall, RTÉ Radio 1 has seen an increase of 25,000 listeners a week, the latest listenership figures have revealed. It now reaches 1.4 million listeners each week. Brendan O'Connor has a lot to do with this, with the Cork man bringing in an extra 89,000 listeners to the station across Saturdays and Sundays. The Saturday show is up 49,000 listeners, bringing the show to 412,000. O'Connor's Sunday instalment is up 40,000 listeners, bringing it to 409,000. This is the first time this slot on RTÉ Radio 1 has reached 400,000 on both days of the weekend. When Marian Finucane presented the show until 2020, she had over 400,000 listeners on Saturdays but never on Sundays. Sunday with Miriam has also seen an increase with 13,000 more listeners standing the show at 317,000. But it's not all good news at Montrose - Liveline has taken another hit with a loss of 8,000 listeners, an increase on the 7,000 drop announced in May. This brings the show below the 300,000 mark to 299,000 and is despite the media coverage around Joe Duffy's retirement in late June. So far this summer, Philip Boucher-Hayes, Colm Ó Mongáin and Sarah McInerney have presented the show. Cormac Ó hEadhra is rumoured to pull on the fill-in shoes next after McInerney. Elsewhere on Radio 1, Morning Ireland is down 2,000 listeners but remains the country's most popular radio show at 469,000 listeners. Now more than a year into his tenure on the 9am slot, Oliver Callan holds steady and is only down 1,000 to 354,000. Ray D'Arcy's afternoon show is down 1,000 in the last three months to 182,000. This time last year the programme had 191,000 listeners and had gone up 10,000 in the three months previous. Louise Duffy's music show continues on a downward trajectory, dropping by 4,000 to 219,000 listeners, while News At One has jumped up 1,000 to 298,000. Today with Claire Byrne is trending in the right direction and is up 6,000 to 354,000 after taking a slight drop in May. Dramatic drop Next on the twist of the dial, 2FM has seen a dramatic drop in listeners. RTÉ announced a major shake-up in January, introducing new presenters, all selected from an expression of interest competition that the station ran in autumn 2024. However, the overhaul has yet to deliver a boost in numbers. 2FM Breakfast, presented by Rozanna Purcell, Aisling Bonner and Carl Mullan, has lost 9,000 listeners, bringing the show to 139,000. This is 10,000 listeners less than last year. Donncha O'Callaghan signed off from the show last July, after presenting the show for three years. Doireann Garrihy was also a presenter on the show, exiting before O'Callaghan in May. She then began presenting a new 3pm to 6pm slot on the station in February. As of the latest figures, Garrihy's 2FM Drive is down 8,000 listeners, leaving listenership at 125,000. 2FM Morning with Laura Fox is down 5,000, with the show now standing at 122,000. This is in comparison to last year's figure of 141,000 listeners. Tracy Clifford is the host with good news, albeit a humble 1,000 increase in listeners, bringing the show to 110,000. This is 18,000 listeners down on last year. Commercial radio Weekend Breakfast with Alison Curtis is on the up again, growing by 12,000 listeners across her Saturday and Sunday shows. Her Saturday show now stands at 186,000 listeners, with 171,000 listeners tuning in on Sundays. While Curtis' show is up book-on-book, this is a drop from last year's figure of 189,000 listeners. The Canadian native is the longest-running female presenter on Today FM, having moved to Ireland in 1999. The Anton Savage Show is continuing to see growth, jumping by 6,000 listeners to 139,000. This comes after May's increase of 10,000 listeners. The Dublin man has previously been linked with the Liveline host position; however, he has denied he has been contacted by RTÉ. He said: 'I've not let a complete absence of any offers dissuade me from putting down some serious money in the bookies.' Today FM is one of the big winners in the latest book, with a weekly audience of 928,000 listeners tuning into the Bauer Media-owned station. The Last Word with Matt Cooper has seen the biggest jump with a growth of 18,000 listeners, bringing it up to 181,000. That figure also represents a year-on-year increase for Cooper, up from last August's figure of 171,000. 'Everyone on The Last Word team is delighted with this lift in listener numbers,' Cooper said. 'Trump's tariffs obviously have hogged the headlines in recent months - and we've also given much of our time to covering the horrors in Gaza – but we think we've found a mix of all sorts of things in news, sport, culture and business that appears to be resonating with listeners.' Louise Cantillon has seen a growth of 12,000, bringing listenership to 119,000. This is a jump from last year's figure of 131,000. 'I am so grateful to every single person that decides to spend their lunchtime with me. Ar bís agus an a bhuíoch,' Cantillon said. The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show isn't too far behind with 10,000 extra listeners, with the show now at 213,000 – a 3,000 increase on last year. 'Cheers to all the extra early risers that have joined us and started tuning in to our show each morning,' Dempsey said. 'We love bringing positivity to the start of people's days so we're so grateful to see more people joining us each morning.' Mid-mornings have also been given a boost for Today FM, with Dave Moore's 9am to 12pm slot up 5,000, bringing the total audience to 198,000. In the afternoons on the station, Ray Foley has jumped to 159,000, up 6,000 on three months ago. Finally, it's a mixed bag for Newstalk. The Newstalk Breakfast Show, hosted by Shane Coleman and Ciara Kelly, has seen no change, holding the line at 165,000 listeners. The Pat Kenny Show is down 8,000, bringing it to 216,000, but maintains its place as commercial radio's most popular show. Lunchtime Live has shed 10,000 listeners to stand at 124,000, while Sean Moncrieff's show is continuing to stand at 108,000.
The Irish Sun
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Irish radio star gets engaged to partner as she reveals ‘perfect' proposal snaps that leaves fans gushing
'So unbelievably happy for you...' OH VOW! Irish radio star gets engaged to partner as she reveals 'perfect' proposal snaps that leaves fans gushing IRISH radio star Pamela Joyce got engaged to her partner and has revealed her "perfect" proposal snaps. The former Today FM host became 'Instagram official' with her partner Gavin Moran in September 2023. 3 Pamela Joyce and her partner Gavin Moran got engaged last month Credit: Instagram/@pamelafjoyce 3 Pamela shared the announcement on Monday Credit: Instagram/@pamelafjoyce 3 Pamela shared her proposal snaps on Instagram Credit: Instagram/@pamelafjoyce And just two years later, Gavin got down on one knee and proposed to Pamela. The Galway beauty took to Instagram yesterday to reveal the exciting news with her 40,000 followers. Pamela shared heart-melting photos of the proposal, which took place at the stunning Ballynahinch Castle Hotel in Connemara on Sunday, July 27. In one snap, the comedian looked emotional as she wrapped her arms around her fiancé for a selfie after saying, 'Yes'. Later on, Pamela and Gavin celebrated the special occasion with some glasses of bubbly at the hotel. The couple looked more in-love than ever as they raised their glasses for a toast in a smiling selfie. Pamela jokingly captioned her post: "Guys, do you think he fancies me?!" The pair's friends and fans were all delighted for them and flooded the comment section with support. Ireland AM star Brooke Scullion wrote: "Massive, massive congratulations." DWTS host Doireann Garrihy said: "So unbelievably happy for you both." Fair City star gets engaged RTE star Carl Mullan commented: "Ahhhh absolutely fab news. Massive congrats to you both." Ally added: "The ring. The nails. The smile. Perfect, perfect, perfect. Gorgeous news." Pamela took to her Instagram Stories this morning to share her gratitude and add some humour to the event. She said: "I wanted to pop on and say thank you so much. The messages are really kind and I appreciate everything." Pamela joked: "It's very sweet but I... I don't want to say, 'Call out people', but some messages have been coming through and I don't want to address any drama but a lot of messages says, 'I'm so happy for you both', and I just don't see what this has to do with Gavin. "So if you could just direct everything to me that would be great." CITY LOVE And it seems as though love is in the air as Fair City star Aisling Kearns also recently got engaged. The actress, who plays Maria Purcell in the hit soap, and her partner Dave Fennell welcomed their son, Tommy, into the world in October 2023. The couple have been together for 10 years and Dave has now popped the question "at last". Dave got down on one knee while they were out on a walk together at the beach. The actress looked casual and comfy wearing a pair of khaki green tracksuit bottoms and a cream sweater. Herself and Dave, who wore a dry robe, were dipping their toes in the sea and embracing each other before Dave pulled out the ring. Aisling looked shocked as she put her hands onto her face before giving him a kiss and of course - saying, 'Yes'.
Irish Times
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Why isn't the message on climate change getting through?
Almost every time I catch a news bulletin on radio or TV this summer, it strikes me that the conversation on climate change is in drastic need of a reset. Time and again, reports are broadcast concerning extreme weather events, from unprecedented rainfall in Asia to searing heatwaves in southern Europe , from record temperatures in the Arctic to devastating flooding in the US. One particularly tragic event this month was the loss of many young lives at a much-loved summer camp for girls in Texas. Time and again, these events are described as once-in-a-lifetime occurrences, rare events that are hugely regrettable but unavoidable. Indeed, I was struck by the number of times the expression 'acts of God' was used on US news channels – or 'acts of satan' as conservative American journalist Cal Thomas put it on the Last Word on Today FM Although understandable, this reaction is wide of the mark. This is because it has been known for many years now that the probability of such events occurring is greatly enhanced in a warming climate. Indeed, it is a matter of basic physics that, as our atmosphere warms, extreme weather events such as violent storms will undoubtedly become more frequent and more severe. READ MORE Why isn't this message getting through? I lost count of the number of media reports I saw that failed to mention the issue of climate change altogether,or referred to it in passing as a side issue. One reason may be a genuine misunderstanding of the science. It is true that there have been plenty of extreme weather events in the past and it is also true that one cannot usually draw a direct link between a particular weather event and climate change. However, innumerable studies have shown such events are becoming much more common and are rendered much more likely by a warming atmosphere. A second reason is politics. For some reason, a great many of those on the conservative side of the political spectrum seem unable to accept the findings of climate scientists, dismissing them as exaggerated or 'woke'. Thus an entire field of science has been dragged into the culture wars. Some argue that this rejection is not surprising as conservative parties tend to maintain close links with corporate interests. Given that a central finding of climate science is that global warming is closely linked with the emission of greenhouse gases from industrial activity – in particular with the burning of fossil fuels – it was entirely predictable that these industries would use their considerable wealth and power to convince their friends in politics to ignore the science. [ Forty degree heatwaves are the 'new norm'. Now we see what's coming for Ireland Opens in new window ] An extreme example of this behaviour can be found in the US . A striking characteristic of US president Donald Trump's 'big beautiful bill' is a systematic attempt to hamper developments in renewable energy at every turn, whilst removing almost all constraints on the mining of fossil fuels. There is little question that Trump's second term will be a major blow to attempts to wean the world's largest economy off fossil fuels, a regression that is already causing several other countries to review their own commitments in reducing emissions. One answer to this dangerous situation is communication. After all, not many people – whatever their politics – would genuinely wish an unstable climate on their children. What is needed is a sea-change in attitude, similar to what occurred in the case of the tobacco industry. As historians such as Naomi Oreskes have pointed out, the tobacco lobby used its power and influence to block action on smoking for many years. Yet the truth eventually prevailed and smoking is no longer the menace it once was. [ Let's inconvenience some oligarchs before we come for exhausted mothers Opens in new window ] Thus, it is incumbent on scientists and science communicators to redouble efforts to convey the threat posed by climate change. It seems to me the best way to do this is to explain both the basics of climate science and aspects of the practice of science such as convergence (how different lines of evidence can point to a single explanation) and consensus (how scientists come to agree, often after great initial scepticism and much debate, on that explanation). The alternative is that the painstaking findings of climate scientists are perceived as inflexible dogma, a not uncommon view that is as dangerous as it is mistaken. Dr Cormac O'Raifeartaigh is a senior lecturer in physics at the South East Technological University (Waterford) and a fellow of the Institute of Physics
BreakingNews.ie
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Today FM announce Oasis ticket giveaway and launch Oasis FM
Today FM have announced they are giving away a pair of tickets to Oasis at Croke Park from Wednesday to Friday, and this bank holiday Monday. The station has said they are giving away the last remaining Irish tickets "for the gigs of the decade." Advertisement The giveaway was announced on the Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show on Wednesday morning. The giveaway is in tandem with the launch of Today FM's exclusive station, Oasis FM, available now on the GoLoud app. It features Oasis music 24/7, including the biggest singles, key album tracks, B-sides and live performances. Today FM said it has "lots more exciting activity planned" for the Dublin gigs, including the station's own Oasis superfan, Shauna O'Reilly, reporting live from Croke Park on Saturday, August 16th, chatting to fans and bringing the flavour of the most anticipated concerts in years. Dara Quilty is to host an Oasis special on Today FM after each of the gigs from 10pm until midnight on Saturday and Sunday, August 16th and 17th. To tune into Oasis FM, download the GoLoud app, and for your chance to win Oasis tickets, tune into Today FM all this week.
