Morning Ireland - All should take a bow

Congratulations to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, which today celebrates 25 years on the air. It is a great achievement for any radio show to last that long, but in this case it is a phenomenal triumph because it has established itself as an important and vibrant source of news for a great many people.

It is the most popular radio programme in the country. In the most recent Joint National Listener Research ratings it had around 461,000 listeners, which is almost 20% more than the most popular news programme.

When it began a quarter of a century ago, few could have thought that a serious programme that early in the morning could become so popular and so influential. It provides a tremendous community service in helping to set the agenda for public debate throughout the day.