RTE 1: 'Today' with Claire Byrne

zell12 · 31-10-2025 08:56PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123952222#Comment_123952222

like Ciara Kelly broadcasting from her hot press? as it was the only quiet space in the house

hotmail.com · 05-11-2025 11:30AM

Gary Gannon has mastered saying a lot without actually saying anything at all.

jippo nolan · 05-11-2025 01:53PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123964291#Comment_123964291

He has a masters degree from University, specialising in “talking through your hoop”

Brendan Bendar · 10-11-2025 05:44AM

Lot of alumni from that establishment about the place, jipster.

Big lad from Donegal has a 1.1 there.

archfi · 10-11-2025 09:07AM

Ivan Yates the first guest of David McCullagh 😀

ednwireland · 10-11-2025 09:18AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123976691#Comment_123976691

giving as good as he gets.

archfi · 10-11-2025 09:20AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123976714#Comment_123976714

He's always great value!

KaneToad · 10-11-2025 09:21AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123976718#Comment_123976718

He's a bluffer. McCullagh exposing him very well. A good start to his tenure.

leahyl · 10-11-2025 09:24AM

Love David McCullaghs interviewing style

KaneToad · 10-11-2025 09:24AM

And now Yates tries to draw similarities between his situation and Miriam/Jim O'Callaghan.

McCullagh instantly puts him in his place by saying Miriam doesn't have a financial interest in Jim.

ednwireland · 10-11-2025 09:38AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123976726#Comment_123976726

the problem i thlught hes too aggressive in this case , if he hadnt have gone in so hard he might have got more out of him, but i suspect the pre interview probably has something to do with that !

i though ivan stood his ground well, and hes right i wonder how many others do exactly the same - as he said hes under contract to no-one.

Apothic_Red · 10-11-2025 01:31PM

Ivan is a slippery eel, knew that McCullagh was trying to catch him out but kept wiggling off the hook.

No love lost between himself & Cooper by the sounds of it.

Brendan Bendar · 10-11-2025 01:46PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123976726#Comment_123976726

which is what, in your opinion?

Loafing Oaf · 10-11-2025 01:53PM

Do we need a new thread, or is David identifying as Claire going forward…

jippo nolan · 10-11-2025 02:23PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123977429#Comment_123977429

him or them?

amlinopta · 10-11-2025 02:24PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123977364#Comment_123977364

Oliver Callan had a nice go at Matt in yesterday's Indo. "I roared laughing when Matt Cooper had this huge strop from the 'hill of integrity' that is the Noel Kelly podcast platform.

rdser · 10-11-2025 02:27PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123977531#Comment_123977531

Callans kicks has a good go at Matt cooper as well. The holier than thou stuff from cooper is painful but I find Matt cooper woeful as a presenter since covid.

Arghus · 10-11-2025 03:40PM

I don't like Ivan at all. I gave up listening to the PTP podcast because I couldn't listen to him talk absolute drivel any longer. I think he's an odious chancer.

But, in fairness to him, he gave a good account of himself in that interview earlier.

Not that I agreed with him - if you analyse what he said it's a mixture of self justification, whataboutery, bluster and skillful evasion.

But, David McC didn't really land a meaningful punch on him and Ivan managed to frame a lot of the conversation on his terms.

I think DMcC let a few open goals go by too - Ivan was banging on about his golden rule of client confidentiality and how he'd never talk about his clients etc... despite openly talking about his impressions of Jim Gavin having no "political skill".

But, by the end DMcC was flagging while Ivan was still going strong. I really don't like him, but he's a strong debater - I'll give him that.

Tiger20 · 10-11-2025 04:48PM

I thought Yates defence was laughable and idiotic. According to him, he broke no laws and as long as he thought he was doing nothing wrong it was okay. The fact that it is not unreasonable to consider coaching a politician while interviewing them is unethical doesn’t come into it as far as he is concerned, once he felt he was being balanced and fair is all that matters. He claims he couldn’t inform the listener to the fact he had provided coaching due to client confidentiality, but he could always have told any politician that he would be honour bound to inform the public in the interests of fairness in the event of Ivan interviewing them on radio, and let the client decide if they wanted to proceed on that basis.
According to him, his moral compass was the deciding factor in all this, if he thought it was fair, it was fair, not what anyone else could reasonably conclude being relevant. On that basis, one can ignore any laws if one’s moral compass tells them what they are doing is okay.

Taken to a conclusion, on that basis what Hitler was doing was alright as he didn’t think he was doing anything wrong, because if he did think it was wrong he wouldn’t have done it

sliabh 1956 · 10-11-2025 05:10PM

Since Sean O Rourke retired I really haven't listened to his replacement with any regularity, but I tuned in to listen to Davy MC this morning excellent presenter, Wow Yates really has an inflated opinion of himself and his abilities what an odious character he is.

Arghus · 10-11-2025 05:58PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123977905#Comment_123977905

I agree that his arguments, taken in their own merits, weren't up to much. It's sleazy stuff and saying that no laws were broken and that everyone else does it anyway isn't much in terms of a defence.

But, in terms of a debate, I think he bested DMcC, who didn't seem to have the stomach for the battle apart from the opening skirmishes...

He let Yates off the hook a few times far too easily.

Yates kinda steered the conversation where he wanted it to go - for instance, I think he, intentionally and quite skillfully, turned the question of ethics into primarily a question about whether he felt he had compromised his own personal ethics, instead whether it was objectively ethical behaviour to begin with.

And he brushed aside the questions about whether he actually broke broadcasting guidelines. I thought McCullough was weak there: he didn't press him on that and I think he should have. Rather than going for the jugular, Yates had him on the defensive when he suddenly started talking about Miriam O' Callaghan. He had that as a get out of a jam taking point when in danger of being cornered IMO.

I got the sense that DMcC threw in the towel once Yates had him backpedalling about Miriam O' Callaghan. He might have been talking absolute rubbish for large portions of the whole thing, but he sounded assertive and dominant.

elperello · 10-11-2025 06:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123977905#Comment_123977905

The whole concept of a moral compass is that it's your own.

It's a bit like an internal set of ethics on which you base your actions.

Of course anyone can disagree with you but in Ivan's case he seems not to care what people think anyway.

It's true he broke no laws, that's his story and he's sticking to it.

(by the way Mr H actually did break laws)

RoTelly · 10-11-2025 07:00PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123978106#Comment_123978106

Within the law and within the society in which you live.

For example refusing to pay a tenant back money that he mistakenly paid into your account is possibly off everyone moral compass, unless you are a thief.

It'd be kind of like saying well you know DJ Carey is his morals that let him down, he didn't really know he was doing wrong.

Moral, I think a Car Allowance of 25K and a moving fee of €50K when you don't actual move is wrong.

but then who I am I to judge, I don't pay my TV license, I am such a rebel.

elperello · 10-11-2025 11:00PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123978206#Comment_123978206

Not having a licence is fairly harmless compared to the other offences.

I don't agree with the licence myself but still have one, I'm no rebel 🙂

RoTelly · 11-11-2025 12:02AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123978779#Comment_123978779

This is where we differ, I don't disagree with the licence fee, I don't believe RTÉ would be any better with exchequer funding, indeed TG4 had its exchequer funding cut for nearly a decade, when it comes down to it if a government just on a financial basis makes cuts it will do so to areas of least importance.

padd b1975 · 11-11-2025 03:40AM

Good solid start from DMc I thought.

Well short of the Seán O' Rourke benchmark but much better than Claire Byrne.

Deedsie · 11-11-2025 04:39AM

Tuned in for the interview with Yates and I was happy with his account of events. I would consider him overall a more straight forward if not as straight laced person than Matt Cooper.

Podcast will die off now compared to what it was. Brendan Ogle, how did they land on him as a replacement. Woeful.

Santimonious, self righteous weekend edition of the last word. Wont be tuning in again to PtoP or the last word again.

I do hope its not the last we see of Ivan Yates as a pundit on Irish media. A monthly round up chat of Irish politics somewhere even would be great.

Tiger20 · 11-11-2025 08:49AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123978106#Comment_123978106

Actually, Mr H didn’t break any laws, as his actions were declared legal in the parliament. Of course, he was in a position to make the laws, so what was legal was what he decided what was legal. That’s the point I am making, that you either behave with a legally defined set of laws or ethics, which David McCullogh pointed out exist under the Com Reg rules, he quoted a principle which clearly stated that you could be considered compromised if there is a conflict of interest, and any such conflict should be communicated.
Ivan Yates own personal moral compass doesn’t come into it, it is what the rules and regulations as set down by the relevant authorities state that you abide by. Simple as

DoctorEdgeWild · 11-11-2025 09:05AM

Ah Jaysus, have we gone off the deep end here comparing Ivan Yates and Hitler?

Thought it was a good way to start McC's time at the helm of the show. Let too many open goals pass him by though. I'm still slightly confused about why it's a big story, feels like it's a big story in 'mediaworld™' but not so much for the rest of us. A way for the national broadcaster to have a dig at a rival.

Can RTE presenters report on the problems at RTE with impartiality? If so, then this Yates can interview people he has coached with impartiality. Personally, I wouldn't trust either of them to give me my info.

RoTelly · 11-11-2025 09:44AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123979142#Comment_123979142

Not ComReg rules, CnaM codes … guildlines … and not really all that enforceable.. kind of like how the CnaM is the Authority of RTÉ but have said little about the running of RTÉ over the last decade.

RTE 1: 'Today' with Claire Byrne

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