The hidden gems of Irish radio

jimmymack

With the end of the Jukebox on Nova today, it got me thinking about the really good music shows on Irish radio. John Creedon's program on Radio 1 is usually excellent, as is Ed's Songs of Praise and The Beat Goes On on Today FM, but what lesser-known shows do Boardsies listen to that deserve a bit more attention?

I've been on the road on Sunday evenings in recent weeks and I've found myself tuning into An Nóta Gorm on Raidió na Life, it's a jazz program. Not what I'd normally listen to but I think it's excellent. Plenty of good shows on that station if you do a bit of digging. What other hidden gems are out there?

limnam

Anything John Kelly is involved in.


Mystery train is a great show.

Tacklebox

I like Mystery Train myself.

Micky Mac, or Michael McNamara who used to host the dance show on 2fm has a show on Clare FM.

I must find out when it's on, a friend of mine is always raving about it.

He plays a bit of everything, and always has some info about the track and what he likes about it.....

RINO87

limnam wrote: »

Anything John Kelly is involved in.


Mystery train is a great show.

Totally agree, was a big fan of the creedon show for years, but it is what it is and can be repetitive. Find myself listening to the mystery train more and more.

I used to switch back for the last hour of creedon but have found myself sticking with lyric and the blue of the night more and more these days.

shar01

I know it's not a radio show in the usual sense but I'm a fan of Pam Duggan on livedrive on Dublin City FM. I enjoy the mix of music and there's some funny moments.

I'd love to hear her on one of the "bigger" stations.

Jazz Alley on Lyric FM was one to look forward to.

spurious

John Kelly (never understood why they have him clash with Creedon) and anything Lilian Smith does, though she moves about.

whiskeyman

shar01 wrote: »

I know it's not a radio show in the usual sense but I'm a fan of Pam Duggan on livedrive on Dublin City FM. I enjoy the mix of music and there's some funny moments.

I'd love to hear her on one of the "bigger" stations.

Pam is fantastic! Love her style and wit in the mornings.
Hugh is good too.
Super playlists also. Put most if not all of the commercial stations to shame.

shar01

I usually have to wait until I get to Glen of the Downs before I can pick the show up clearly.

On Wensleyday I sometimes hope for a little bit of a delay so I can listen longer

shar01

whiskeyman wrote: »

Pam is fantastic! Love her style and wit in the mornings.
Hugh is good too.
Super playlists also. Put most if not all of the commercial stations to shame.

Yeah - Hugh is growing on me.

honeybear

I like the Documentary on Rte Radio 1. Only problem is the amount of times they are repeated...I'm sure I've heard some 4 times

skimpydoo

How can you not mention the best DJ in Ireland Pat James, Nova shafted him on to Digital but he still has the best eclectic taste in music.

Roadtoad

Ya can't beat The Angelus.
Playback too.
The South Wind, but PK drives the kids mad (weekend journeys when we are all together).
Like the others said, JK always gets it right, going way back to the Eclectic Ballroom.
I usen't like Paddy O'Gorman because he'd never challenge ass-holes, but he grew on me.


Can the Business programme before Playback.
The Arts show needed to be restyled years ago.
There was a programme on RnG years ago, Laigean Caint, that was too fast for me, I'd need a slowed down version but nonetheless I'd like to give it another crack.

HeidiHeidi

Roadtoad wrote: »

Ya can't beat The Angelus.
Playback too.
The South Wind, but PK drives the kids mad (weekend journeys when we are all together).
Like the others said, JK always gets it right, going way back to the Eclectic Ballroom.
I usen't like Paddy O'Gorman because he'd never challenge ass-holes, but he grew on me.


Can the Business programme before Playback.
The Arts show needed to be restyled years ago.
There was a programme on RnG years ago, Laigean Caint, that was too fast for me, I'd need a slowed down version but nonetheless I'd like to give it another crack.

The South Wind Blows is good, but I can't be listening to all that affected whispering that Philip goes on with, drives me mad!


John Kelly I loved when he first appeared on radio, but he's gone too affectedly off-piste for my taste these days. Trying too hard.


Love Playback, as I miss most of the stuff during the week so it's a chance to catch up - although it's very dependent on the taste/humour of the presenter, wonder how the new incumbents will work out??


Doc on One when I catch them are unfailingly brilliant - I agree that there are a lot of repeats, but it's a programme worth seeking out every week.


Seascapes is up there with my favourites, being a sailing nut - although its current slot of 10.30pm on a Friday night means I don't catch it that often.


Agree with Lilian Smith, I love her taste in music, and also John Creedon.

Joe_ Public

Have no maritime interests but used to love Seascapes when it was presented by Tom MacSweeney. There was just something in those gentle lilting Cork tones i found soothing. And also loved that old version of Sailing By he used to play too, may be mistaken but don’t think it’s used anymore or maybe they’ve just updated it.

Staying on the cork theme, Lillian Smith has a gorgeous voice suited for late night broadcasting but i have grown used to her now on the dawn chorus. A good a way as any to kick off the weekend.

I like Marty Whelan on lyric in the mornings..

God, I'm getting old..

honeybear

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I like Marty Whelan on lyric in the mornings..

God, I'm getting old..

Marty Fan here. Listen on the way to work and I walk in smiling! Lovely mix of music & banter. Definitely a hidden gem

HeidiHeidi

Seascapes is back using "Sailing By" as its theme tune now.


Marcus Connaughton, when he was presenter, used a differerent tune, and it was just never the same.




Tom McSweeney was absolutely the best presenter, it was like a lullaby listening to him!

Joe_ Public

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Seascapes is back using "Sailing By" as its theme tune now.


Marcus Connaughton, when he was presenter, used a differerent tune, and it was just never the same.




Tom McSweeney was absolutely the best presenter, it was like a lullaby listening to him!

I wonder is it exactly the same one Tom used, though? Must have a listen this Friday. The one Tom used had piano in it and try as i might i was never able to locate that version of the tune and have no idea where he got it from.

Antenna

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Have no maritime interests but used to love Seascapes when it was presented by Tom MacSweeney. .

He has been doing a similar show 'This Island Nation' every fortnight going out on a number of community radio stations:

https://www.mixcloud.com/discover/this-island-nation/

Joe_ Public

Antenna wrote: »

He has been doing a similar show 'This Island Nation' every fortnight going out on a number of community radio stations:

https://www.mixcloud.com/discover/this-island-nation/

Sounds great, thanks for the heads up.

Alicano

Deleted User wrote: »

I like Marty Whelan on lyric in the mornings..

God, I'm getting old..

I've loved Marty in the morning for years and I'm only a 38yr old pup
He is perfect for that show and time of the day.
No ego about himself. Doesn't pretend to understand the music in depth.

Ed's Songs of Praise looks great musically. I never get to listen to it much but always catch his playlist on social media and nod approvingly. Some songs you'd never expect to hear on Today FM etc.. He puts them in there.

+1 For John Creedon.

I've affiliations with Dublin's NEAR Fm 90.3. And would highly recommend Thursday evenings. 7-8pm 'The Electric Wave'. And 9-10pm 'Top Tunes'.
Two great shows.:)

Stargazer7

Agree with a lot of the boardsies on this topic....

My "spot the nerd" personal faves that might be lesser known / spoken about are:

1.The TED radio hour on Newstalk....I know, I know, it's actually NPR really but I'm still happy that it pops onto the radio on a weekend evening. I'm usually in the car after work but they do a one-hour themed programme and depending on the theme the hour can be absolutely fascinating.

2. Splanc - Gaelgóir here and it's so refreshing to have a show that is both in Irish and actually relevant...so often shows are in Irish as an act of tokenism such that even for those who can understand them, they are immeasurably boring. This show, however, is a well timed, free-flowing magazine style show, with interviews, reviews of tv / musics / gigs and discussions of current events / topical issues. The presenter, Cuán Ó Flatharta also has a lovely tembre and an easygoing way about him. A great show for fluent speakers / learners alike.

3. Newstalk theme here but mostly because I listened to a combo of radio 1 and today fm for years so anything new I'm discovering is on there....The Picture Show. Yes, the presenters tone was weird, yes, sometimes the shows were pretty off the wall....but I liked the range of books / ideas discussed and the depth to which topics were explored freely with the author. Often the music played throughout was wonderful as well.

My parents house was (and is) still very much a "radio" house. So it was something I grew up with and find very comforting. The different jingles and shows all punctuate different times of the day I miss waking up to the slow-paced gravelly tones of Ciarán MacMathúna at 8am on a Sunday morning. It was a lovely show to hear snippets of while dozing in and out of sleep

limnam

I guess the whole Marty debacle splits a lot of opinion.



He's certainly not hidden even if it's on Lyric FM


The elements that people like him for, such as not been snuffy and not really knowing much about the music and the music of lyrics in general seems to be the reason a lot of "die hard" lyric listeners can't stand him.


My opinion on it flips and flops.



I wasn't expecting him to show up on this thread though

Joe_ Public

Stargazer7 wrote: »

Agree with a lot of the boardsies on this topic....

My "spot the nerd" personal faves that might be lesser known / spoken about are:

1.The TED radio hour on Newstalk....I know, I know, it's actually NPR really but I'm still happy that it pops onto the radio on a weekend evening. I'm usually in the car after work but they do a one-hour themed programme and depending on the theme the hour can be absolutely fascinating.

2. Splanc - Gaelgóir here and it's so refreshing to have a show that is both in Irish and actually relevant...so often shows are in Irish as an act of tokenism such that even for those who can understand them, they are immeasurably boring. This show, however, is a well timed, free-flowing magazine style show, with interviews, reviews of tv / musics / gigs and discussions of current events / topical issues. The presenter, Cuán Ó Flatharta also has a lovely tembre and an easygoing way about him. A great show for fluent speakers / learners alike.

3. Newstalk theme here but mostly because I listened to a combo of radio 1 and today fm for years so anything new I'm discovering is on there....The Picture Show. Yes, the presenters tone was weird, yes, sometimes the shows were pretty off the wall....but I liked the range of books / ideas discussed and the depth to which topics were explored freely with the author. Often the music played throughout was wonderful as well.

My parents house was (and is) still very much a "radio" house. So it was something I grew up with and find very comforting. The different jingles and shows all punctuate different times of the day I miss waking up to the slow-paced gravelly tones of Ciarán MacMathúna at 8am on a Sunday morning. It was a lovely show to hear snippets of while dozing in and out of sleep

Great post. Loved Ciaran on a Sunday and the great Donal Broughan on the Saturday before him on Weekend On One. Donal was “the voice” for me, such a crisp and authoritative delivery. Terrible shock to see him go so young, still missed terribly in my household.

Roadtoad

Stargazer7 wrote: »

....... I miss waking up to the slow-paced gravelly tones of Ciarán MacMathúna at 8am on a Sunday morning. It was a lovely show to hear snippets of while dozing in and out of sleep

Half the nation was conceived during this programme. The radio was on in the parents room to mask the shenanigans!

Stargazer7

Roadtoad wrote: »

Half the nation was conceived during this programme. The radio was on in the parents room to mask the shenanigans!

:eek: That brings a whole other element to the programme!

I tend to do a similar thing with Sunday Miscellany also (the dozing...not the shenanigans :pac:) but I think Ciarán's lovely tone makes me especially intolerant of overly cheerful / hyper presenters on morning radio aka anyone on 2fm, maxi when she used to do rising time and Alison Curtis. Though the Alison Curtis show just makes me smile now after a mate of mine said he is used to it after his little girl arrived as it is effectively radio for kids and overtired parents

Joe_ Public

One of my favourite hours of the week, mondays 10-11pm: Mooney Goes Wild.

I’m no wildlife fanatic, only really developed a passing interest over last 10 years or so, but I love people who are passionate about nature and, while I never liked his particular light entertainment shtick in other formats, I really like Mooney’s knowledge and enthusiasm when it comes to this show. His co-presenters are a joy to listen to as well.

Declan A Walsh

Dublin City FM has many specialist music shows. I'm sure that many of them could be classified as "hidden gems". I will just point you towards one of them: Black Echoes hosted by John Public on Saturday nights between 10 and midnight. This show celebrates reggae music and has been around for decades, via a number of pirates, prior to its arrival in 2003 on Anna Livia Radio / Dublin City FM.

Expunge

limnam wrote: »

I guess the whole Marty debacle splits a lot of opinion.



He's certainly not hidden even if it's on Lyric FM


The elements that people like him for, such as not been snuffy and not really knowing much about the music and the music of lyrics in general seems to be the reason a lot of "die hard" lyric listeners can't stand him.


My opinion on it flips and flops.



I wasn't expecting him to show up on this thread though

He's one of Ireland's best known TV personalities with a large TV audience on 'Winning Streak' - in the hundreds of thousands. He has a radio audience somewhere between 40 and 45 thousand each morning- local radio levels.

That's okay for the other nobodies on Lyric playing Classical music in a fairly informed way but this chap is supposed to use his star power to bring in an audience. It hasn't worked.

Now in the morning, Lyric has the famed "banter", discussions about 'Dancing with the Stars" on Mondays (at the same time as Radio 1) and cooking with Nevin Maguire on Fridays.
He seems to have heard of a few operas and arias by Puccini and Verdi and everything else after that is a struggle for him.

Off to Gold with him where his "banter" will, I'm sure, be loved. And he won't have to pretend to like the few pieces of Classical he's forced to play.

Stargazer7

Joe_ Public wrote: »

One of my favourite hours of the week, mondays 10-11pm: Mooney Goes Wild.

I’m no wildlife fanatic, only really developed a passing interest over last 10 years or so, but I love people who are passionate about nature and, while I never liked his particular light entertainment shtick in other formats, I really like Mooney’s knowledge and enthusiasm when it comes to this show. His co-presenters are a joy to listen to as well.

The show concept / content is fine, as are the co-presenters but I'm afraid Mooney presenting anything just drives me up the wall....I find I can't take him seriously at all.

Joe_ Public

Stargazer7 wrote: »

The show concept / content is fine, as are the co-presenters but I'm afraid Mooney presenting anything just drives me up the wall....I find I can't take him seriously at all.

Outside of his wildlife show, i can’t take him either. I caught around 30 seconds of the Eurovision coverage last year and he actually wept audibly when the irish entry was played. In that format he is the king of schlock.

However his knowledge and sheer passion makes it easy for me to give him a pass for his wildlife show. It’s actually a bit of an anomaly because a nature show on radio should not really work at all. If we’re honest 99% of people only tune into wildlife for Attenborough (maybe the wonderful Chris Packham too) or incredible cinematography.

They did a show last year on bird migration that wasn’t possibly the best thing I’ve heard on mooney goes wild for years, but on the whole of radio too. It was gripping and fascinating stuff.

Expunge

Expunge wrote: »

He's one of Ireland's best known TV personalities with a large TV audience on 'Winning Streak' - in the hundreds of thousands. He has a radio audience somewhere between 40 and 45 thousand each morning- local radio levels.

That's okay for the other nobodies on Lyric playing Classical music in a fairly informed way but this chap is supposed to use his star power to bring in an audience. It hasn't worked.

Now in the morning, Lyric has the famed "banter", discussions about 'Dancing with the Stars" on Mondays (at the same time as Radio 1) and cooking with Nevin Maguire on Fridays.
He seems to have heard of a few operas and arias by Puccini and Verdi and everything else after that is a struggle for him.

Off to Gold with him where his "banter" will, I'm sure, be loved. And he won't have to pretend to like the few pieces of Classical he's forced to play.

Ah, here...

HeidiHeidi

Deleted User wrote: »

Ah, here...

Agree with every word of that post!

Ash.J.Williams

I'm 42 and i think Creedon is the best thing on radio

Arghus

I think Kelly Anne Bryne on today fm on the weekends is pretty good. She's got good taste and has a genuine love for the music.

johnplayer

Starting listening to Marty about 3 years ago and never move from it between 7 and 9 when driving . There’s nothing else on offer at Breakfast worth listening to .

Expunge

johnplayer wrote: »

Starting listening to Marty about 3 years ago and never move from it between 7 and 9 when driving . There’s nothing else on offer at Breakfast worth listening to .

And that's fine. It's just on the wrong network, that's all. I'm sure you and all the other Marty fans would follow him wherever he'd go. Any ones I have ever spoken to have zero interest in anything else on the station. They think it's all a load of boring bollocks.
It's hardly doing the cause of Public Service broadcasting any good having him on Lyric, I would have thought.
Hidden, maybe... a gem? That's a matter of taste.

I wouldn't class myself as a Marty fan anyway..I'd have zero interest in him on the winning streak etc.. only listen to him because he's on lyric..
Lyric FM is just a great radio station anyway..yer one on in the afternoons is brilliant too..

cml387

OK, so no fans of John Bowman Sunday 8:30?

Now admittedly he does seem to have a lot of three part programmes about the likes of Seamus O'Mordha and his fifty year career in the Department Of Obscure Folklore, but the archive stuff is worth hearing, mainly for how, even in the 60's, it was all so rehearsed and staged.

I read somewhere that it is only since the sixties that any unscripted talk was allowed on Radio Eireann. Just think about that fact.

Odyssey 2005

Antenna wrote: »

He has been doing a similar show 'This Island Nation' every fortnight going out on a number of community radio stations:

https://www.mixcloud.com/discover/this-island-nation/

Now I just have to figure out how to find that when I want it. Thank you for posting this.

Declan A Walsh

Here is a another hidden gem: the A-Z of Great Tracks presented by Steve Conway on 8Radio.com.

Each week it is broadcast for the first time on Wednesday nights between 8 and 9 pm, and is repeated on Saturday mornings between 10 and 11 am. Steve plays an amazingly eclectic selection of songs as he makes his way through the alphabet - spanning the '60s right up to today. He started doing this in 2013 I think! He is currently in the middle of songs with titles that start with the word "The"!

http://8radio.com/

Odyssey 2005

RINO87 wrote: »

Totally agree, was a big fan of the creedon show for years, but it is what it is and can be repetitive. Find myself listening to the mystery train more and more.

I used to switch back for the last hour of creedon but have found myself sticking with lyric and the blue of the night more and more these days.

A clusterfuk in radio programming, two of their best on at the same time. Well done Dee !!

denishurley

Joe_ Public wrote: »

I wonder is it exactly the same one Tom used, though? Must have a listen this Friday. The one Tom used had piano in it and try as i might i was never able to locate that version of the tune and have no idea where he got it from.

It is a different arrangement now, possibly exactly the same as that used by the BBC. I prefer the previous one too.

honeybear

johnplayer wrote: »

Starting listening to Marty about 3 years ago and never move from it between 7 and 9 when driving . There’s nothing else on offer at Breakfast worth listening to .

Totally agree-stuck in Naas roadworks this morning and only for Marty I’d have gone mad!

Joe_ Public

denishurley wrote: »

It is a different arrangement now, possibly exactly the same as that used by the BBC. I prefer the previous one too.

Yeah same here, the strings kind of evoke the gentle rolling waves while the piano part suggest a buoy or some other object bobbing up and down on top of them. It’s just such an evocative tune, wish I could get my hands on that earlier version.

Expunge

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

A clusterfuk in radio programming, two of their best on at the same time. Well done Dee !!

I'd say Dee or her managers would be hard pressed to name any programme or presenter post 7pm on any of the RTE Radio channels.

She's too busy trying to extract herself from a bad career choice in coming to RTE in the first place.
News, Current Affairs, Meeriam hosting some spectacular nothingness in Collins Barracks or Dublin Castle seems to be all they care about now.
Hidden gems or PSB is not really their thing.

sweetie

https://www.rte.ie/rnag/an-taobh-tuathail/

end of!

jimmymack

sweetie wrote: »

https://www.rte.ie/rnag/an-taobh-tuathail/

end of!

Bit past my bedtime but always a great show anytime I've tuned in!

ford fiesta

Before it's axed by Dan Healy, check out Dave Fanning on 2FM 9 to 11 am Saturdays and Sundays. The only show on 2FM you are likely to hear a song pre-1990

RINO87

sweetie wrote: »

https://www.rte.ie/rnag/an-taobh-tuathail/

end of!

Yes!! I remember stumbling across that in the car years back, it was a thursday and he was banging out the choons. Was sure I had tuned into a local pirate but then in swings Cian ag caint as gaeilge!!