Morning Ireland - All should take a bow

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Congratulations to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, which today celebrates 25 years on the air. It is a great achievement for any radio show to last that long, but in this case it is a phenomenal triumph because it has established itself as an important and vibrant source of news for a great many people.

It is the most popular radio programme in the country. In the most recent Joint National Listener Research ratings it had around 461,000 listeners, which is almost 20% more than the most popular news programme.

When it began a quarter of a century ago, few could have thought that a serious programme that early in the morning could become so popular and so influential. It provides a tremendous community service in helping to set the agenda for public debate throughout the day.

This is a magnificent tribute to the professionalism of current presenters Áine Lawlor, Cathal Mac Coille, Richard Downes and John Murray, as well as to those who helped to build the programme and laid the foundations for its success from the first morning with the two Davids — David Hanley and David Davin-Power.

All should take a bow. Well done. Long may the programme continue to enlighten our days.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Thursday, November 05, 2009