Who will replace Sean O'Rourke next year?

Prince William

Sean O'Rourke is 65 next year and will be required to retire from RTE. So who will/should replace him? I think Claire Byrne will be who RTE will choose but my choice would be Brian Dobson

Aska

Lord two hours of Dobbo could be rough, Is Sarah McInerney still about RTE? Now don't get me wrong she manages to grind alot of folks gears but I think it will be a woman.

Prince William

McInerney is on maternity leave afaik

Richard Crowley or Rachael English. I think either of them would be fine.

Ursus Horribilis

I fear it'll be Miriam.

sligojoek

Ursus Horribilis wrote: »

I fear it'll be Miriam.

If so, that'll be me gone.

"Do you hope to meet your beautiful beautiful little boy in heaven someday?"

Ursus Horribilis

Mm mm mm mm mmmm

robo

I think they will go down the route of not putting any one presenter in the position but have it between a few different presenters - and I don't think that Dobbo or Miriam will be in the mix.
Perhaps people like Audrey Carville, Cormac O'H, Sarah McInerney?

Does Sean have to retire? Or has he said he will definitely retire? Larry Gogan doesn't have to

GSF

Should make it a 7 day week slot with a Monday-Thursday presenter and a Friday-Sunday presenter. Marian Finucane is now 68 but freelance so presumably she doesn't have to retire but will be 70 mid next year and presumably wont go on forever

Ursus Horribilis

On the money she's on, why would she retire?

SEPT 23 1989

Hopefully its Cormac

Prince William

robo wrote: »

I think they will go down the route of not putting any one presenter in the position but have it between a few different presenters - and I don't think that Dobbo or Miriam will be in the mix.
Perhaps people like Audrey Carville, Cormac O'H, Sarah McInerney?

Does Sean have to retire? Or has he said he will definitely retire? Larry Gogan doesn't have to

That's because Larry is freelance. RTE staff generally have to retire on their 65th birthday, which was the case with David Davin power, Cathal McCotile, Alf McCarthy, Brendan balfe

GSF

Ursus Horribilis wrote: »

On the money she's on, why would she retire?

to enjoy life. That 60 hour week of constant research must take its toll eventually.

honeybear

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Hopefully its Cormac

Please NO!

bureau2009

Prince William wrote: »

Sean O'Rourke is 65 next year and will be required to retire from RTE. So who will/should replace him? I think Claire Byrne will be who RTE will choose but my choice would be Brian Dobson

I can never, never understand how Claire Byrne has become a national broadcaster.

washiskin

PBH, Rachel English, Audrey Carville or, at a pinch. Keelin Shanley or David McCullough. Unfortunately, I reckon UH is right......Genuiiiiiiiiiiiiinely has it in the bag. It would be interesting if Tubridy pitches for it. NK Managment will be rubbing their hands at the thought of it....:rolleyes:

Prince William

Ahwell wrote: »

Richard Crowley or Rachael English. I think either of them would be fine.

Richard Crowley retired on his 65th birthday a few months back

Utopia Parkway

Prince William wrote: »

Richard Crowley retired on his 65th birthday a few months back

Would never have guessed he was 65. Presumed he was much younger than that.

joebloggs32

Gender balance will dictate a female presenter.

Prince William

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Would never have guessed he was 65. Presumed he was much younger than that.

I'm shocked that Pat Kenny is in his 70s, if I didn't know I'd guess he was in his mid 50s

Water John

Doubt if having to retire at 65 would stand up to legal challenge.

Yer Da sells Avon

Prince William wrote: »

I'm shocked that Pat Kenny is in his 70s, if I didn't know I'd guess he was in his mid 50s

If you look at old footage of him, he's been in his mid 50s for at least 40 years.

Kristopherus

Water John wrote: »

Doubt if having to retire at 65 would stand up to legal challenge.

I thought retirement age in the public service had gone up to 70.

honeybear

Prince William wrote: »

Richard Crowley retired on his 65th birthday a few months back

First I heard of his retirement-I liked his presenting style

Prince William

Prince William wrote: »

Richard Crowley retired on his 65th birthday a few months back

Is he 65? I thought he was a bit younger than that. His Wikipedia page says he resigned from RTE in December 2017, which I was unaware of.

newcavanman

This is the worst news ive heard all week. The potential list of replacments for SOR that has been suggested is depressing in the extreme . I have no problem whatsoever with a female presenter, but none of the current crop cut the mustard with me. A dark day indeed

Sean O'Rourke doesn't seem to operate a limited company in order to avoid tax, but he *might* not be a full-time employee at present. He has spoken before that his deal with RTE is on the basis of a three-year continuous contract.

Either he has been on a fixed-term contract, and he has now (because of statutory legal requirements) become a full-time employee again, or, it's possible he is (or may in the future) work on the basis of self-employment.

It's worth remembering that if you're self-employed, there's no obligation to set up a company to avoid tax. Some of the benefits of not doing so are (i) the avoidance of undtsiributed income tax (20%), and corporation tax, (ii) lower PRSI contributions (iii) the abaility to shunt millions of euro into a private pension at the maximum deductible rate, including on behalf of your partner and (iv) mitigation against of media scrutiny into your financial affairs.

I suspect O'Rourke is still on a fixed-term contract, or is self employed, or else it's what he plans to do if he doesn't wish to retire.

Spanish Eyes

He is a grumpy git. I get the feeling that he is marking time now, but of course I could be wrong.

Who says he has to retire at 65 anyway? I thought the rules changed recently.

Pat Kenny is 70 I think and still going strong.

I don't have much time for SOR but that is obviously just me. He sounds p#ssed off most of the time, and is quite impatient. But that is just my opinion.

Anyway if he DOES retire, why does it have to be someone from within RTE anyway? Is there a closed shop there or what.

Spanish Eyes

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Who says he has to retire at 65 anyway? I thought the rules changed recently.

It may be set-out in his contract of employment, if he's an employee - it usually is.

Pat Kenny didn't retire at 65 because he's not an employee (nor technically self-employed), he's a co-director of his own company.

I don't have much time for SOR but that is obviously just me. He sounds p#ssed off most of the time, and is quite impatient. But that is just my opinion.

In his defence, Donald Trump once called him an ass*ole. He can't be THAT bad.

Spanish Eyes

Big question is.... IF he chooses to, or may be obliged to retire soon, WHY must his replacement come from within RTE at all?

But I still cannot think of anyone that I would listen to now. Maybe Pat Kenny will return to the fold, if his contract is up with NT. There is no one else out there who will better him I think. But that may mean a big increase in pay by NT, because they know he is good too.

Anyway, not getting too bothered by it all. There are plenty of listening alternatives out there. And listen back on RTE app allows one to skip the cr"ap bits too. Too many ads.

robo

Good question Spanish Eyes - why should they come from RTE.

Who outside the realm of RTE has it o do a good mid-morning current affairs show, that can interview people on the hoof of things happening in the last half hour or is up to speed to understand the issues discussed from both sides, to do an unbiased interview.

I am not saying that Matt Cooper is that person but I wonder, has RTE got their eye on him cos he can do both TV and radio(some will disagree especially with TLW of late if the thread on Boards is anything to go by) but maybe that's what Matt needs, a change of scenery and new format, producers, researchers to bring the Matt of days gone by back to his old self when he started on TodayFM.
I am no fan of Ray Darcy but the change (eventually) did him some good, he was a grumpy old man for his final year in TodayFM...

Actually, here is another thought, what about Anton Savage for the position? I still though think if or when SOR leaves/is pushed from the slot, they will not have any one presenter on the show but perhaps 2-3 different ones and call it a generic name and not after the presenter.

Spanish Eyes

robo wrote: »

Good question Spanish Eyes - why should they come from RTE.


Actually, here is another thought, what about Anton Savage for the position? I still though think if or when SOR leaves/is pushed from the slot, they will not have any one presenter on the show but perhaps 2ifferent ones and call it a generic name and not after the presenter.

Yep, I agree, Anton Savage has a good radio voice and has a brain (likes cars too, but that is irrelevant to the current discussion).

I like him on the few clips I have heard so far. But I think he has history with some Radio Station, not that it should matter either.

robo

Another thing about Anton Savage is that he didn't always show what side of the fence he was on when discussing items (that weren't car related) and I always felt it was an unbiased approach rather than with others, you kind of know and it sways the interview a bit.

robo

robo wrote: »

Another thing about Anton Savage is that he didn't always show what side of the fence he was on when discussing items (that weren't car related) and I always felt it was an unbiased approach rather than with others, you kind of know and it sways the interview a bit.

His position as a director of The Communications Clinic makes him totally unsuitable for the job. He would just have no credibility.

gordongekko

Prince William wrote: »

Sean O'Rourke is 65 next year and will be required to retire from RTE. So who will/should replace him? I think Claire Byrne will be who RTE will choose but my choice would be Brian Dobson

Larry gogan just retired. I figured he was in his late 70s . Never knew he was only 65

touts

I imagine it will be up to Sean if he wants to go or stay. If he decides to stay I think they will find a way to make him freelance. But maybe he'll want to retire. He strikes me as a man with his priorities straight so he might decide to enjoy retirement and just top up his income with the odd newspaper column or even a podcast for the likes of the Irish Times.

Sadly the options are limited for him if he wants to keep working day to day but RTE do decide to push him out at 65. He's an experienced radio journalist rather than a celebrity so that rules out moving to Newstalk. When Pat does finally retire that slot will probably go to someone like Paul Galvin or Vogue Williams.

As to who would replace Sean I think Claire or Cormac are the two main candidates. They seem to be the ones being groomed as the future and to be honest I think either one would do well in that slot. It would be fun listening to Cormac interview Senator Marie Louise O'Donnell every week. I'd give him no more than three weeks before he cracks and asks her "what the **** are you talking about" live on air.

honeybear

touts wrote: »

I imagine it will be up to Sean if he wants to go or stay. If he decides to stay I think they will find a way to make him freelance. But maybe he'll want to retire. He strikes me as a man with his priorities straight so he might decide to enjoy retirement and just top up his income with the odd newspaper column or even a podcast for the likes of the Irish Times.

Sadly the options are limited for him if he wants to keep working day to day but RTE do decide to push him out at 65. He's an experienced radio journalist rather than a celebrity so that rules out moving to Newstalk. When Pat does finally retire that slot will probably go to someone like Paul Galvin or Vogue Williams.

As to who would replace Sean I think Claire or Cormac are the two main candidates. They seem to be the ones being groomed as the future and to be honest I think either one would do well in that slot. It would be fun listening to Cormac interview Senator Marie Louise O'Donnell every week. I'd give him no more than three weeks before he cracks and asks her "what the **** are you talking about" live on air.

Cormack wrecks my head a little - he’s so argumentative

Nrgfm

gordongekko wrote: »

Larry gogan just retired. I figured he was in his late 70s . Never knew he was only 65

65?
Late 70’s ?

Larry is 81 and still going, He didn’t retire he moved to Gold the old folks home for unwanted talent

jeremyj1968

Sean is the best that RTE have ever had in that job, including Pat Kenny and the multitudes of stand ins. It's a pity that he seems to find the job such a chore. I think he just gets completely frustrated with the monotony of listening to the same repetitive rhetoric, the same disingenuous political responses from the same old faces saying the same things on on the same old topics. I mean it must be difficult, particularly listening to the Shinners like Louise O'Reilly or Ruth Coppinger telling you how everything should be done, permanent hurlers on the ditch. It must take a lot of patience to sit there and have to listen to that rubbish every day, like Groundhog day.

bureau2009

jeremyj1968 wrote: »

Sean is the best that RTE have ever had in that job, including Pat Kenny and the multitudes of stand ins. It's a pity that he seems to find the job such a chore. I think he just gets completely frustrated with the monotony of listening to the same repetitive rhetoric, the same disingenuous political responses from the same old faces saying the same things on on the same old topics. I mean it must be difficult, particularly listening to the Shinners like Louise O'Reilly or Ruth Coppinger telling you how everything should be done, permanent hurlers on the ditch. It must take a lot of patience to sit there and have to listen to that rubbish every day, like Groundhog day.

He's doing the state some service.

He's keeping Miriam away from the microphone

Zird

Since RTE are in major cutback mode, what about extending Morning Ireland to 10am and have Tubs do the sor slot from 10/Midday? Tubs started off doing current affairs, filling in for Rachel English on 5/7 live back in the day.

Bodhran

gordongekko wrote: »

Larry gogan just retired. I figured he was in his late 70s . Never knew he was only 65

Larry Gogan was born in 1938 which makes him 81. Didn't he move to RTE Gold?

generalgerry

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Hopefully its Cormac

I used to really like Cormac O'Hara, but he really has taken the lead from Ivan Yeats with his constant trolling and barracking of the guests.

dhaughton99

Bring Pat Kenny back into the fold. He’s lost where he is.

Badabing

Audrey Carville is brilliant on Morning Ireland, she should be given her own show.

Robert McGrath

dhaughton99 wrote: »

Bring Pat Kenny back into the fold. He’s lost where he is.

Not a hope in hell, I would have thought. He jumped ship and proved that the audience on RTE was not a personal audience for him. Why on earth would RTE want to pay the inevitable big bucks to get him back?

Is there any possibility of Sean been forgiven for the "golfgate" thing and returning to the fold as a pundit on features like the Friday gathering ?

end of the road

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118000349#Comment_118000349

most certainly yes.

just need most memory of it to die down, which in his case probably has happened or is near happening, so i would give it a year, 2 years maybe.

but who knows.