Gareth O'Callaghan: RTÉ Radio 1 will soon be unrecognisable after Ray D'Arcy's sudden departure

Whatever transpired during that meeting with RTÉ bosses earlier this week clearly led to Ray D'Arcy's sudden departure – so sudden, he wasn’t given the chance to say goodbye, writes Gareth O'Callaghan

Ray D'Arcy needs to be busy, to be behind the microphone; so I doubt if he’s going to be away from it for long. File picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

Ray D'Arcy presented his final RTÉ Radio 1 show yesterday. That was pretty much the sum total of a short statement issued by the broadcaster earlier this afternoon. He was gone before any of his listeners even knew he was leaving.

There were no goodbyes, no explanations, no hints as to what lies ahead for him. He’s simply no longer there, as I discovered when I tuned in earlier today. Instead, Shay Byrne was sounding as though he had always been there in the afternoons, sounding cosy and familiar.