Culture That Made Me: RTÉ's Louise Duffy on Dolly Parton, Succession, and Alanis Morissette
Louise Duffy, RTÉ broadcaster.
Louise Duffy grew up in Crossmolina, Co Mayo. She is the presenter of the Ballycotton Sessions on RTÉ television, and the Louise Duffy Show airs weekdays on RTÉ Radio 1. In 2011, aged 27, she began presenting on Today FM until leaving the radio station in 2019. She is married to former Kerry footballer and fashion designer Paul Galvin. They have two children.
Dolly Parton is phenomenal. She’s the person I was most connected to when I listened to music from a very young age. I love the richness of her voice. She has a beautiful voice. It's almost like you can tell what she's like from the songs and the warmth and the humour in her songs. From interviews, you can see her characteristics are warm and friendly. She's so full of humour, those quips she comes out with. There's a universality to Dolly Parton. You’ll have, say, Miley Cyrus now covering Jolene, or Brandi Carlile duetting with her.
As a child, I loved Queen’s greatest hits album – the bicycle song [‘Bicycle Race’]; ‘Don't Stop Me Now’, absolutely super tracks. I was mesmerised. They're all wearing black on the cover. They looked so sharp, Roger Taylor's incredible hair – I was drawn to the look and sound of them. That continued forever more for me.
In my teens, I had Jagged Little Pill on loop. From start to finish, each track is brilliant. What I love about Alanis Morissette is she has songs with a story. It isn't just repetitious verses and choruses to fit a song. There is angst there. A more subtle female empowerment than the one rammed down our necks by the Spice Girls, around the same time. Alanis Morissette was more clever and cerebral. And she had very catchy songs.
I remember at Oxegen. It was one of my first festivals. In a very small tent, Mumford & Sons were playing. It was mind-blowing. They had such energy. It was bluegrassy, with a bit of folk. I will never forget that gig because my eyes were opened to them. I've fallen in and out of love with them since, but that gig – there was something happening in that small tent. It was palpable, the excitement about this band.
Ireland has outstanding talent in those folky kinds of genres, but Mick Flannery and Susan O'Neill’s album In the Game is a standout. It’s an album I was blown away by. It's kind of a concept album. You go through it and – whether you're experiencing or not what they're singing about – you become empathetic to the lyrics. It's very impassioned. It’s one of the strongest Irish albums of the last couple of years.
In terms of TV, I'm drawn to comedy. I love Seinfeld. I've watched Seinfeld episodes – all of them – 10+ times in that very passive viewing way. I adore it. It’s so light-hearted. It's the friendships, the absolute ridiculous situations. It’s easy comedy. I suppose that's why I go for it – it's almost a comfort now.
The movie Triangle of Sadness is a good reflection of society now. It’s a dark comedy. There are some ugly scenes that you have to be prepared for. It’s about the classes, as they exist, and the uber-rich and the people who serve them, and how that can be turned on its head – that life can change and that none of it really matters when it comes down to it, even though we think it does. My husband gave up after 20 minutes, but I thought it was a phenomenal film.
When it comes to books, I love light thrillers. The last one I read I enjoyed was The Guest List by Lucy Foley. She’s the sister of Kate Foley the stylist. A very talented family. The book is easy to get through. It’s again about that elite – I don't know why I’m drawn to it [laughs]. I suppose there’s enjoyment in being voyeuristic about the world of the uber-rich and how it's not always as beautiful as it seems.
I love Succession. It’s brilliant. I enjoyed the last season. Brian Cox in the lead is phenomenal. He's great to watch. The plot twists open your mind up to how screwed up they all are. Watching the dynamics of the family, you leave feeling a bit empty – how cold they are, how detached from how a normal family operates. You leave watching shows like that feeling happier you have what is a simple life by comparison. It’s compelling.
I love musical documentaries. If These Walls Could Sing, the one that Mary McCartney created around Abbey Road, is a beautiful piece of work. It’s a history of Abbey Road Studios, the music that came from it, and the stories behind the songs. Paul McCartney told a story about when Wings recorded Jet they had this black pony called Jet. They brought him into the studio. He said he didn't disgrace himself. He behaved. Those lovely stories of what goes on behind the making of the music, I'm quite drawn to them. It also will leave you with a little playlist to go off and listen to.
The documentary 20 Feet from Stardom is amazing. Some of these backing singers had such an extraordinary influence on the soundscape of the 1960s and ’70s, but they weren't the stars. Merry Clayton, for example, who did the backing singing for ‘Gimme Shelter’ by the Rolling Stones. It was a dark time for her. She was pregnant. She was dragged out of her bed in the middle of the night, car outside, because Mick Jagger wanted to record. When you listen to that song, she's what stands out. She’s the star within that song. It’s a superb documentary.
Cerys Matthews is a superb broadcaster. Turn on her show and you don’t know what you're going to get. She opens you up to genres you didn't even know existed. There's such a range on her show. Her own background within music and her own relationships brings a gravitas. She’s a go-to.
The Monocle is a brilliant podcast for a quick update. Monocle is a great subscription magazine. There's a richness to it. It’s across news, sport, fashion. Everything within culture, your music, your theatre, it gives a little bit of everything. With the podcast, you get a bite-sized update of what is happening in the world. It's excellent.
