Spotlight turns on Marian with radio award

SHE’S used to interviewing those in the spotlight, but Marian Finucane has found herself on the far side of the microphone after being honoured for outstanding achievement in the country’s premier annual radio awards.

The PPI (Phonographic Performance Ireland) Awards will be made at a ceremony in the Lyrath House Estate Hotel in Kilkenny tonight, but a sneak preview was allowed yesterday after it was revealed the top-ratings RTÉ broadcaster would receive the coveted special award.

Ms Finucane, 58, said she was delighted by the award which recognises her achievements in radio over a 34-year career, highlights of which include presenting the groundbreaking Women’s Today programme when it aired for the first time in 1979, making Liveline essential listening and taking over from the revered Gay Byrne when he left his morning slot in 1999.

Her current slots, the Marian Finucane Show on Saturday and Sunday, have also spectacularly bucked the trend of falling listener figures for RTÉ, but she insisted her accomplishments with the three-year-old programme were all down to team effort and, in particular, her long-time producer Anne Farrell.

“I’m a big believer in team. They are the people who provide you with the material and after that it’s up to you to make what you can of it. We could have an empty programme and Anne will still be refusing material the day before because she won’t accept anything but the best. She has nerves of steel.

“It’s my job to try to get from people something that is not a stock answer and we do discuss beforehand how best we might approach that task but I’m very lucky in that.

“Generally speaking, the people that I interview are inordinately interesting. If you met them in somebody’s house, you would be interested in what they are doing.”

Of potential interviewees, Nelson Mandela tops the bill, but Ms Finucane concedes the chances are slim.

“But I would also love to interview Winnie Mandela [Nelson’s ex-wife] which might be possible. She did achieve an awful lot and then things went very wrong for her and I would be fascinated to hear about the effects on her life.”