Newstalk presenter Kieran Cuddihy is moving to RTÉ following the news that Radio One afternoon host Ray D’Arcy is leaving Montrose after 11 years. Cuddihy was headhunted by former Bauer Media colleague Patricia Monahan, who is now RTÉ’s director of audio, to replace Joe Duffy as the new presenter of Radio 1’s Liveline early afternoon phone-in show.
Cuddihy, a qualified lawyer, took over from Ivan Yates in presenting The Hard Shoulder evening drivetime show on Newstalk. He has fronted Virgin Media’s The Tonight Show weekdays. During the summer months, following Joe Duffy’s retirement, a number of high-profile broadcasters deputised on Liveline, including Katie Hannon and Philip Boucher-Hayes.
Salary
In 2019, D’Arcy was RTÉ’s second-highest paid presenter behind Ryan Tubridy. His salary was reduced from €450,000 to €305,000 in 2020 and 2021, after his Saturday night TV chatshow ended. In 2022 and 2023, he was paid €250,000. His radio show was produced by his wife Jenny. Before his move to Montrose, he worked for Today FM for 14 years.
RTÉ’s total revenue in 2023 was €344 million, with €152m across commercial. Compared to other Radio 1 presenters, D’Arcy was in a more precarious position as his show didn’t have a sponsor. Oliver Callan’s show has online platform its4women.ie, Claire Byrne Cash & Carry Kitchens, Liveline is backed by Harry Corry home furnishing and Drivetime by Zurich.
In a statement, D’Arcy, 61, said he was “hugely disappointed” by how his departure was handled by RTÉ management. Contract renewal discussions were short-lived, after which D’Arcy announced he was leaving. The latest JNLR indicates that his show had 182,000 listeners, down 10,000 on the previous quarter. He presented his last show on Wednesday.
In his absence, Shay Byrne stepped in as the show’s host.
RTÉ is to shake-up its Radio 1 weekday schedule. Oliver Callan moves to an extended two-hour programme at 11am. Today with David McCullagh will begin at 9am – which means four hours of current affairs weekday mornings – while Louise Duffy moves to mid-afternoon. Katie Hannon and Colm Ó Mongáin will co-host Drivetime from the earlier time of 4pm.
Drivetime‘s Sarah McInerney (above) and Cormac O hEadhra are to be assigned to new roles.
There will also be a new daily sports show from 6pm. The timeline for the changes has not been fully confirmed by the national broadcaster yet, but it is expected to take place later this year. Starting each weekday at 7am, Morning Ireland will see two new presenters join Audrey Carville and Gavin Jennings. The new hosts will be announced in the coming weeks.
Pictured top: Ray D’Arcy with PML’s Geoff Lyons and Suzanne Weldon of BWG Foods
