Ray Foley lands RedFM breakfast show

PPI-award winning broadcaster, Ray Foley, will co-present a new breakfast show on Cork’s RedFM’s with Jason Coughlan from Monday.

It follows the shock departure earlier this month of the station’s former breakfast presenter and programme director, Keith ‘KC’ Cunningham, for rival 96FM.

RedFM bosses made the announcement yesterday and unveiled details of the Breakfast with Ray and Jay show as they celebrated the third anniversary of the station’s re-launch. The event was attended by Irish rugby legend, Ronan O’Gara, and musicians Brian Deady and Stephanie Rainey.

There was speculation Jason ‘Jay’ Coughlan, who has been a breakfast presenter with KC on RedFM, might follow him to 96FM. But he said he is delighted to stay on RedFM’s breakfast show which won best breakfast show in Ireland at last year’s PPI Radio Awards.

“To be honest Ray was my third choice but we will be grand,” he joked.

“Already myself and Ray are getting on fantastic, we are both dads with young kids so will have a lot to talk about including my goldfish which has been reincarnated 15 times.”

Foley, who lives in Dublin but who has been presenting a weekend show on RedFM since June, said he is delighted to land the gig: “I’m really excited about moving to Cork to present on RedFM which is one of the best radio stations in the country and I think I will have a lot of fun presenting alongside Jay who is a very funny guy.”

Foley, who will go to the capital after the show on Fridays to continue presenting The Seven O’Clock Show on TV3, has won three Meteor Awards and five PPI awards.

He presented a lunchtime show on TodayFM for six years and the Irish version of Take Me Out on TV3.

Breakfast with Ray and Jay starts on Monday and will air from 6am to 9am five days a week. They are kicking off the show with a competition to win a meet-and-greet with global superstar Ed Sheeran at the 3 Arena.

Meanwhile, contractual obligations mean KC must stay off air for up to three months. Kieran McGeary, CEO of 96 and C103FM said: “I would like to wish Ray Foley well, but we are very confident about the quality of the new breakfast show we are bringing to Cork.”