Why was Today FM called Radio Ireland?

Master Anorak

Didn't it sound very formal and old-fashioned in 1997? Also did RTE not have any issue with the name cosidering its an exact translation of Radio Eireann ?

Jim_Hodge

:.

Ger Roe

At the time of launch, Radio Ireland was very much targeted at the RTE radio 1 market. It was pitched with talk, specialist music and art programmes and so 'formal and old fashioned' should have appealed to its target audience. RTE did make some mutterings about the name, but there was nothing they could do about it.

Staplor

Also it was an independent station broadcasting nationwide

Expunge

It was an embarrassing mess of a schedule from day one. Some not very good presenters mixed in with some good ones.

Dire name, dire imaging. Doomed to fail trying to go up against ( a much stronger in those days) Radio One with such a terrible schedule.

John McColgan, his missus (now RTE Chairperson!!!!) and friends should have set fire to their money instead.

Master Anorak

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119553105#Comment_119553105

I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers the original imaging, the jingle was a woman singing RADIO IRELAND out of tune, it sounded very Alan partridge

druss

It had a Dermot Morgan comedy selection show which I quite liked though.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119550194#Comment_119550194

I am not sure they couldn't have, the IRTC should have really told them that the name was already taken. Logo doesn't really go with the traditional idea of a national station, horribly clunky

MrSing

Was it called Centaury FM at one stage ?

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119553352#Comment_119553352

The licence from the IRTC was first given to Centry but it close after a year or so in the early 1990s, Today FM was give the licence a good 6 years after that.

Declan A Walsh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119553352#Comment_119553352

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119553514#Comment_119553514

Yes, Century Radio (I don't know if its name was changed to Century FM - maybe it was) had the original national independent license. It started broadcasting in early September 1989 and the plug was abruptly pulled in the middle of November 1991. A new competition had to be held for that radio license. Eventually, Radio Ireland won that competition and was launched on the night of St. Patrick's 1997. It was renamed to Today FM in early January 1998.

What I would say about Radio Ireland/Today FM for its first year or two was that it had a lot of different styles of programming, including specialist music shows and more talk shows. It was actually quite adventurous, particularly in light of what happened to its predecessor. The original Radio Ireland line up included people who had been on Century Radio - Declan Meehan, Bob Gallicoe and Robbie Irwin. In its last month as Radio Ireland, they were joined by yet another Century Radio presenter Mark Byrne. Another ex-Century Radio presenter, Jim O'Neill, did the voiceover for the rebranded Today FM and eventually did become a presenter on Today FM.

Aglomerado

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119553324#Comment_119553324

Mayhem with Morgan. I loved that!

Declan A Walsh

I recall that when Dermot Morgan died in 1998 that there was a special version of the regular Sunday show The Sunday Supplement dedicated to Dermot, which was presented by journalist Sam Smyth. He was a friend of Dermot Morgan and a regular panelist on The Sunday Supplement at the time. This show ran for a few years starting on Radio Ireland. The original presenter was publisher John Ryan and the other regular panelists were George Byrne (r.i.p.), Declan Lynch and journalist and future RTE presenter Katie Hannon. Sam Smyth eventually took over as permanent presenter and it subsequently was replaced with The Sam Smyth Show.

GSF

Today fm kept bits of Radio Ireland for years. Sam Smyth, Donal Dineen, John Kelly, Eamonn Dunphy on the last word etc

Declan A Walsh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119559493#Comment_119559493

John Kelly left Today FM in late 1998 - possibly November.

The River of Soul, presented by Karl Tsignidos, kept going until 2003.

Among the other original presenters, Declan Meehan and Phil Cawley stayed with Today FM for years. Declan left in 2016 and Phil left last year. He was the final presenter that went all the way back to Radio Ireland.

I'm not sure if sports presenter Paul Collins was there at the very start of Radio Ireland, but he certainly arrived during the Radio Ireland days - possibly April 1997. He left Today FM during 2019.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119559895#Comment_119559895

John Kelly got good money to move to RTÉ, not sure why as he'd be consider niche IMO, but he was one of the top earners for about 5 years in the early 2000s, if not from the late 1990s

Declan A Walsh

Among the more curious changes during the Radio Ireland days was replacing a late night Saturday dance show presented by Mark Kavanagh with a love songs show presented by Jon Troy!

GSF

Every local outside Dublin had Late night love shows in the 90s ( except maybe Kerry, Mayo and Donegal)

Master Anorak

In the beginning it was regarded as a major oversight/mistake that the original imaging and logo didn't mention the stations frequencies of 100-102, when it became Today FM, 100-102 was mentioned in every link for about 10 years, nowadays you never hear it anymore.

JoeA3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119572469#Comment_119572469

They’ve deliberately removed it from all imaging / logos etc. Foley even joked about it when he came back.

I’d say it’s just something that’s become almost irrelevant nowadays with smart speakers, streaming, podcasting, etc. Even in the car, possibly the only place I still listen to traditional “FM” I don’t manually tune the dial to “100”…

Master Anorak

incidentally, I think Lyric FM is the only national radio station that would still mention it's frequencies (96/99) frequently on air.

Declan A Walsh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119572678#Comment_119572678

Newstalk mentions its frequencies too : 106-108FM.

So where are the presenters from the Radio Ireland days now?

Here are some.

Declan Meehan - East Coast FM

Phil Cawley - South East Radio and Classic Hits

Philip Boucher Hayes - RTE Radio One

Jon Troy - CharityRadio,ie

Paul Power - KFM

John Kelly - Lyric FM

Karl Tsigdinos - RTE Gold and Dublin City FM, as well as journalist and graphic designer

Liam Mackey - Journalist and sometimes commentator

Bill Hughes - Producer/Director Mind the Gap Films and contributor to Newstalk

Gavin Duffy - Businessman and chairman of MediaTraining.ie

Eamon Dunphy - The Last Stand podcast

Cathy Farrell (now Catherine Farrell) - Programming Editor, Morning Ireland, RTE Radio One

Donal Dineen - film maker, broadcaster and lecturer

Bard

It's still their company name, as far as I'm aware... i.e.: "Radio Ireland T/A Today FM" 😉

Dr Karl

Didn't Emily O'Reilly, the EU Ombudsperson, present a rival show to Morning Ireland with PBH?

Declan A Walsh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119608000#Comment_119608000

Half-right. It was with Gavin Duffy. I think the show was called Daybreak, but I am not sure. At various times, either Mark Costigan or Cathy Farrell would stand in for one or other. By the end of its run, the latter two were the main presenters. Philip Boucher Hayes presented an entertainment news type programme weekdays around lunchtime. In early December 1997, Radio Ireland replaced their weekday morning current affairs programme with a music-led breakfast show presented by Mark Byrne. This carried over into Today FM. During the summer of 1998, Mark left Today FM when he heard that Ian Dempsey would be joining the station and presenting the breakfast show! Paul Power, who had been presenting an early weekday show at that stage, was the main breakfast presenter for the remaining period until Ian started presenting in late September.

denishurley

When PBH was let go, he was told it was because of “listener resistance”

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/union-seeks-meeting-over-dropped-radio-presenter-1.80610

Declan A Walsh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119609246#Comment_119609246

Interesting article. I practically got the name of the current affairs programme right - Day Break! So by June 1997, PBH was dropped and replaced by Paul Power, who had been a weekend presenter, and Gavin Duffy had left to be replaced by his frequent stand-in Mark Costigan. I think Emily O'Reilly continued for a little longer before being permanently replaced by Cathy Farrell, upon her departure.

Expunge

D'ya remember Cliona Ni something used to do a mid morning music show? Dreadful it was, followed by Lord Boucher Hayes.

It hadn't a chance. Whoever put that schedule and "talent" together should have been shot with a ball of their own excrement.

Who was the first programme director of Radio Ireland, by the way?

Master Anorak

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119611497#Comment_119611497

Brendan O'Connors father in-law John Cadden was the first pd, he resigned in autumn 97 when the board rejected his new schedule which consisted of Paddy Murray and Liam Mackay on breakfast, Eamon Dunphy on Midmorning Emily O'Reilly On Lunchtime

Declan A Walsh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119611497#Comment_119611497

Clíona Ní Bhuachalla.

Expunge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119612349#Comment_119612349

Yes, it's one thing basking in the reflected glory of a giant talent like Gay Byrne (as one of a number of producers) and quite another trying to gel together a credible and listenable schedule from scratch for a station that depends 100 per cent on ad revenue.

Just another in a fairly long line ex-RTE producers who think they could do it in the independent sphere (as PDs) and get found out fast.

Caimin Jones in Clare FM and Dan Collins in Radio Kerry being the spectacular exceptions. Both were also skilled broadcasters in their own right.