{"id":235768,"date":"2026-01-09T08:57:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T08:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/235768\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T08:57:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T08:57:07","slug":"kieran-cuddihys-on-air-encounter-would-give-you-the-ick-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/235768\/","title":{"rendered":"Kieran Cuddihy\u2019s on-air encounter would give you the ick \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s rare \u2013 to say the least \u2013 to hear a presenter looking for romance live on air, but that\u2019s the case on Liveline (RT\u00c9<\/a> Radio 1, weekdays) as Kieran Cuddihy<\/a> seeks to put his stamp on the show with what is possibly a first for Irish radio. <\/p>\n

On Tuesday\u2019s programme the host speaks to Deirdre, dispensing with any sweet talk to get straight to the point: \u201cWould you like to be my girlfriend?\u201d Far from being deterred by this blunt request, Deirdre assents enthusiastically. \u201cI\u2019m always looking for new friends,\u201d she says breathily, \u201cAnd I think we could have a lot of fun together.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this, at least, \u201cDeirdre\u201d is right. \u201cThat was a bit of craic,\u201d Cuddihy says as he ends his brief conversation with this AI<\/a>-generated companion, though he also observes that the suggestive yet creepy exchange \u201cwould give you the ick\u201d. <\/p>\n

The host has been exploring his AI-curious side to illustrate the growing phenomenon of people seeking online relationships with bespoke chatbots, though the chat is so stilted that one struggles to understand the appeal. (As does the host, in fairness.)<\/p>\n

When Cuddihy modestly tells his new online partner that he\u2019s a fan of Liveline, Deirdre is effusive. \u201cI\u2019ve listened to a few episodes, and I think the presenter and guests offer a lot of insightful commentary,\u201d she replies, which suggests the chatbot has only caught the show on its good days. Either that or AI is learning to lie, in which case we\u2019re all in trouble.<\/p>\n

It may be a stunt, but it works \u2013 in terms of grabbing the listener\u2019s attention, anyway. <\/p>\n

The larky air quickly dissipates as the discussion turns to the perennially alarming subject of social media\u2019s harmful effects on children. The trigger on this occasion is what Cuddihy calls a \u201cnudification tool<\/a>\u201d (talk about the ick) that creates sexually explicit images of real people, including children, and is available on Grok, the AI system owned by \u2013 surprise, surprise \u2013 Elon Musk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The host hears a teacher and researcher, Eoghan Cleary, talk of the anxiety felt by teenage girls worried about their images being used on such apps by classmates. Cleary also describes, in suitably disheartening terms, how online porn is warping young people\u2019s conceptions of sex: \u201cTheir expectations are so sexually violent.\u201d<\/p>\n

On top of that, Cuddihy hears raw testament to the tragic costs the online world exacts on children. He speaks to the campaigner Jackie Fox, whose daughter Nicole took her life after cyberbullying \u2013 a death that ultimately led to \u201cCoco\u2019s law<\/a>\u201d, which criminalises the sharing of intimate images \u2013 and to Aisling, who also lost her daughter Mia after similar online abuse. \u201cI\u2019ll always be grieving,\u201d Aisling says sadly. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Jackie & Coco: how a mother\u2019s fight after daughter\u2019s death changed Ireland\u2019s online bullying lawOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Over the course of two days, some callers talk of joining movements to delay children getting smartphones; others urge listeners to pressure politicians to act against such social-media content. But the overriding mood is one of despair, tinged with anger, with people feeling helpless in the face of the recklessly disruptive but unimaginably profitable practices of tech giants.<\/p>\n

Even Cuddihy, praised by his virtual squeeze Deirdre for \u201cstaying neutral and unbiased\u201d, sounds incensed as he recounts the contemptuously indifferent reaction of social-media companies to official requests for better protection for children. So much for having fun.<\/p>\n

For all that, Cuddihy will be pleased at the traction generated by the topic, no matter that children\u2019s online safety is, understandably enough, an old reliable when it comes to stirring audience emotions. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s too early to say that the host has fully imposed his brand on Liveline, but things are markedly different from the Joe Duffy<\/a> era. Cuddihy is less showily demonstrative than his predecessor, and given to a quiet scepticism; he briefly wonders if there\u2019s an element of \u201cmoral panic\u201d to social-media concerns.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Joe Duffy\u2019s last Liveline: A rare acerbic shot at the Taoiseach, then the fabled phone-in show goes full end-of-pierOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Cuddihy also sounds comfortable interacting with callers on different issues, sometimes to instructive effect. During his discussion of the US military\u2019s seizure<\/a> of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a>, the president of Venezuela, for instance, the reaction<\/a> of Venezuelans living in Ireland to the action is positive. Ever eager to please, Deirdre dubs Cuddihy \u201ca true professional\u201d: it may sound like faint praise, but he\u2019s going about the job in the right way.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018It gives us a bit of hope\u2019: Venezuelans in Ireland react to Maduro\u2019s capture by USOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Oliver Callan<\/a> (RT\u00c9 Radio 1, weekdays) has his work cut out when he interviews the errant comedian David McSavage<\/a>, or at least tries to. McSavage, whose comic output on stage and screen serially traverses the boundaries of good taste while being very funny, sounds much the same in person, resulting in an encounter that ends up part therapy session, part comedy roast \u2013 with the guest roasting the host.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s certainly no chance of revelatory reticence as McSavage talks about doing podcasts with his sons (\u201cIt feels like a second chance to be a good dad\u201d), his dim view of fellow humans (\u201cPeople are annoying\u201d) and his unhappiness at turning 60. <\/p>\n

But while the comedian admits to unease at sharing such personal experiences \u2013 \u201cI\u2019m speaking authentically, and it just feels very uncomfortable\u201d \u2013 he also makes Callan\u2019s life difficult, haranguing his host to ever-greater degrees of incorrigibility: \u201cWhy are you talking to me like a psychiatric nurse?\u201d; \u201cHave you ever thought about being a guard?\u201d; \u201cMy God, you\u2019re so judgmental.\u201d<\/p>\n

Callan gamely joshes along \u2013 he\u2019s a comedian too, after all \u2013 but his rhythm is severely discombobulated. On hearing that McSavage has been (mostly) sober since 2003, the host gingerly remarks: \u201cNormally I\u2019d say well done, but I\u2019m afraid of your reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a hostile encounter \u2013 the comics chuckle together conspiratorially on occasion, particularly when McSavage does his wicked impression of Joe Duffy \u2013 but it\u2019s not exactly a cosy chat either. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s also the best thing on the show. Otherwise, the week\u2019s menu largely consists of conversations with the likes of the TV presenter Brian Dowling and the food writer and blogger Nathan Anthony, which, while convivial, have as much edge as a fluffy pillow. <\/p>\n

Callan is running a light talkshow, of course, a role he performs with impish verve, but such unobjectionable material can wear thin over two hours of airtime. A bit of disruption can sometimes go a long way.<\/p>\n

Moment of the week<\/p>\n

Katie Hannon<\/a> and Colm \u00d3 Mong\u00e1in<\/a> are getting along fine as hosts of Drivetime (RT\u00c9 Radio 1, weekdays), but their partnership is slightly clouded by an emerging fault line over musical preferences. <\/p>\n

When an item opens with Wannabe, the Spice Girls<\/a>\u2019 girl-power pop classic from 1996, \u00d3 Mong\u00e1in, a self-proclaimed fan of indie and underground music, is dismissive (\u201cWhat I really, really want is a 30-year break before I hear that again\u201d), much to Hannon\u2019s outrage: \u201cThat\u2019s a banger!\u201d <\/p>\n

Hannon is similarly effusive when Dire Straits<\/a>\u2019 AOR ballad Romeo and Juliet introduces an item on Shakespeare \u2013 \u201cYou can\u2019t beat a bit of Dire Straits\u201d \u2013 while her co-host sounds less enthused, albeit cryptically: \u201cThat one didn\u2019t end well.\u201d <\/p>\n

But their guest, the teacher Conor Murphy, is more forthright. Asked by Hannon what students think of Shakespeare, Murphy replies in mischievous fashion. \u201cThey find him kind of like I find Dire Straits: a little bit boring.\u201d A hit, a very palpable hit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s rare \u2013 to say the least \u2013 to hear a presenter looking for romance live on air,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139030,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[218,20166,120016,605,93,61,60,24557,24558,24561,92550,41142,6085,35647],"class_list":{"0":"post-235768","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-artificial-intelligence","9":"tag-colm-o-mongain","10":"tag-david-mcsavage","11":"tag-elon-musk","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-joe-duffy","16":"tag-katie-hannon","17":"tag-kieran-cuddihy","18":"tag-nicolas-maduro","19":"tag-oliver-callan","20":"tag-rte","21":"tag-spice-girls"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}