Dáithí Ó Sé: The boss asked me to go to Cork for a few months. That was 120 months ago
Dáithí Ó' Sé, Maura Derrane and Sinéad Kennedy on set at The Today Show. Picture: Miki Barlok.
It’s all systems go in studios at RTÉ Cork at the moment, as the crew undergoes rehearsals ahead of next Monday’s season premiere. This year marks a big occasion for the long-running talk show, which is celebrating its tenth year on air.
For its stalwart co-hosts, the new season also signals an official end to summer - and a return to the road.
"When we finish in May, I'm kind of happy for the break but then as the summer goes on I'm always happy to be getting back again. It brings a bit of normality. But now I'm in the car again until next June," says Dáithí Ó Sé with an easy laugh. The fan favourite presenter is pulled over on the road from Galway to Cork when he picks up the phone. Though it’s only his first week back commuting, he’s already planning how he can combat the fatigue it brings.
"I’m on the road for over four hours a day so I promised myself before lockdown that I'd go to the gym on Mondays on my way home and I started it and was feeling great. Then, lockdown kicked in and I really missed it for the whole year. So, I'm going back at it next Monday. It's great even just to stretch. I'd be stretching on the floor before I go to work with the young fella."
The Co Kerry native spent the summer working on various television projects with TG4, such as this year's virtual Fleadh Cheoil, but he did make time to get back to the homeland with his wife Rita and son Michaél (the “young fella”), who is in second class.
"We went down to Dingle for about six days and we went to Tayto Park, we did a few different things. September just comes around so fast, especially when you have a child in primary school. There are only eight weeks of holidays really and you're trying to cram everything in," he says.
"The young fella was actually hurling all summer which was great. It kept us at home a bit and when you're on the road all winter you do just want to be at home in the summer."
Like for many, the past few months brought a welcome break for the family after the slog of lockdowns and homeschooling. As people begin to question what this winter might bring, Dáithí is remaining positive.
"We were very lucky that kept going through everything but Micheál was home all the time. I was doing Irish lessons with him before I'd go to work and Rita was doing the homeschooling. The big thing was that he missed his buddies. They were so happy to see each other again, just watching them out in the yard kicking around is so lovely,” he says.
“We're a million miles from where we were last year. This time last year we didn't have the vaccine and there was an uncertainty and now there's a bit of a plan. People have a lighter step walking around the place. I’m staying positive."
When that uncertainty was really at the fore last year, Dáithí and the team wanted to make an escape for viewers. With an even more relaxed format, he says the current show is one that is very different from what they first premiered ten years ago.
"When we started it was an hour long and we'd finish in March. Now we do two and a quarter hours and we went all the way into June this year. It's a completely different show from when it started. It's fantastic. The show is a ball, ” he says.
"This year it's going to be lighter again, it's looser, there's a bit of fun in it. There is an hour and a quarter of news coming on after us and what they do is excellent but we don't have to be that serious at all, so why not just have a bit of craic for the afternoon?”
Another change happening on set is a new co-host, with Emer O’Neill stepping in on Mondays and Tuesdays until Sinead Kennedy returns from maternity leave. The activist guest presented twice in May and thanked Dáithí and Maura Derrane for their warm welcome.
"I know Emer was very appreciative and sent me a few messages after thanking me but sure all I did was keep the ball in the air. We all started somewhere and it doesn't cost anything to be nice to somebody. We're all trying to pay the mortgage here and you want the person sitting next to you to do well. I don’t think she realised how good she was,” Dáithí says.
“People really liked her and she’s so easy to get on with. She’s a ball of energy and she’s a good laugh. I’m really looking forward to sitting down next to her.”
This year also marks Dáithí’s 22nd year on television, having first started in TG4 part-time while he worked as a teacher. At the young age of 23, he never could have imagined his success on air to come.
“The way I look at it is that it’s all a performance, whether you’re in front of a class of 30 as a teacher or 200,000 watching the show. The only way to get good at it is to keep doing it. You learn as you go,” he says.
“It's hard to believe it's been ten years on though. I remember the boss calling me to ask if I'd go to Cork for a few months. I didn't realise he was talking about 120 months.”
Does the now 45-year-old see another 10 years of the show to come? “100%. This show has really embedded itself into the psyche of people. If you look at some of the other shows that came before they lasted maybe four years. We’ve lasted ten. It works. We had Sinead shaking things up last year and now we have Emer. It’s the same formula, but those tweaks and changes really keep it alive,” he says.
“Hopefully the car will last me another few miles.”
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