{"id":89846,"date":"2025-10-19T02:50:25","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T02:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/89846\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T02:50:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T02:50:25","slug":"ray-darcy-and-former-boss-at-odds-over-when-he-was-told-he-was-being-dropped-by-rte-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/89846\/","title":{"rendered":"Ray D\u2019Arcy and former boss at odds over when he was told he was being dropped by RT\u00c9 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Broadcaster Ray D\u2019Arcy<\/a> was told by RT\u00c9<\/a> management in September that his contract would not be renewed, RT\u00c9\u2019s director of audio Patricia Monahan says.<\/p>\n

She denies D\u2019Arcy was caught off guard with a decision not to renew his contract last week.<\/p>\n

Monahan sat down with The Irish Times for a wide-ranging interview the week after the national broadcaster<\/a> announced one of the biggest shake-ups in the Radio 1 schedule. <\/p>\n

This newcomer to RT\u00c9 \u2013 just a year in her current role \u2013 has been charged with managing the change, unsettling at least one long-established name in Irish broadcasting.<\/p>\n

There has been much discussion around \u2013 and public interest in \u2013 how and when D\u2019Arcy learned he wasn\u2019t to be part of Monahan\u2019s plan for Radio 1.<\/p>\n

She says management had a number of conversations with D\u2019Arcy about his future at Radio 1, ultimately telling him his contract would not be renewed after it expired on December 31st next.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had asked that, whatever the decision, we communicated in good time. So, we communicated it three months out from the end of his contract,\u201d Monahan says.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven at the point where Ray\u2019s last contract was signed [in 2023], he would have been told that there was a new director of audio coming \u2013 at that point, I hadn\u2019t arrived yet \u2013 and that changes were likely to be made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monahan said, when she moved from Newstalk to RT\u00c9 last October, she was \u201cclear with everybody\u201d that \u201ceverything was on the table\u201d and no one\u2019s contract was guaranteed to be extended.<\/p>\n

\"RayRay D\u2019Arcy: There has been much discussion around how and when the broadcaster learned he wasn\u2019t to be part of Patricia Monahan\u2019s plan for Radio 1. Photograph: RT\u00c9 <\/p>\n

When news of D\u2019Arcy\u2019s departure broke on Thursday, October 9th, the presenter said he was \u201chugely disappointed<\/a>\u201d with how the situation was handled by management.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0RT\u00c9\u2019s twisty new soap opera stars Ray D\u2019Arcy and, now, Brendan CourtneyOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Monahan says RT\u00c9 was \u201copen to talking about other possibilities with Ray but he didn\u2019t want to pursue that conversation, and that\u2019s fair enough\u201d.<\/p>\n

She does not expand on what those possibilities were, but denies D\u2019Arcy was offered a podcast.<\/p>\n

Monahan says it was D\u2019Arcy\u2019s decision not to host a farewell programme. She had \u201cno fear\u201d about the presenter criticising RT\u00c9 on air and would have been \u201cvery happy to facilitate him\u201d saying goodbye to listeners.<\/p>\n

Asked about the impact on D\u2019Arcy\u2019s production team \u2013 most of whom will be redeployed to other shows \u2013 she says: \u201cChange is unsettling for everybody. I completely understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, D\u2019Arcy told The Irish Times: \u201cI went for a meeting with Patricia Monahan on September 29th to discuss my contract. I was told it was not going to be renewed. I was completely blindsided. There had been no forewarning. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was then requested by RT\u00c9 to remain on air, while not telling either the team or the listeners. This was unsustainable as it placed me in a position where I was expected to be untruthful to the team and the listeners.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement on Friday, D\u2019Arcy continued: \u201cPatricia Monahan and I agreed that I would leave RT\u00c9 on Friday, October 10th, straight after the show. This would allow Patricia Monahan to tell the radio team, who had been kept in the dark up until then, what was happening. There was a leak to the press on the morning of Thursday, October 9th, so I made the decision not to go on air that afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

The broadcaster announced a new weekday schedule for Radio 1 less than 24 hours after D\u2019Arcy\u2019s departure. The move seemed rushed as some of the finer details, including a launch date, are yet to be worked out.<\/p>\n

\"PatriciaPatricia Monahan says the assertion that she is putting a ‘Newstalk stamp’ on RT\u00c9 is ‘just not true’. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill <\/p>\n

David McCullagh is replacing Claire Byrne, who is jumping ship to Newstalk, on the Today show from November 3rd, in a new time slot of 9am to 11am. Aside from this, no start date has been confirmed for the rest of the schedule, but Monahan expects it to be up and running at some stage next month.<\/p>\n

The biggest change is the fact that Kieran Cuddihy is taking over Liveline<\/a> following the retirement of Joe Duffy last June. Monahan and Cuddihy worked together for several years at Newstalk, but she says their previous relationship was \u201cnot at all\u201d a factor in him securing the job.<\/p>\n

Cuddihy was one of more than 500 people who applied to work at RT\u00c9 after a call-out for expressions of interest. Monahan says that, following \u201ca very robust process\u201d, a team of people at Radio 1 made the \u201cunanimous decision\u201d to appoint him. She describes Cuddihy\u2019s presenting style as \u201caccessible\u201d, saying \u201cpeople can relate to him\u201d.<\/p>\n

The 46-year-old broadcasting executive moved to RT\u00c9 last year after more than two decades at Newstalk where she climbed the ladder, working her way up from researcher in 2002 to being appointed managing editor of the station in 2017. In the 15 years in between, she held roles including producer, deputy editor and programme editor.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Who is Patricia Monahan, planner of RT\u00c9\u2019s reshuffle? \u2018She\u2019s the opposite of a snowflake\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

A Cavan native, she studied English and History at Trinity College Dublin, graduating in 2001, before completing a master\u2019s degree in journalism at Dublin City University the following year.<\/p>\n

Her former Newstalk colleague Ivan Yates last week says Monahan \u201cwill have been a bit of a culture shock to some people in RT\u00c9\u201d.<\/p>\n

Does she agree?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s been as big a culture shock as people might have thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yates also described Monahan as \u201cthe opposite of a snowflake\u201d.<\/p>\n

Asked about his remarks, Monahan laughs and says Yates is \u201calways a good man for a soundbite\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIvan and I worked together, obviously, for a long number of years. We had a very straight, honest, open relationship \u2013 which is the way I like to do it, and obviously the way Ivan likes to do it too,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Monahan says the assertion she is putting a \u201cNewstalk stamp\u201d on RT\u00c9 is \u201cjust not true\u201d; a large part of her mandate is taking Radio 1 in a new direction but she is \u201cdefinitely not … trying to turn it into something that exists elsewhere\u201d.<\/p>\n

Overall, she says her first 12 months in the job have been both \u201cbrilliant\u201d and \u201cchallenging\u201d.<\/p>\n

While Cuddihy is making the move from Marconi House to Montrose, Byrne is going in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n

Following Duffy\u2019s retirement, Byrne was set to become RT\u00c9\u2019s best-paid presenter<\/a>. In 2023 she had a salary of \u20ac280,000, but would have been expected to take a significant pay cut if her contract was renewed.<\/p>\n

Monahan says she \u201cwould have loved [Byrne] to stay with RT\u00c9 \u2013 there\u2019s no two ways about that\u201d.<\/p>\n

Under rules introduced by director general Kevin Bakhurst<\/a> in the wake of the Ryan Tubridy controversy two years ago, no one at RT\u00c9 can earn more than his annual salary of \u20ac250,000.<\/p>\n

New Government pay structures might see Bakhurst\u2019s salary increased to up to \u20ac300,000<\/a>, meaning some presenters may also get a salary boost.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be a decision for the DG, whenever, if, that was to happen,\u201d Monahan says.<\/p>\n

She is \u201cnot particularly\u201d worried that the salary cap could result in more presenters leaving RT\u00c9 or prevent the national broadcaster from attracting top talent.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, for some people it will be a problem, but it hasn\u2019t been prohibitive in terms of us pulling together the schedule,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

A number of questions about the new schedule remain.<\/p>\n

Katie Hannon and Colm \u00d3 Mong\u00e1in will host Drivetime weekdays on Radio 1 from 4pm to 6pm, taking over from Sarah McInerney and Cormac \u00d3 hEadhra.<\/p>\n

McInerney, who also co-hosts Prime Time on RT\u00c9 1, has been widely tipped as a new host of Morning Ireland, the station\u2019s flagship radio programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be two female presenters on Morning Ireland. We\u2019ve never been shy about saying that, albeit we haven\u2019t named them yet,\u201d Monahan says.<\/p>\n

Details of new roles for McInerney and \u00d3 hEadhra will be announced in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

Monahan shut down rumours that Second Captains, the popular podcast team and production company, will be involved in a new daily sports show, saying it will be produced internally. Game On, which currently airs on 2FM at 6pm, will end to make way for the new Radio 1 show.<\/p>\n

Arena, the arts and culture show, will retain its 7pm slot. Its long-time presenter Sean Rocks died in July<\/a> following a brief illness. Telling staff that Rocks had died was \u201cthe hardest thing I\u2019ve had to do in the year here\u201d, Monahan says.<\/p>\n

Management is in the process of finding his successor but won\u2019t rush it, she says, noting that the late presenter\u2019s are \u201creally big shoes to fill\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Broadcaster Ray D\u2019Arcy was told by RT\u00c9 management in September that his contract would not be renewed, RT\u00c9\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89847,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[6130,93,61,60,32975,6085,48154],"class_list":{"0":"post-89846","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-claire-byrne","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-ray-d-arcy","13":"tag-rte","14":"tag-sean-rocks"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89846","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=89846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}