Prendeville thanks bosses for return to air

BROADCASTER Neil Prendeville returned to work at Cork’s 96fm yesterday and thanked his bosses who he said had “balls of steel” for giving him a second chance.

He said several bouquets of flowers, including one from the “taxi drivers of Cork”, were also delivered to the radio station during his morning show.

“I have to say this is strange; very, very strange,” the 49-year-old told listeners on his first live link since his contract was terminated and he was taken off air five months ago after the Irish Examiner revealed that he had masturbated in front of passengers on an Aer Lingus flight from London to Cork last October. In an interview on 96FM last Friday, he blamed alcohol for his inability to remember what happened.

Gardaí investigated the incident after Aer Lingus conducted an internal probe but the DPP directed that no prosecution be brought.

Aer Lingus is considering asking the British authorities to investigate the matter.

Mr Prendeville apologised for his behaviour during an hour-long interview on 96fm last Friday ahead of his return to work yesterday morning.

Then as the show began, he said: “I’ve received numerous texts and appreciate all the kind messages and support I’ve received over the weekend. I also acknowledge there will be an amount of people who will not be in support of it and it would be remiss of me not to mention them as well.”

But he said there had been an overwhelming amount of good wishes.

“I’m very, very grateful to be in this position this morning to have a chance, another chance, a second chance, a redemption, an opportunity to do good.

“I have tried to think over the last four or five months of my broadcasting career and the good I have done over the years and I’ve tried to focus on that. I would love to be able to draw a line in the sand and say that’s the past, acknowledge the past absolutely, but move forward from it, because there is no future in it. I have apologised for crashing into people’s lives uninvited and I’ll continue to apologise and ask for forgiveness every day. But I hope that I can learn from it and others can too and that we can move forward in a positive way.”

He thanked his colleagues and mentioned in particular 96fm’s chief executive Kieran McGeary.

“It took a lot of bravery and courage and I think they have balls of steel and I’m grateful for that. I hope that I will be able to repay that trust as we go forward,” said Mr Prendeville. The presenter then played A Whole New World from Disney’s Aladdin and he said he hoped to draw inspiration from it. “It could be a new chapter and a whole new world, a new point of view, some points of view won’t change as a broadcaster, but as a person, hopefully I will come through it as a better person,” he said.

He also said he hoped listeners going through dark times could draw on his experience.

“For those that are going through hard and depressing times, I hope you can use some part of my experience to draw some kind of hope that maybe there is darkness, but through all of that, there is light and things will get better. It does,” he said.

“I don’t mean to sound condescending or talk cliches, but it can get easier, and time does make a difference.”

Among the guests on the show were Cork’s Lord Mayor Michael O’Connell and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, who discussed the impending visits of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and US President Barack Obama.