![\"Liveline's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/fa345fa0-2b40-4bce-876c-28cadb25f1f4.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe veteran RT\u00c9 broadcaster said it was an \u201cevocative\u201d vital cue for listeners, especially given the show\u2019s challenging mid\u2011afternoon slot, and helped to draw listeners.<\/p>\n
The signature tune, Over the Moor by Irish band Stockton\u2019s Wing, had been the theme for the flagship programme on RT\u00c9 Radio 1 for four decades until Kieran Cuddihy took over the slot last November.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s so evocative. I’m surprised they got rid of it,\u201d Duffy said. \u201cIt’s written by Stockton\u2019s Wing, Mike Hanrahan and the boys. I used to meet Mike in the old radio centre when he was in, doing bits of work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he’d always say to me, at least once a year: \u2018Thanks, we got the Lanzarote this year off it\u2019. I just think it’s evocative. And the programme is in a very hard time, a quarter to two. So you need something, a call to listen,\u201d he told The Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk.<\/p>\n
Duffy (70), who hung up his mic in June, also said he listens to Cuddihy, who joined RT\u00c9 from Newstalk, adding that he \u201cmonitors\u201d the radio stations.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Liveline’s Joe Duffy hung up his mic in June. Photo: Mark Condren<\/p>\n
News in 90 seconds – Wednesday 28th January. <\/p>\n
“I listen to everybody. As you know, Pat, I don’t listen to the radio. I monitor the radio.<\/p>\n
“I’m like the member of the French Resistance up in the loft, monitoring radio stations, I listen to everything,\u201d he said<\/p>\n
He also wished good luck to Pat Kenny (77), who will present a new weekend show on Saturdays and Sundays in March, as part of a big shake-up of Newstalk\u2019s daytime schedule.<\/p>\n
Duffy and Pat Kenny worked together at the national broadcaster: “I remember producing you, that was my first job in RT\u00c9,\u201d Duffy told him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou’d be brilliant at the weekends. And I worked with you; you were my first presenter when I started at RT\u00c9. You were great, great fun, and you\u2019re a great, great gossip. And your knowledge is breathtaking.<\/p>\n
“You\u2019re not going away, which is great for your station.” <\/p>\n
He also wished fellow former RT\u00c9 broadcaster Claire Byrne the \u201cbest of luck\u201d as she takes over from Pat Kenny on the mid-morning slot from next week. <\/p>\n
Anton Savage meanwhile is set to move to Newstalk Breakfast, with Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman moving to The Hard Shoulder.<\/p>\n
“The morning slot is a challenging one, even time-wise, and he’s a singular presenter,\u201d Duffy said of Anton Savage.<\/p>\n
Duffy, who is also the author of Children of the Rising and Children of the Troubles, said he might be working on another book.<\/p>\n
He also spoke of his passion for painting, and said he finds it \u201cextraordinarily relaxing\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I keep saying to everyone, anyone can paint, just try it. Buy a set of watercolours and buy a decent pad of paper, that’s the key, a decent, strong pad of paper and no more than two brushes, and just doodle.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Kenny described Liveline as a \u201ccampaigning programme\u201d, Duffy said one of the most memorable \u201ccampaigns\u201d was \u201cgetting rid of the head shops\u201d: “I really went crazy on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the programme, he also spoke of the hearing checks offered by Specsavers: \u201cIt’s free, and they’re everywhere.”<\/p>\n
“Just go in and book a hearing check. It’s very scientific. You don’t have to fill out a form. Don’t have to tick any boxes.<\/p>\n
“You just go into this booth, and you’re asked to press a button when you hear particular sounds, as simple as that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The veteran RT\u00c9 broadcaster said it was an \u201cevocative\u201d vital cue for listeners, especially given the show\u2019s challenging…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308474,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[7699,18,117,19,17,36069,24321,24320,1181,24556],"class_list":{"0":"post-308473","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-adrianna-wrona","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-joe-duffy-broadcaster","14":"tag-newstalk","15":"tag-pat-kenny","16":"tag-rte","17":"tag-rte-radio-1"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115974278149365981","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308473","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=308473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}