Orla Barry on Newstalk

lbourkey · 06-09-2007 4:04pm #1

is anyone else completely irritated by the fact that this woman has landed her OWN SHOW on one of the best radio stations in the country. She can hardly string a sentence (perhaps it's just a phrase she's going through, boom boom) and the topics on the show are inane.
One caller wants to know what to buy for her annoying mother-in-laws birthday - cue Orla and cronies listing off innumerable cliches about in-laws, Irish Men , Irish women, Ireland in general. She's absolutely hopeless!!! More Moncrieff, less Barry = happiness.

Nightwish · 06-09-2007 5:50pm

How true. She's quite possibly, along with Brenda Power, Tony and Ray, one of the most insufferable people on radio. Her show displays some of the most irritating and frankly embarrassing traits of the female sex.

Dave! · 06-09-2007 11:33pm

Nightwish wrote:

How true. She's quite possibly, along with Brenda Power, Tony and Ray, one of the most insufferable people on radio. Her show displays some of the most irritating and frankly embarrassing traits of the female sex.

Agreed! The show is intended to be a "girly" show -- y'know, because women just sit around all day talking about pregnancy and bra sizes...

I don't much like her to be honest. I'd even pick Brenda Power over her! :eek:

lbourkey · 07-09-2007 9:12am

yeah - it's really embarassing to listen to - she attempts to sound like a 'right-on' noughties woman which apparantley means being a man basher and waffling about calories and babies. Grrrrrrrrr - she's set us back 100 years!

mike65 · 07-09-2007 3:53pm

Life with Orla Barry is better described as

LIFE!!!!!!!!!!! with Orla Barry. She's so full of girly beans she'll explode.

Mike.

Wertz · 08-09-2007 11:30am

I can't even make it past the intro music without leaping for the re-tune button.

Someone pulled that piccy mike....did you happen upon something....untoward? :eek:

mike65 · 08-09-2007 11:49am

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.newstalk.ie/img/presenters/orla.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.newstalk.ie/orla-barry.htm&h=200&w=167&sz=28&hl=en&start=5&um=1&tbnid=vJGtzoVW8NNn2M:&tbnh=104&tbnw=87&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dorla%2Bbarry%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dopera%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DNgoogle

Mike.

Wertz · 08-09-2007 12:03pm

Wertz wrote:

...did you happen upon something....untoward?

Oh god, yes, yes you did....

Is she trying to catch flies or what?
Oh sorry, that's the lively enthusiasm and energetic vivacity of the modern metropolitan Irish female in full regalia...you go girl.

Tropheus · 09-09-2007 12:07am

Looks as though she's about to bite the nearest man. Somebody do Irish radio a favour and shoot her.

bbability · 09-09-2007 9:27pm

Unfortunatley that's from the top. Someone I know attended a radio course last year where the Chief (or Mrs Chief) spoke to the wannabie radio rookies about the exciting line up for their national launch and the big names that were lined up. :eek:

Now I'd hardly call Claire Byrne or Orla Barry a "big" name. The big poach for me was Eamon Keane. For me he should be presenting breakfast. They need a good foundation (and not make-up) to start the day and get that jnlr moving in the right direction. Move the two brekkie presenters to luchtime. It would be nice to hear a single steered show at that hour

raven136 · 11-09-2007 9:03am

i think the newstalk breakfast show works really well.i could never stand the stuffiness of morning ireland and claire and ger work well on that regard.it deals with big news but its still doesnt seem as heavy.excellent show but not a patch on off the ball,which is easily irelands most informed and best radio show.
other than that i think newstalk is just like radio one,very bland

anotherlostie · 11-09-2007 8:41pm

I think Damien Kiberd's run on the breakfast show should make people who listen to Ger and Claire appreciate better that they do do things a little differently to others out there, and I enjoy listening to them in the mornings. Leave Eamon Keane where he is!

As for Orla Barry, no thanks; if I'm still in the car it is time for a CD! But I don't find Brenda Power objectionable; should I?!

jawlie · 11-09-2007 8:53pm

I'm a big radio fan and like so much of whats on. Luckily in Ireland we can also get Radio 4 which is a big bonus.

I can't abide Brenda Power, who seems to just be inane and unable to get the best our of her guests. Orla barry used to be good, but every time I tune in to her show it seems to be all about cosmetics and endless celebrity worship. I also find Eamon keane on the lunchtime show often trivial, and he seems to enjoy doing what Joe Duffy does on his show which is to encourage opposing sides to have a good scrap. Today he devoted quite a lot of time to someonw who was announed as "an Irish person who was in the next door apartment" to the English couple whose child is missing from Luz. It transpired that she was actually 100 meters away, and the height of her contribution seemed to be to express distaste that she had witnessed some of the portuguese police smoking. The point of this contribution escapes me.

Vincent Browne seems to have disappeared from RTE in the evening which is a big loss as his show was analytical, informed, free from celebrity worship and also amusing.

If there was to be an award for the worst radio programme, it has to be Una Power on 98fm. She claims to be a psychic, but every time I listen to her she seems to get it wrong about 90% of the time!. This makes it funny to listen to for short periods, but tedious and sometimes embarassing to listen to for longer.

I wish Newstalk could bring in some better presenters ( Moncrief is great ) as there is a hunger for good radio, and RTE needs better comepetition than Brenda Power & Orla Barry.

mike65 · 11-09-2007 9:24pm

Eamon Keane has bad instincts too often - he'd deny it but its an approach which smacks of Daily Mail. A tabloid while pretending to be above that sort of thing.

Newstalks best stuff is at the weekend when the IQ jumps up by several points. Someone said Hidden Dublin is going nationwide soon (Hidden Ireland?)
I'll look forwards to that.

Mike.

hardydrew · 12-09-2007 1:25pm

mike65 wrote:

Eamon Keane has bad instincts too often - he'd deny it but its an approach which smacks of Daily Mail. A tabloid while pretending to be above that sort of thing.
Mike.

I wouldn't say Eamon is that tabloidy Mike (Claire's far more sensationalist). He has good guests and argues well with most of them i.e. KMyers (now a tabloid hack?) - when he read out a slanderous text during an interview a few months back. Eamon should be on mornings i think.

I dunno who Orlas 'Life' is supposed to be aimed at, but its clearly not us on this board.

As for the rest of them, Ger's ok but should be on his own.
Off the ball is juvenile, even humble Gilesy can't help coming across as patronising when talking to these kids.
Hook is good. Dunno what the beef with Brenda is about? The few shows I've heard she seems entertaining enough.
I don't like the whole txt message thing they do, I mean who really wants to hear every random muttering from every arseh*le nut job in the country? On boards.ie you can filter out people like me, but on the radio you can tune out or else u have to sit through it.

Between txt's adds and news there's not enough talk time.
Except for 'Life' that is, in which there are not enough adds and news.

p.s. VB might be a good catch for NT now he's free, I wonder would he stoop to it?

mike65 · 12-09-2007 1:41pm

Vincent Browne is going to be on Newstalk as I understand it.

Sadly the txt mentality is not going to be curtailed as long as NT get a chunk of the 30c it costs to send one.

Mike.

FlutterinBantam · 12-09-2007 1:47pm

Heh heh... Vince will go anywhere he can turn a few bucks.

jdivision · 12-09-2007 1:50pm

Vincent Browne is going to TV3

Scoobydoobydoo · 12-09-2007 2:40pm

I used to like Orla Barry but now she does my head in and I can't stand her.
I don't like the way she repeats the last few words of a sentence after a guest has spoken. The way she says ARE'NT buuugggs me. She seems to get things wrong when she's talking to guests, which I find embarrassing!
Also, think she takes obvious sides a lot, whereas I feel a presenter should be more objective on a lot of issues.

I like Brenda Power, I think she gives balanced views on issues and I like reading her articles also. I'd rather she was on from 9 to 12! Or have Declan Carty in place of Orla Barry and have her on late at night. I thought he was very good with City Edition.

I don't like listening to George Hook because I feel that he likes the sound of his own voice too much (and I don't!), but also he goes on about himself and the lovely Ingrid a bit too much. I don't want to know about his personal life. I listen to Matt Cooper instead, who doesn't go on about himself and gives balanced interviews.

raven136 · 12-09-2007 2:41pm

hardydrew wrote:

As for the rest of them, Ger's ok but should be on his own.
Off the ball is juvenile, even humble Gilesy can't help coming across as patronising when talking to these kids.
there are not enough adds and news.

i listen to off the ball most evenings in work and the show is brilliantly produced ,informed and these "kids" more than hold their own with the brightest and best in the sports world.Dick pound,bert sugar,us sports,gaa,rugby,soccer and athletics.everthing is covered and covered well.maybe the off the cuff humor or irreverance isnt to all tastes but at least its different than rte radio sports.

reminds me more of the espn radio sports show.Easily newstalks best show

hardydrew · 12-09-2007 6:50pm

raven136 wrote:

these "kids" more than hold their own with the brightest and best in the sports world....rte radio sports....

Absolutely, agree with that. It's the filler between dealing with the specific sports issues of the day where I think they build up this lads-down-the-back-of-the-bus image for themselves.

Could they make their off the cuff humour a bit more accessible to a wider audience rather than discussing who's coming to work on his bike or whether someone got lucky with someone else the other night.
It's national radio - a small bit of decorum. Not as much decorum as descahill now though. Definitely better than rte radio sports.

I suppose it depends on the demogrpahic they're looking for but maybe they should aim to be more like rte's tv panel. Y'know act older and and grumpier.

Firetrap · 13-09-2007 12:00am

I just wish they'd get rid of that Ciaran Murphy guy from Off The Ball or send him off to learn how to talk properly. :mad:

I don't mind Brenda Power. I listen to her going into work and she's a lot easier on the ears than Orla Barry. She's like those irritating Afternoon Show women rolled into one and stuck on a radio show.

Rosita · 19-09-2007 11:28pm

Breakfast Show - Spends too much effort trying to be not Morning Ireland. Ger Gilroy is desperately opinionated without the knowledge to back it up and comes across as a cliché merchant. Claire Byrne at least takes it seriously and doesn't seem to spend all her spare time on the internet and youtube like her sidekick. They spend far too much time blathering on about the news and the papers with the same tired old guests who you know will probably be back to present the programme when they are away. For all Dunphy's sycophancy towards guests he was streets ahead of this.

Brenda Power - Good

Orla Barry - Bad but her having a radio programme to herself is not as worrying as the fact that the Examiner has her doing a weekly column.

Eamon Keane - He seems to have a hair-trigger sense of humour which is tiresome. How the hell can he find everything so funny? Again, like Gilroy, overdoes the "this is not RTE" angle, and tries turn non-event interviews into national events in his own mind simply because he has done them. Quite weak compared to when Damien Kiberd was on this programme.

Moncrieff - Very Good

Hook - Is quite limited really and all his "international" knowledge and opinion refers to "places like America and the UK" i.e. he knows feck all about Europe or anywhere else. Is convinced that he is controversial but is just boring now.

Off the Ball - Dripping with arrogance and about an hour and a half too long. The in-jokes could be done is the pub afterwards. What a flute McDevitt is. At the end of the show - at least he used to do this - when he thanks "Merf" (who should just go away and get elocution lessons), "Cormy" and others, he then says "I've been Eoin McDevitt"! I wonder who he becomes after that?

There seems to be an endless supply of the likes of Gilroy/McDevitt/Cahill with the traffic report accents, the same views on every matter and an incredible love of their own voices in Newstalk sports. They also seem to be convinced that being an award winning show means something. For God's sake, what other station can give three hours to sport five evenings a week? Why the hell wouldn't they win whatever award it is?

FlutterinBantam · 20-09-2007 1:23am

heh heh....nice one.

That kinda sums it up all right.

dRNk SAnTA · 20-09-2007 2:53pm

I would agree with most of whats been said

Morning show - gilroy spends too long "uhm"ing and "aw"ing, he's constantly searching for words in some attempt to come across as more eloquent. but I'm grumpy in the morning and don't have the patience for it.

Orla Barry - can't stand her. Not only is the content of the show brainless, but she's not even very good at being a girly girl. She comes across as very opinionated when it comes to men and very conservative when it comes to sex.

I'll never forget an interview she did with an ex-page 3 girl. The entire interview was just Orla Barry asking the woman is she not ashamed that she posed nude and provided "titilation" for men. She sounded like a fecking nun.

Brenda Power - for the type of show that it is (i.e. moan moan moan) I think she does a pretty good job. much more competent than orla barry.

eamonn keane - grand, dodgy sense of humour.

moncreiff - brilliant

hook - I think hook is very good, easy to listen to.

off the ball - off the ball is absolutely brilliant. i don't know how people can complain about the relexed humour. they're very funny. particularly ciaran murphy! I'm so suprised to hear people badmouthing him.

Scoobydoobydoo · 20-09-2007 3:12pm

I listen to the radio all day, at one point it was all Newstalk but now.....

6:30-9:00am - Newstalk or Ian Dempsey (depending on my mood)

9:00-11:00am - Your Call with Brenda Power

11:00-12:00pm - Pat Kenny or Gerry Ryan (except when he's going on about all the nice things he has, the places he's been, the famous friends, blah blah blah):rolleyes:

12:00-12:30pm - Tolerate Orla Barry for 30 minutes

12:30-13:45pm - Lunchtime with Eamon Keane (I also preferred this when Damo presented!)

13:45-15:00pm - Liveline (I can't help it!)

15:00-16:30 - Moncrieff - he's just the best!:cool:

16:30-19:00 - The Last Word with Matt Cooper

mike65 · 20-09-2007 6:38pm

Someone should do a review of thier weekend schedule which knocks RTE radio 1 into a cocked hat for the most part. And its where Kilberd hangs out to good effect at lunchtime.

Mike.

Rosita · 21-09-2007 8:41am

dRNk SAnTA wrote:

off the ball - off the ball is absolutely brilliant. i don't know how people can complain about the relexed humour. they're very funny. particularly ciaran murphy! I'm so suprised to hear people badmouthing him.

My complaint would be that it is supposed to be sport laced with relaxed humour but turns out to be excruciatingly forced humour (all potential humour is dragged kicking and screaming out of the most innane matters) and in-jokes about people who have been previously on the show or who are working in the background which most of the time largely goes oever my head.

It was good last night for example when there was plenty on the rugby and the Chelsea manager to keep the occupied, but there's an awful lot of padding in the programme normally as they have th fill three hours no matter what. Also the constant plugging of various sponsor's products grates as well. I have also heard it said that many of the texts they read out are actually created in-house, which would explain the constant "great show" at the end of many of them.

Dudess · 21-09-2007 11:50am

mike65 wrote:

Life with Orla Barry is better described as

LIFE!!!!!!!!!!! with Orla Barry. She's so full of girly beans she'll explode.

Mike.

Tee hee hee!

Dave! · 02-10-2007 12:30am

Ugh, it was on the radio in the background this morning and after a while I had to turn it off because it was making me angry! They were talking about how goys don't like to walk down the street carrying flowers...

Summary...

Girl: You goys are loyk, worried about masculinity
Guy: You wouldn't catch me carrying flowers! I'd loyk, lie about it! Say it's for my mum, y'know!
Orla: AHAHAHAHAHAHA
Girl: Dontcha think goys are loyk, PROGRAMMED to stray?
Guy: Well y'know -- I was at training the other doy, and the lads were saying how they couldn't give a shoyt about their girlfriends...
Orla: AHAHAHAHAHAHA. AREN'T GUYS ARE GIRLS SO DIFFERENT?!?!? WE'LL BE BACK AFTER THESE ADS FOR TAMPONS!!!

It destroys my soul.

Orla Barry on Newstalk

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