This much I know: Ray Foley

I was a pretty quiet child.

I was never particularly popular. Two of my aunts are speech and drama teachers and I got into that from age four. I entered a lot of local drama and poetry competitions. Other kids did it for fun, but I always competed to win.

I moved to Dublin to study journalism in 1998 and while I was in college I worked my way up through radio stations such as East Coast Radio, 98FM, Lite FM, Limerick’s Live 95FM and some of the pirates. I was always determined to have my own show.

My radio show gives me an opportunity to show off, I suppose. We talk about our own lives a lot. Although some things are out of bounds. If I have a fight with my wife in the morning I’m certainly not going to talk about it on air later that day. The next week, maybe.

I’m a worrier. But I think most people in my line of work probably are.

Radio is my first love. The TV work came about following the success of the radio show. I never pursued them. They just called.

Presenting my first Take Me Out TV show was the scariest moment of my life. I was terrified. I had three months’ lead up to the job and it was like a prison sentence. I’d wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. Eventually I got help from a British coaching company and my old teacher Patrick Sutton at the Gaiety School of Acting. They all advised me to “just relax”.

I like to be in control. Before I tried TV, I was used to sitting in the middle of a radio studio being the one to decide what buttons to push and when. I think not being in control is what scared me most about it. Thankfully everyone I worked with was amazing and once I got out there I was fine. We recorded 20 episodes in a week and I’d lost my voice by the end of it.

My first paid job was in Oasis, a factory in Ballina that made water coolers. I was on the production line and cut my fingers to ribbons until I got the hang of it. I remember it being very repetitive.

If I wasn’t in my current job, I’d probably be working in IT. I’ve a natural aptitude for networking and other very basic computer stuff. Or else I’d be a teacher. I love history and would consider going back to college to do a degree in it.

I met my wife Kate when we were both working in Spin 108. She’d done the whole ‘year off travelling thing’ and was focused on her career. I was hopelessly obsessed by radio until I met her. I’ve got over that stage now.

I’m mad about gadgets. My Macbook Air is my latest obsession.

I’m from Ballina in Mayo and get back a few times a year. My parents and the rest of my family keep me grounded.

My worst habit is angry driving. I think it runs in our family. It’s a way of venting my feelings. I know it’s not good.

I have high cholesterol so I keep an eye on my health. I run and go to the gym. I’m not really a party animal.

I wish the Irish would stand up for ourselves more. Voting out Fianna Fáil was a backlash reaction — we should be more reactive and make our voices heard.

I believe flirting is an art, not that I was ever any good at it.

I think we all create our own luck. I certainly worked really hard all through my 20s, giving up certain things and being very committed, to get to where I am today.

Ray Foley is a multi-award-winning radio and television presenter. He hosts Today FM’s The Ray Foley Show weekdays from 12pm and TV3’s dating show Take Me Out.