Well, if you clicked on the link I provided you could hear it.
Regarding the Mother's Day complaints.
Our mother's are always in our minds even when they've left us.
Yes exactly, I agree………….."in our minds". Do we really need 30 minutes on a Sunday morning show delving into the depths of grief,going through every detail of what happened. The shock, the depression, how it changes us. This is not unusual. Half the population has lost a parent I would imagine, its an expected part of life.
I lost a child at 5 years of age….. she's always in my mind. I don't have a special Childs Day to remember her on , or go on air for 30 minutes for an interview with Brendan O Connor. I also lost a mother and father, but that's part of life.
We all carry these losses and memories inside us. I think the Sunday morning show should be upbeat. Miriam O Callaghan is on before Brendan and she is regularly trawling through loss, suicide, illnesses with her guests. Its a bit too much.
I've no wish to intrude on your personal loss so sorry if I upset you.
As you say these stories are part of life.
You didn't upset me, please don't worry. My gripe I suppose is with RTE, they seem a bit obsessed with death, grief, bereavement and illness. Most of us know these things are part of life. I thought Ryan Tubridy was obsessed with death and illness, Ray D'arcy too and Brendan O Connor certainly is. Maybe it's out of their hands, maybe its the producers that decide, but I just wish they didn't have these slots as regularly as they do. Sometimes they trigger sadness when we're just trying to get on with our day, we don't always want to revisit things………as you say we all have these memories inside us. Cheers and thanks
One can only presume Alisonn O'Connor is lined up for next week. Its been too long.
You left out young Mr Duffy, he loved a bit of misery.
So sorry to hear of your terrible loss. Yes we all expect to lose parents, but never a young child. Thats not how it should work.
yes, I forgot Mr Duffy, he certainly knew how to drag the life blood out of people & their tales of sadness. I could never have shared my story with a presenter like Duffy or Tubridy, it always seemed so disingenuous, a masterclass in fakery.
Brendan O Connor is a better interviewer, a bit more depth and sincerity.
I only caught up on the show this evening but I thought that segment with Mark Little was excellent.
Nah. You should have made it sound a bit interesting.
O ‘Connor is just phoning it in these days.
Book pluggers and influencers take over Saturday.
The only interesting bit at times is the newspaper panel on Sunday as it’s the only time Ballsy has to ‘work’ on things.
Rest of the time it’s just anodyne stuff and ‘music choice’ rubbish that’s the easy way out.
C'est la vie 😊
I've said if before, but RTE has a deranged addiction to talking about death and misery.
It's just old fashioned radio at this stage. It's been old fashioned for years now.
Is it in tune with the country though? Look at our art, our music, our films. Obituaries on local radio stations a few times a day. RIP.ie is a big hit.
We don't like telling people we're happy and life is great. We say we're 'not bad'.
Why is that? I don't know exactly.
It appears that The Brendan O'Connor Show is in tune with the country because more and more listeners are tuning in.
RTÉ Radio 1 dominates latest radio ratings amid ‘phenomenal’ rise for Brendan O’Connor – The Irish Times https://share.google/LDvuEg9fcD5qlcykh
Reading in hope that there will be a post tomorrow.
I heard the beginning of the show this morning, which was a full 30 minutes of a very depressing conversation about shame and guilt. I also heard Brendan reassure us with what he said was some "hope" re Iran's new missile range - that although it could now hit London, we are still safe for the moment - a most bizzare comment. I felt relief not to hear any more today.
have I missed anything today?
You have.
A very good panel hour.
It'll be on the playback later.
I. turned it off having heard what it was about. That guy has been on before speaking on much the same subject.
Some sparks flying
Well worth a listen back.
Here's the link -
Brendan O'Connor Sunday 22 March 2026 - Brendan O'Connor https://share.google/VoSa2SSAZQdS2VztK
I don't like O'Connor but was listening to his interview with John Banville at the weekend. I thought he was gruff and bad mannered with Banville who seemed to be struggling with a cough or something. Banville is reflective and thoughtful and O'Connor had no time for such things or so it seemed to me.
Yet again a Boards user fails to grasp humour. Brendan and John clearly have a rapport (they even alluded to the fact Banville has been on the show many times) and were enjoying each others company.
Garbage show, garbage host. Never listen to it, apart from The Angelus at midday on Saturday. I think Richie(Richard? Who cares?) Sadlier was a guest on Saturday, happened to hear Brendan mention his name, and off went the radio.
There are good people and presenters within their walls. John Creedon is very good, his programme namesake titled Creedon's Atlas of Ireland was very educational and entertaining.
How is it that some within fail upwards, like Claire Byrne? A talentless yolk, I think she's taken Pat Kenny's slot on News talk, I won't be listening to her that's for sure. The same goes for Gray @®$€¥ and Ryan Nubidy.
Listened to it yesterday evening, it was enjoyable. They were all (justifiably) taking pops at Bríd Smith by the end of it, BOC included.
I thought that was a good interview. Banville is an interesting character.
The Sunday panel has gone boring AF lately, so I was heartened to see this. Looking forward to listening to it now.
I don't know I kind of had a bit of respect for her sticking to her guns.
We're gone very good in this country at getting up on our high horse when it doesn't affect us, and then selling our our principles down the river when we have a chance to be really heard.
The lad saying that we have a lot of influence in the world and shouldn't risk it by speaking out was funny. How can we have influence if we don't think we're able to give our true opinion?
She did stick to her guns alright, but it was so vague. At one point she was asked to give specifics of what should be done and her response was something like "end capitalism". Not at all a realistic or helpful contribution at that point…
On the last point - you use the influence at different levels. Saying anything in public to Trump would have been a waste of time.
Influence is best wielded behind closed doors. Donald Trump speaks his mind to the world, do you think he benefits the US by speaking out?
Brid Smith was completely floundering during the show.
