{"id":403013,"date":"2026-04-17T07:15:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T07:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/403013\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T07:15:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T07:15:08","slug":"david-mccullagh-is-a-drawler-whose-sensitivity-training-needs-a-tweak-but-it-works-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/403013\/","title":{"rendered":"David McCullagh is a drawler whose sensitivity training needs a tweak, but it works \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

As if there wasn\u2019t enough turbulence in the world, RT\u00c9<\/a> Radio 1 is doing its bit to add to the mood of uncertainty and confusion. On Monday, anyone expecting to hear the familiar opening themes to the station\u2019s shows<\/a> is instead greeted by new signature tunes across the schedule<\/a>, each cut from the same template of brooding intros and dramatic flourishes. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s all part of a new \u2013 and perplexingly generic \u2013 sound for Radio 1, presumably to draw attention to the station\u2019s dynamic overhaul, a mere five months after the fact.<\/p>\n

Nor are listeners the only ones discombobulated by the sonic makeover. Oliver Callan (RT\u00c9 Radio 1, weekdays) apparently struggles to hit his marks as he opens Monday\u2019s show. \u201cWhere do I come in?\u201d he asks as the music plays beneath him. <\/p>\n

Admitting that the plethora of refreshed jingles will \u201ctake a bit of getting used to\u201d, Callan<\/a> hints that he\u2019s not fully on board with his show\u2019s new theme. \u201cI\u2019m now presenting Euronews at three o\u2019clock in the morning, it would appear,\u201d he drily remarks, neatly skewering the tune\u2019s identikit nature.<\/p>\n

That said, there\u2019s more topical resonance during the graveyard shift on a 24-hour news channel than there is on Callan\u2019s show, even in these chaotic times. <\/p>\n

True, the presenter casts his satirist\u2019s eye over governmental turmoil in his introductory monologue, ribbing the Kerry Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae for resigning his post as minister of state for forestry, \u201ca job so tiny it never existed before\u201d. <\/p>\n

But the only heroics by a favourite son of the Kingdom that Callan gets to discuss in depth occurred 110 years ago: he hears the travel consultant Sin\u00e9ad Kennedy describe how she recently retraced the epic Antarctic rescue voyage undertaken in 1916 by the Kerry-born explorer Tom Crean and his expedition leader Sir Ernest Shackleton.<\/p>\n

The item, in fairness, is diverting. Callan sounds genuinely fascinated \u2013 he even recommends a biography of Crean \u2013 and converses with his guest in casual yet engaged fashion. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Radio review: Oliver Callan has a solution to the longer airtime problem: doom radioOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

He displays this same manner during other (perhaps unexpectedly) interesting conversations, whether talking to the biographer Anne Chambers about her memoir or to the tour guide Margaret Leahy about foraging edible wild plants. (Top tips: don\u2019t eat raw nettles and think twice about picking mushrooms.)<\/p>\n

But while Callan is always curious and friendly, there\u2019s a slightly rote feel to some other segments, for instance on new stage productions of Oscar Wilde classics. Such are the unavoidable pitfalls of hosting a grab bag of lifestyle topics and celebrity-adjacent chats \u2013 and, to his credit, Callan maintains a leisurely atmosphere throughout. <\/p>\n

But, to reprise a regular refrain, compared to the punchy programme that he helmed before Radio 1\u2019s relaunch last year, there\u2019s less urgency or subversion in the later, longer version that Callan now presents, if only because he has to spread his resources more thinly. It\u2019ll take more than a change in music to resolve that predicament.<\/p>\n

A new theme tune also graces Today with David McCullagh (RT\u00c9 Radio 1, weekdays), but so steadfastly phlegmatic is the host that he doesn\u2019t bother mentioning it. <\/p>\n

Then again, the unruffled assurance that McCullagh has brought to his tenure makes it easy for listeners to overlook such changes. (Still, ditching the instantly recognisable tune that served the Today show\u2019s three previous presenters well seems a baffling move, prizing corporate uniformity over distinctive identity.)<\/p>\n

That McCullagh is reliably well briefed is important to his on-air persona, but what marks him out is the laconically drawling style that rapidly has become his trademark. Talking to the author Jamie Bartlett about the perils of using AI, the host highlights the technology\u2019s tendency to \u201challucinate\u201d, or get things wrong, pointing to a handy example. \u201cI should offer my condolences,\u201d he says to his guest, \u201cbecause according to Google\u2019s [AI bot] Gemini, you\u2019re actually dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0I have one quibble with David McCullagh\u2019s first month on radioOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Even when McCullagh\u2019s approach misfires, it\u2019s memorable. Discussing the fraught experience of returning to the workplace after maternity leave, the journalist Anna Whitehouse vividly describes the difficulty of going into the office after hearing the \u201cprimal screams\u201d of her baby being left into a creche. <\/p>\n

\u201cMind you, I suppose the other thing is you can have a cup of coffee in peace,\u201d McCullagh cracks, somewhat glibly; winningly world weary though McCullagh\u2019s tone can be, his sensitivity training might need a tweak.<\/p>\n

His laid-back demeanour doesn\u2019t obscure his argumentative side, however. As the political aftershocks of the fuel protests rumble on, McCullagh has pointed exchanges with the Sinn F\u00e9in TD David Cullinane on whether he supports the blockading of oil depots. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe supported the protests,\u201d the deputy says. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not what I asked you,\u201d the host shoots back. <\/p>\n

But when, after some toing and froing, Cullinane concedes that he supports the actions, the host thanks the politician \u2013 with apparent sincerity \u2013 for his \u201cclear answer\u201d. Clearly, McCullagh isn\u2019t afraid to change his tune.<\/p>\n

The fallout from the protests may have had negative consequences for the Coalition, but, as such moments attest, it has proved a consolatory boon for listeners who enjoy the transient pleasures of political sparring on the airwaves. <\/p>\n

Nowhere is this more evident than on Drivetime (RT\u00c9 Radio 1, weekdays), which serves up several heated spats, infusing the early-evening show with a welcome frisson of vigour; its hosts, Katie Hannon and Colm \u00d3 Mong\u00e1in, approach their interviews and analysis with purpose and precision. <\/p>\n

Talking to \u00d3 Mong\u00e1in about backbench discontent within Fianna F\u00e1il, the chief whip, Mary Butler, talks up the Government\u2019s response to the fuel crisis, but \u2013 as with ministers interviewed elsewhere \u2013 appears defensive in attitude, reinforcing the impression of an administration losing its grip.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s as nothing compared with the ding-dong between \u00d3 Mong\u00e1in and the Sinn F\u00e9in TD Rose Conway-Walsh, in which the host vainly tries to determine if his guest endorses the blockades. (It\u2019s a regular thread of questioning.) <\/p>\n

By his own count, \u00d3 Mong\u00e1in makes five attempts to get a definitive answer from his guest, his exasperated utterances of \u201cwith respect\u201d increasing by the minute; eventually Conway-Walsh allows agreement with \u201cthe aims and the sentiment\u201d of the protesters. <\/p>\n

Though short on clarity \u2013 or indeed optimism \u2013 the encounter is long on snappy drama, capping a strong week for the Drivetime hosts. After all, when it comes to compelling radio, a testy confrontation is music to the ears.<\/p>\n

Moment of the week\"It’sIt\u2019s good to have Shay Byrne back <\/p>\n

Always a cheerful companion for early-morning audiences, Shay Byrne sounds much like himself as he returns to Rising Time (RT\u00c9 Radio 1) after a short absence, yakking with the actor and Lyric FM presenter Simon Delaney and joking with the sports correspondent Darren Frehill. <\/p>\n

But the host isn\u2019t quite as chipper as usual, as when he accidentally \u2013 if fleetingly \u2013 cuts himself and Frehill off-air: \u201cI pressed the wrong button \u2013 ah you know, it all falls apart.\u201d <\/p>\n

As the show ends, Byrne opens up. \u201cAs many of you know, my mum, Hilda, passed away two-and-a-half weeks ago,\u201d he says, \u201cShe\u2019s been part of the show for 15 years \u2013 and she\u2019ll continue to be.\u201d <\/p>\n

Byrne then thanks people for their messages of sympathy. \u201cI really appreciate my friends and colleagues, and all of you listening as well, who are my friends,\u201d he says, \u201cFirst day done.\u201d <\/p>\n

Condolences, Shay. It\u2019s good to have you back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As if there wasn\u2019t enough turbulence in the world, RT\u00c9 Radio 1 is doing its bit to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187530,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[218,20166,47886,93,171749,61,60,24558,24878,41142,6085,90226],"class_list":{"0":"post-403013","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-mccullagh","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-fuel-protests","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-katie-hannon","16":"tag-michael-healy-rae","17":"tag-oliver-callan","18":"tag-rte","19":"tag-shay-byrne"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403013","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=403013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}