Ray D'arcy on RTE Radio 1 Mod Warning post 1 27th Jan Forward

Radio5 · 10-10-2025 11:35AM

You'd have to think that Kieran Cuddihy will go to News/Current Affairs. 2 presenters have gone from Morning Ireland recently so there's space there.

I think Katie Hannon is still favourite for Liveline.

NIMAN · 10-10-2025 11:37AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123893998#Comment_123893998

Wrong.

Oscar_Madison · 10-10-2025 11:39AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123893993#Comment_123893993

I mentioned PK above and yes I agree, worlds apart.

What’s very interesting about PK though is, he had to start from scratch building up his listenership figures - it wasn’t like 100,000 listeners switched the dial from radio 1 to Newstalk - they didn’t. So even someone with the skills calibre and respect that PK had as a serious CA broadcaster, he had to eat some humble pie and knuckle down winning over listeners as if he was a new boy in town- fair play to him for doing that

Welsh Megaman · 10-10-2025 11:46AM

Anyhoo, back to Ray…

RTE’s loss is Hospital Radio’s gain.

And by ‘Hospital Radio’, I mean somebody to make the tea, ensure the biscuit tin has been filled and to make sure the CD’s are cleaned and put back in their cases after each show.

🙂

head82 · 10-10-2025 11:47AM

I'm obviously misremembering but I could have sworn I read Darcy had agreed a four year, €1 million contract within the past couple of years.

Oscar_Madison · 10-10-2025 11:59AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123894027#Comment_123894027

This article is only 18 months old - that’s some relationship breakdown in that time

https://www.thesun.ie/tv/12568385/rte-ray-darcy-new-contract-pay-deal/

Bass Reeves · 10-10-2025 12:05PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123893903#Comment_123893903

The reason it was cancelled was RTE management had a brain fart. Derek Mooney was going on a sabbatical if I remember right, they wanted Ray after losing PK to Newstalk a few years before. He played hard ball and wanted the Saturday night show ( I think he had prentitions of presenting the Late Late show at some stage), RTE taught nothing of Brendan O Connor and dumped him. They never recovered the Saturday night audience after that.

Bass Reeves · 10-10-2025 12:13PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123894069#Comment_123894069

I think his present contract wasn't up until next year. I say when RTE had KC in the bag they decided a major revamp of tge schedule. Inever got there schedule with all these sh!try 1 hour slots, 9-10, 12-1, 1-1.45 1.45-3 and 3-4.30.

THat is 5 teams covering five and a half hours of TV. Somehow I think they decided they were going to move Ray to an evening or RTE2 late slot. He got tge hump and resigned IMO sa ingredients RTE a couple hundred grand

Deedsie · 10-10-2025 12:14PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123894011#Comment_123894011

Totally agree, he gets a lot of flack from some people but Pat Kenny is a class act. Different level entirely to some other national broadcasters.

He will be missed on midweek radio.

Butson · 10-10-2025 12:15PM

D'arcy checked out a long time ago.

Oscar_Madison · 10-10-2025 12:15PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123894097#Comment_123894097

Sher you could see from our posting on boards in the TV forum- we LOVED Brendan o Connor’s show and hated Darcy’s

Oscar_Madison · 10-10-2025 12:25PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123894132#Comment_123894132

Can’t believe he’s mid 70s and still going strong albeit a reduced workload which is to be expected - he could easily have hung up the boots a few years ago and everyone would have wished him well - he obviously enjoys what he does and is unquestionably still good at it

GSF · 10-10-2025 12:33PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123894097#Comment_123894097

BO’C’s show got sued over some comments made on the show and cost Rte a lot of money which didn’t help

Kerry_2008 · 10-10-2025 12:37PM

As others have said I presume once RTE knew they had Cuddihy in the bag they could go full steam ahead with their new line up. It would be typical of the old RTE radio one to just shuffle the deck around. But, the new head of radio wanted to revamp the schedule not just the line up.

I would be interested to know did RTE offer some sort of sop to darcy in terms of moving him to the a weekend slot on 2fm that the 2 filling in for Doireann have moved from with a lower salary and when darcy wanted to stay on the current salary they jettisoned him completely. As the reports have said he was in negotiations. Unless the plan was to string him along until the had everything else sorted.

Claire Byrne etc stayed on after her announcement as the leaving was by her choice and it seems to have been amicable enough so she has no axe to grind. Obviously RTE just pulled the plug on Darcy and were worried what he could come out with on radio.

GSF · 10-10-2025 12:58PM

I’d say he was planning to go full Dave Lee Travis on them!

Krazy gang · 10-10-2025 01:02PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123891800#Comment_123891800

Very ruthless. Like do they not have to give some sort of notice? Not a big fan of ray either but seems very heartless. You think they'd give him a chance to finish the week and to have some sort of farewell

flazio · 10-10-2025 01:07PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123894210#Comment_123894210

Isn't D'Arcy filling in for Bláthnaid Tracey while she's on maternity leave?

GSF · 10-10-2025 01:08PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123894299#Comment_123894299

I’m sure they are paying him to the end of his contract but just not wanting him to be on the air again

Archduke Franz Ferdinand · 10-10-2025 01:11PM

Ray obviously thought he was indispensable, oh to have been a fly on the wall when he realised he wasn’t. On the radio forum we’ve all realised he’s been stealing a living for years

ford fiesta · 10-10-2025 01:15PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123894314#Comment_123894314

you might be getting your D'Arcy's mixed up there mate

furiousox · 10-10-2025 01:15PM

I for one was "dancing around the kitchen" when I heard the news.

It's what he would have wanted.

flazio · 10-10-2025 01:18PM

I just fear he's going to be the new head of parkrun Ireland.

Large bottle small glass · 10-10-2025 01:32PM

Anytime he came on radio in house or car I had this immediate instinctive reaction to turn radio of; almost same reaction to something being on fire.

I thought there was something wrong with me.

Then I read the last few pages and now I feel normal again.

Best support group ever 🙂

head82 · 10-10-2025 01:34PM

Patricia Moynihan, head of audio at RTE was just on the 1'o clock news there. She said she would have had no problem allowing Darcy to host the show yesterday to say his farewells. That suggests to me it was Rays decision not to turn up for work yesterday.