Joe Duffy to leave Liveline at the end of June after 27 years

Joe Duffy has announced he is to leave his role as presenter of RTÉ Radio phone-in show Liveline at the end of June. He is also to retire from RTÉ where he has worked for nearly four decades.

Making the announcement at the end of Thursday’s programme, he told listeners that “after 37 wonderful years here in RTÉ, and 27 years presenting Liveline…I’ve decided the time has come to move on”.

“I wrote to the head of radio last November informing her that, having already extended my contract for two years, Friday, June 27th next, when it was due to expire, would be my final day on Liveline.”

He said he was “deeply privileged and eternally grateful” to have worked for so long on presenting the programme. He said that “through RTÉ and Liveline I hope we made people feel heard”.

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He thanked his wife June, their three children and the listeners for their support over the years, and said he was now looking forward to “the next chapter”.

He said he would talk about the decision when he appears on The Late Late Show on Friday evening.

A prominent student activist during his time in Trinity College, Mr Duffy joined RTÉ as a radio producer in 1989 after a period as a probation officer. He gained prominence as a reporter on The Gay Byrne Show and went on to feature in, and then front, a number of programmes on both radio and television.

Paying tribute to the presenter, RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst said Duffy was “an icon of broadcasting”, and said Liveline has been “the pulse of the nation”.

“Joe navigated controversies, unearthed scandals, exposed scams, fought misinformation and shone a light on topics long ignored – from historical abuse to menopause and healthcare reform.

“Joe was always the guide, never the story. His journalistic insights were perfectly in balance with his human instincts, and Liveline under Joe became both a sanctuary for those seeking justice and a public square of which Joe was in full control."

Now 69, Mr Duffy had been the highest earner at the national broadcaster since the departure of Ryan Tubridy amid considerable controversy in 2023. Figures released last year showed he earned €351,000 for his work there, significantly ahead of the next best paid broadcaster Claire Byrne, on about €280,000.

Mr Bakhurst, who earns €250,000, had previously announced his intention to establish a ceiling on a wages at the organisation at that €250,000 level.

There had been speculation about Mr Duffy’s potential retirement from his role for some time although when Mr Bakhurst said in February of last year Mr Duffy had made it clear to him that he would not be seeking a new contract, Duffy responded that it was “the first I’ve heard about it”.