{"id":127392,"date":"2025-10-17T05:59:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T05:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/127392\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T05:59:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T05:59:08","slug":"rtes-twisty-new-soap-opera-stars-ray-darcy-and-now-brendan-courtney-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/127392\/","title":{"rendered":"RT\u00c9\u2019s twisty new soap opera stars Ray D\u2019Arcy and, now, Brendan Courtney \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even by the eventful standards of recent times \u2013 think the Ryan Tubridy controversy<\/a> or 2FM\u2019s mass exodus<\/a> \u2013 it\u2019s the most dramatic episode in the Irish radio world for years, a twisty soap opera rife with the botched scheming, corporate feuding and bitter exiting that rivet audiences.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for listeners, it occurs off-air. A severe let-down awaits anyone tuning in to savour the cordite-laden aftermath of Ray D\u2019Arcy<\/a>\u2019s rancorous departure from RT\u00c9<\/a> or Kieran Cuddihy<\/a>\u2019s rushed defection<\/a> from Newstalk<\/a> to ascend the Liveline throne.<\/p>\n

On the airwaves, at least, RT\u00c9 Radio 1 and its commercial rival Newstalk try to carry on as if nothing has happened, with a hastily assembled cast of stand-in presenters doing their best to avoid any reference to their former colleagues. Portraits of purged politburos have been airbrushed with more subtlety.<\/p>\n

D\u2019Arcy\u2019s old midafternoon slot, for instance, has been temporarily rebranded in forebodingly generic fashion as The 3 O\u2019Clock Show<\/b> (RT\u00c9 Radio 1, weekdays), with Brendan Courtney<\/a> the man tasked with not unduly rocking the boat, an assignment he executes with distinction. (The Rising Time presenter Shay Byrne initially stepped into the breach when D\u2019Arcy was refused a valedictory show, after the breakdown of contract talks with RT\u00c9.)<\/p>\n

Courtney, who has become Radio 1\u2019s go-to replacement host for chatshows \u2013 he regularly fills in for Oliver Callan \u2013 has a geniality that translates well to television lifestyle programming, as well as more personal projects such as the documentary on his father\u2019s stroke.<\/p>\n

But while he glides over D\u2019Arcy\u2019s absence in discreet if slightly uncomfortable silence \u2013 he gets the date wrong while opening Monday\u2019s show, suggesting he\u2019s not totally at ease with the situation \u2013 Courtney\u2019s naturally amiable style doesn\u2019t translate into dynamic radio. <\/p>\n

Instead there\u2019s frothy conversation as the food broadcaster Donal Skehan promotes his new cookbook, the most noteworthy moment coming when host and guest name their favourite jazz singers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you listen to us, two middle-aged men talking about jazz,\u201d the presenter says, chuckling. Courtney can be a striking radio presence: he spoke with raw candour to Joe Duffy<\/a> on Liveline earlier this year about being assaulted in what appeared to be a targeted homophobic attack. In this setting, however, he lacks the sly humour or gimlet eye that might transform his chats with chainsaw artists or gallery curators into more diverting material. (In fairness, D\u2019Arcy regularly struggled in such instances too.)<\/p>\n

[\u00a0RT\u00c9\u2019s new radio schedule a hurried defensive reflex to sour taste left by Ray D\u2019Arcy exitOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

There are brighter spots \u2013 his interview with the novelist R\u00f3n\u00e1n Hession is an unexpected paean to kindness, an all too rare commodity these days \u2013 but, even allowing for the awkwardness of his role, Courtney\u2019s performance somehow only draws attention to his predecessor\u2019s absence. <\/p>\n

Radio 1 execs will hope that Louise Duffy can better engender collective amnesia when her music show permanently moves to the slot.<\/p>\n

A slightly less makeshift atmosphere prevails on The Hard Shoulder<\/b> (Newstalk, weekdays). While the plug was abruptly pulled on Cuddihy\u2019s tenure when news broke of his move to RT\u00c9, Jonathan Healy sounds unruffled when filling in for the week, or \u201cstill standing in the gap\u201d, as he says on Monday. (He later jokes about the stress causing him to take up smoking.)<\/p>\n

Such wry asides notwithstanding, Healy gets on with the job of running the magazine show in breezily confident manner. A seasoned current-affairs broadcaster \u2013 he previously anchored Newstalk\u2019s Lunchtime news show \u2013 Healy moves smoothly between topics, maintaining the same cheerfully curious approach throughout.<\/p>\n

And though his chipper manner can appear slightly incongruous when discussing the fragile ceasefire in Gaza \u2013 he talks about a \u201csugar rush\u201d after the initial announcement \u2013 it works better when he talks to Peadar T\u00f3ib\u00edn<\/a>, the Aont\u00fa leader, about his favourite books.<\/p>\n

Having been earlier pressed by Healy on his party\u2019s unsuccessful tabling<\/a> of a no-confidence motion in T\u00e1naiste Simon Harris over failures in childhood scoliosis treatment, T\u00f3ib\u00edn shows a different side by talking enthusiastically about everything from the Irish language to Abraham Lincoln. Inevitably, he slips in a gripe about the supposed political uniformity of contemporary Ireland, a recurring narrative among social conservatives since Maria Steen\u2019s botched presidential bid. <\/p>\n

Either way, Healy handles his brief well, helped by the fact that the Hard Shoulder brand predates Cuddihy\u2019s stint: the bigger question is who takes over the reins on a permanent basis.<\/p>\n

\"ClaireClaire Byrne is Newstalk-bound. Photograph: Sam Boal\/Collins Photo <\/p>\n

Amid the upheaval in the radio landscape, one show ironically still exuding a strong air of stability is Today with Claire Byrne<\/b> (RT\u00c9 Radio 1, weekdays), where the Newstalk-bound host handles proceedings with the serene professionalism of someone imminently heading for more lucrative waters. (In her case off to displace Pat Kenny from his midmorning berth to the dry dock of the weekend schedule.) <\/p>\n

Despite her impending departure, Byrne<\/a> continues to helm her show in steady and thorough manner, even if some big-ticket items appear to have bypassed her: it may be coincidence, but it\u2019s notable that the presidential debate on This Week<\/b> (RT\u00c9 Radio 1, Sunday) is hosted by her imminent successor, David McCullagh<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Even so, Byrne is keeping her jousting skills sharp, as evidenced by her interview with Minister for Culture Patrick O\u2019Donovan<\/a>. He dismisses Aont\u00fa\u2019s no-confidence motion, claiming it is \u201cgoing down the political route\u201d rather than motivated by concern for young scoliosis patients awaiting treatment. He expresses sympathy for the parents of Harvey Morrison Sherratt<\/a>, who died in July only months after long-delayed spinal surgery, noting (repeatedly) that he is a father himself.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Donovan tries to strike a contrite note on health-system shortcomings, but Byrne tartly parries: \u201cYou\u2019re the people in charge here over all of those years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharp interviewer though she is, Byrne isn\u2019t always renowned for lightness of touch. But she is a sympathetic host during her conversation with Claire Colum, whose five year-old daughter, Kate, died from sepsis at Sligo University Hospital in 2023.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0After last week\u2019s radio reshuffle, what is the difference now between RT\u00c9 and Newstalk?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Speaking with remarkable clarity and composure, Colum recounts a heartbreaking litany of failures to spot Kate\u2019s worsening condition, while stressing that her beloved daughter, who had Down syndrome, did not have any reduced immunity: \u201cShe was very hardy.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a purpose to the interview \u2013 the Colum family is working with the HSE to raise medical awareness of similar cases \u2013 but it\u2019s a poignant item, amplified by Colum\u2019s quietly devastating testimony. Byrne wisely stands back, letting her guest remember her daughter. There are times when silence is the best option.<\/p>\n

Moment of the week<\/p>\n

The news that Radio 1 is adding a weekday sports show to its forthcoming schedule revamp will come as a relief to those who think there\u2019s not enough sport on the station, apart from the hourly bulletins and its weekend offerings. The full extent of this dearth comes clear on Saturday Sport<\/b>, when Des Cahill<\/a> opens the show in exuberantly incredulous fashion. \u201cHello, there. Eight hours of sport on the way, listeners,\u201d he says, as if hardly believing it himself. \u201cEight hours.\u201d With more to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Even by the eventful standards of recent times \u2013 think the Ryan Tubridy controversy or 2FM\u2019s mass exodus…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127393,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[27588,23898,24554,56909,18,117,19,17,49974,23900,5287,36103,50,56911,1181],"class_list":{"0":"post-127392","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-brendan-courtney","9":"tag-claire-byrne","10":"tag-david-mccullagh","11":"tag-des-cahill","12":"tag-eire","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-ie","15":"tag-ireland","16":"tag-joe-duffy","17":"tag-kieran-cuddihy","18":"tag-newstalk-radio","19":"tag-patrick-o-donovan","20":"tag-peadar-toibin","21":"tag-ray-d-arcy","22":"tag-rte"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}