iWake Up with Dave O'Connor

Brendan Flowers

I moved up to Galway a few months ago. Since then I have started listening to iRadio. A good station. Very refreshing compared to the usual stuff. Laid back, doesnt take itself too seriously. Exactly what I was looking for from a radio station.

However, Dave O'Connor who is on in the morning is one person who doesnt do it for me. The show just seems so fake. So set-up. Tries to be funny but fails most of the time. I have to admit some of the iJacker pranks have been top notch but most of them are just cringe-worthy. The latest being a call he made to some local supermarkets. Now first of all can I ask you to listen to these two videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIIRmIQVXrE

and from Dave....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYod9Q46J5U

Notice anything familiar? Now I dont mind someone using another persons material. But since then Dave has claimed that he never heard the original and the this iJacker call was all his own idea. For f**k sake! How stupid does he think people are? At least he could man up and admit he copied the original.

Also colleagues of mine have told me how in the past he would tell listeners about certain guests that were going to be on the show (Daithi O'Shea, Rosanna Davidson etc.). Yet it always ended the same way. Something happened off air a few minutes before the interview was due to happen and these people then conveniently (for O'Connor) they refused to go on air. Again give you listeners intelligence some credit. You obviously never had these people lined to come on air. But its bad enough lying to the listeners, you also make these "celebrities" look bitter and petty for "refusing" to go on air.

Diabhal Beag

However, Dave O'Connor who is on in the morning is one person who doesnt do it for me. The show just seems so fake. So set-up. Tries to be funny but fails most of the time.

Sums up his **** radio station perfectly. He's probably the best of a brutal bunch.

DiscoChats

I have to agree,D'oC is one of iRadios best/most tolerable presenters.
I enjoy his shows when i do get a chance to listen but after a few years of listening to i102-104 im beginning to think theres far more than Dave O'Connor making stuff up.
The show at night is unbelievable,literally.Every single night they have 'an email from a listener' regarding blah blah blah,always super topical/controversial stuff and whats worse is people buying every single word of it.
Their 'Student Diaries' feature is hilariously bad,really really far fetched stuff and to be honest theres no need for the fantasy land/made up stories they'd do just fine without the fiction.

I do like the idea of iradio,its young (really is aimed at under 25's but in reality its actual audience is <21) and aimed at particular regions - its just really really tough listening in the last few while.
Hope it can get away from the fiction side of things,plenty of potential there.

DiscoChats

Brendan Flowers wrote: »

Also colleagues of mine have told me how in the past he would tell listeners about certain guests that were going to be on the show (Daithi O'Shea, Rosanna Davidson etc.). Yet it always ended the same way. Something happened off air a few minutes before the interview was due to happen and these people then conveniently (for O'Connor) they refused to go on air. Again give you listeners intelligence some credit. You obviously never had these people lined to come on air. But its bad enough lying to the listeners, you also make these "celebrities" look bitter and petty for "refusing" to go on air.

I find this hard to believe,how would he & iradio get away with name dropping celebs regulary that just arent scheduled to be there?
Surely DoC & the station management would be staring at legal problems over such claims??

Brendan Flowers

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Sums up his **** radio station perfectly. He's probably the best of a brutal bunch.

Please dont misquote me. I clearly said I like iRadio. I find it the best Irish station for light entertainment. I just have some issues with iWake Up. And I made my point with the facts that I had in this thread.

DiscoChats wrote: »

I enjoy his shows when i do get a chance to listen but after a few years of listening to i102-104 im beginning to think theres far more than Dave O'Connor making stuff up.

Do you not think the videos I have linked to are a perfect example of how he deceives his listeners? I dont mean to attack the guy I just believe his material and his attitude is very insulting towards his listeners intelligence.

DiscoChats wrote: »

I find this hard to believe,how would he & iradio get away with name dropping celebs regulary that just arent scheduled to be there?
Surely DoC & the station management would be staring at legal problems over such claims??

Well do you honestly believe that Daithi travelled all the way to the station in Athlone, prepared himself and then 5 minutes before he was during to go on air threw a hissy fit and refused to because Dave wanted him to play some game called Daithi's got Talent? I call bulls**t. And do you really think he accidentally gave out Rosanna Davison's mobile number live on air and didnt suffer any repercussions from it? Again bulls**t from Dave. Also, does the iJacker video not prove he isnt honest with his listeners?

mstan

I have to agree with the OP on this. Today was a perfect example. While I usually enjoy the iJacker prank calls I thought Dave took it too far this morning when he convinced a woman who had just lost her job that she won a family holiday to Portugal. There is a line and to me Dave really over-stepped it doing that. And also this morning a woman done quite badly on the 1000euro minute quiz (which by the way I think is one of the best radio quizzes) and now Dave is even mocking her on his Facebook page.

Big Tone

Is that the same Dave O Connor who was a DJ on 96FM back in the 90s?

Brendan Flowers

Big Tone wrote: »

Is that the same Dave O Connor who was a DJ on 96FM back in the 90s?

I honestly dont know. Why do you ask?

Bard

Big Tone wrote: »

Is that the same Dave O Connor who was a DJ on 96FM back in the 90s?

Dave's in his 20's ... so I doubt it.

Big Tone

Different Dave O Connor so.

bm365

Oh God that is such a blatent rip off of the original prank call! I really cant see how anyone would claim that they came up with the very same idea and used almost the very same lines. Has the DJ actually said it was his own idea? I'd be very surprised if he actually did.

Bard

In fairness, most listeners aren't anoraks and wouldn't be aware of pranks, comedy segments or other bits done on UK radio stations ... and at the end of the day, if a bit like that is done well, they won't care if someone on a station elsewhere 'did it first'. Ray Foley for example is ridiculously popular - but do you think his regular listeners really care about him "ripping off" Moyles?... Not a bit.

Brendan Flowers

Bard wrote: »

In fairness, most listeners aren't anoraks and wouldn't be aware of pranks, comedy segments or other bits done on UK radio stations ... and at the end of the day, if a bit like that is done well, they won't care if someone on a station elsewhere 'did it first'. Ray Foley for example is ridiculously popular - but do you think his regular listeners really care about him "ripping off" Moyles?... Not a bit.

Dont get me wrong Bard, as I said in the original post I dont mind people copying others work. Its the fact that Dave is insistant that it was his own idea which p!sses me off. It clearly wasnt but he seems to think his listeners are stupid and guillible enough to believe him.

barryd09

I think people are too hard on iradio as a whole.
Its a young station aimed at youngsters,there seems to be a bash iradio thread on here every few weeks.
Its no Newstalk,its not even a 2fm but one thing it DEFO isnt is another Mid-West or GBFM (thank god!!)

As regards Dave O'Connor,it would appear that he was caught out on this one,no doubt about it-that or else its the biggest coincidence ever.

Bard

I don't recall when exactly Dave "insisted" this was his original idea.. perhaps someone could point that out to me..?

Brendan Flowers

barryd09 wrote: »

I think people are too hard on iradio as a whole.
Its a young station aimed at youngsters,there seems to be a bash iradio thread on here every few weeks.
Its no Newstalk,its not even a 2fm but one thing it DEFO isnt is another Mid-West or GBFM (thank god!!)

As regards Dave O'Connor,it would appear that he was caught out on this one,no doubt about it-that or else its the biggest coincidence ever.

I never once bashed iRadio. In fact I made it very clear in the original post how much I like i102104. Its Dave O'Connor who I was complaining about.

Bard wrote: »

I don't recall when exactly Dave "insisted" this was his original idea.. perhaps someone could point that out to me..?

Check his Facebook page. He said it there when someone pulled him up on the fact that he copied that prank by trying to insist it was his idea.

confused_dude

another one that was pulled of another station is the snoozy woozy song that is a complete rip from the strawberry alarm clock

barryd09

Brendan Flowers wrote: »

I never once bashed iRadio. In fact I made it very clear in the original post how much I like i102104. Its Dave O'Connor who I was complaining about..

right,i wasnt refering to this thread as such,just in general there seems to be people having a pop at them regulary.

mstan

The show seems to rely completely on cheap homour. The presenters are in no way witty and therefore use to "bottom of the barrel" material to try and get laughs.

mstan

And now O'Connor is ripping off New Busters. Has the guy got even one original idea in that head of his? Jesus I wish we didnt have to listen to this guy at work.

Bard

Seriously... do you really think Foley's "News Busters" or the SAC's "Snoozy Woozy Song" are their own ORIGINAL ideas???

Riiiiigghhhhhtttt....

Brendan Flowers

Bard wrote: »

Seriously... do you really think Foley's "News Busters" or the SAC's "Snoozy Woozy Song" are their own ORIGINAL ideas???

Riiiiigghhhhhtttt....

To be fair there is a huge difference between Foley and O'Connor. At least if Ray ripped something off he would joke about it and take the p!ss out copying another shows idea. But not Dave. He seems to think everything he does on his show is original and all his own ideas. Far from it. And to be fair to Foley he does seem to come up with may original ideas wheres I'd be surprised if Dave ever had 1 in his entire career.

And did anyone hear the Fergal D'Arcy Show on April Fools Day? They pranked Dave telling in Ray got offered a job with a station in London and he fell for it. But rather then be happy to see a fellow iRadio colleague do well Dave got all bitchy, moaning that he should have got offered the job and insulting Fergal's "country" accent. He just comes accross as such a bitter individual.

C-J

There was a serious enough topic one morning that i texted in about as its a personal issue, during a break my phone started ringing and it was dave, asking me questions then started completely taking the piss, it was then played straight after the ad break, so basically what they do is ring you, record you (without telling you) and play your 'comments'. What i can't stand is every female presenter bar laurita blewitt have stupid put on american accents and are fake as fook callin everyone 'darlin.'

JohnP199

C-J wrote: »

There was a serious enough topic one morning that i texted in about as its a personal issue, during a break my phone started ringing and it was dave, asking me questions then started completely taking the piss, it was then played straight after the ad break, so basically what they do is ring you, record you (without telling you) and play your 'comments'. What i can't stand is every female presenter bar laurita blewitt have stupid put on american accents and are fake as fook callin everyone 'darlin.'

Jesus, that really is taking it too far. I wouldn't have let him away with doing that. Then again is there really anything you can you even if you are the victim of someone warped sense of humour?

I only even listen to the show the odd time but I've found it about as funny as a terminal illness. Dave just seems to lack class and will do anything to get a cheap laugh.

Apart from iWake Up I do enjoy i102104. Barbara, IMO is very good and iGo Home is good banter (even though the loss of Peter Ganly has hurt the show).

Travismccoy

Legally you have to give your consent for anything to be played on air.

C-J

Might have to email and complain, i felt so invaded! Then again my email will prob be read out on air knowing them! Also, has anyone heard of anything more RIDICULOUS than the chicken dance sh1te they'r doing now, i drove from galway to donegal the other day and deliberately made it my business not to switch on iradio. Boycott!

mstan

He's such an ignorant person who seems to think that he is better than the rest of us. Here is a perfect example. Yesterday he went on a rant on Facebook giving out about people updating their status every 5 minutes about their lives. When people got at him about being a serial offender himself he got all defensive and claimed he updates a lot but not about his life :rolleyes:. Since then here is some of the posts Dave has made on Facebook......

"Very cool!! was just on air with Spencer and Nancy on WSTW-FM in Philadelphia. New York yesterday, Philadelphia today.... where to next?"

"Can anyone guess what classic movie I'm watching - it's from 1985 which I just can't believe and its called The ________ ????"

"Split a guys head open by mistake(sorry) - I've mild concussion, he's got stitches and I went back on and scored two tries."

"I wished i'd looked outside and put the shorts on because today is going to be a scorcher!!!! What a beautiful sunrise, people should see it"

"Look at the temp in my car!!" *with a pic*

babybrian

Did any of ye notice Mary McGill and Peter on italk were axed.. she was in my opinion one of the better DJ's/shows along with Barbara. The way Mary was axed was shocking, just vanished with no reason from any of the other DJ's. I even asked Dave O'Connor on facebook and he replied that it would be back next week but it didnt come back so why did he lie???proper little asshole in my opinion.

ucdmike

So this is what Dave O'Connor was referring to! This morning the female on the show called him a knob and he asked her had she been reading the internet forums! I figured it was Boards! Only been listening to iWake Up since the merger. And I have to agree with alot of whats been posted so far. But Dave, if your reading I wont continue the trend of criticising. Instead I'll offer some constructive advice.

First of all Dave, your not a comedian (your not even that funny) so stop trying to be one on air.

Look up the word "Classic". Classic doesnt mean "song that was in the charts for a few weeks 3/4 years ago"! If you are going to have a Classic 3 at 9 then play proper classic songs.

The singing iJackers are generally pure sh1te. Rather than coming out with many poor/midly good iJackers each week why not save the material and just have 1 or 2 really good prank calls.

Please try and remember people dont give a fcuk about your private life. There dont need to be updated about ever little thing you do. It gives the impression that you think you are a "somebody" when all it does is turn people against you. Remember your just a local radio DJ, not an international superstar.

barryd09

babybrian wrote: »

Did any of ye notice Mary McGill and Peter on italk were axed.. she was in my opinion one of the better DJ's/shows along with Barbara. The way Mary was axed was shocking, just vanished with no reason from any of the other DJ's. I even asked Dave O'Connor on facebook and he replied that it would be back next week but it didnt come back so why did he lie???proper little asshole in my opinion.

There is never reasons given out on why people leave stations and its not any business of current djs to mention why djs left or were axed.
I wouldnt take it personally,be sure that if it was up to mary & pete (or any of the rest) to say goodbye then they would have.

ucdmike wrote: »

So this is what Dave O'Connor was referring to! This morning the female on the show called him a knob and he asked her had she been reading the internet forums! I figured it was Boards! Only been listening to iWake Up since the merger. And I have to agree with alot of whats been posted so far. But Dave, if your reading I wont continue the trend of criticising. Instead I'll offer some constructive advice.

First of all Dave, your not a comedian (your not even that funny) so stop trying to be one on air.

Look up the word "Classic". Classic doesnt mean "song that was in the charts for a few weeks 3/4 years ago"! If you are going to have a Classic 3 at 9 then play proper classic songs.

The singing iJackers are generally pure sh1te. Rather than coming out with many poor/midly good iJackers each week why not save the material and just have 1 or 2 really good prank calls.

Please try and remember people dont give a fcuk about your private life. There dont need to be updated about ever little thing you do. It gives the impression that you think you are a "somebody" when all it does is turn people against you. Remember your just a local radio DJ, not an international superstar.

Meeeeeeeow!
Would agree though.

Coriolanus

Can't stand him. Definitely one of the glaring errors of the changeover. I miss bernard and keith.