Claire Byrne and David McCullagh
For years, Irish radio was defined by stability. The voices were familiar, the schedules were predictable, the territory was clearly marked.
But, as February 2026 gets underway, the war for Ireland’s airwaves is very much on, with RTÉ and Newstalk ready to face off across the chessboard.
This week marked the return of Claire Byrne to Newstalk after 15 years. Her first guest? None other than Taoiseach Micheál Martin. Was he the right choice to signal a bold new era of broadcasting? And how did Byrne fare on day one?
Meanwhile, as the big radio players aggressively recalibrate their offerings, what exactly is driving the headline-making moves?
Who boasts the upper hand? And will audiences get a better product in the end?
On this episode of The Indo Daily, host Fionnán Sheahan is joined by Irish Independent journalists Declan Lynch and John Meagher to review Byrne’s much-vaunted return – and to examine this new battleground in the attention economy.