During an interview on The Six O’Clock show, Collins told hosts Brian Dowling and Katja Mia that he will broadcast his last show on RTÉ Gold next Tuesday.
He said: “I’ll be doing my last show on RTÉ Gold after almost three years.
“Well, in the nature of radio, I’ve done it now 46 and a half years, I’ve been on daily radio between 2 FM when I started Radio 2, Radio 1 for all those years, and now nearly three years on RTÉ Gold. And it’s time to stop.”
Collins signed off on his last show on RTÉ Radio 1 in 2022, with Louise Duffy filling his slot.
“And in the nature of the changes that are happening in RTÉ, it’s a good time to stop,” he said.
“I couldn’t make an arrangement with RTÉ to continue because they wanted to go one way and I wanted to go another. And it was as simple as that.
“But I had no complaints and there was no acrimony, no bitterness at all because I’ve done it and I loved it.
“I’ll miss DJing, you know, and I’ll miss people saying to me, ‘I heard you play this, that or the other’, you know?”
Since 2022, he has hosted his daily show Monday to Friday from 10am to 1pm, along with another music show The Collins Collection on bank holidays.
Photo: Steve Humphreys
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – Saturday, December 20.
At the beginning of his career, he played with several showbands before making his move into radio.
He has been a feature on the national airwaves since 1985, along with fronting the National Lottery programme for many years.
Last month RTÉ Radio 1 experienced the biggest shake up to it’s schedule since 1999.
Changes to the schedule saw David McCullagh take a mid-morning show, Kieran Cuddihy take the reins at LiveLine and Katie Hannon and Colm Ó Mongáin replacing Sarah McInerney and Cormac Ó hEadhra on Drivetime, with McInerney now to join the line-up of presenters of Morning Ireland.
The reboot is not RTÉ’s only change, with Tommy Meskill, previously the London correspondent for RTÉ, now the new co-presenter of the Six One News with Sharon Tobin.
In a statement RTÉ said: “Ronan Collins has been a very important part of RTÉ for 46 years. As he finishes up in his current role on RTÉ Gold, we thank him for his dedication and the contribution he has made in that time. We wish him well for the future.”