Presenter Ray D’Arcy and his team were caught off guard by RTÉ’s decision not to renew his contract, sources within RTÉ Radio have said.
D’Arcy’s sudden departure came as a surprise to many people in the national broadcaster, even those who worked closely with him. His contract was due to expire at the end of the year but he expected it would be renewed.
Some RTÉ staff only found out he would not be returning as his show went on air without him on Thursday afternoon.
The Irish Times understands D’Arcy (61) had a meeting with senior radio management earlier this week to discuss a renewal of his contract However, the discussions quickly broke down.
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It is not clear if RTÉ failed to offer D’Arcy a new contract or offered him a different time slot for a reduced salary. In 2022 and 2023, the presenter was paid €250,000, down from €450,000 in 2019.
D’Arcy said on Thursday he was “hugely disappointed” with how RTÉ management handled his departure. He had presented The Ray D’Arcy Show on Radio 1 since February 2015 and hosted his final show on Wednesday.
Speaking on his RTÉ Radio 1 show on Friday morning, host Oliver Callan said he felt “terrible” for D’Arcy and his team.
“I feel terrible for Ray and I feel worse for his production team, who had no idea of what was happening, I imagine, and now don’t know what job they have,” Callan said.
Just hours after D’Arcy’s departure was announced, the arrival of Kieran Cuddihy at RTÉ was confirmed. Cuddihy, who has presented The Hard Shoulder on Newstalk since 2020, is set to replace Joe Duffy as the host of Liveline.
He is the second Newstalk figure to transfer to RTÉ Radio in recent months.
In August, RTÉ announced the appointment of Mark Simpson to the role of managing editor at Radio 1. He worked at Newstalk for more than 20 years on several shows, including The Hard Shoulder.
Patricia Monahan became RTÉ’s director of audio in July 2024. She also worked at Newstalk for more than two decades, serving as managing editor at the station for over seven years.
Speaking on Radio 1 on Friday, Monahan answered a wide set of questions about a schedule overhaul at RTÉ Radio 1. Asked whether the broadcaster has been unfair to D’Arcy, she said: “With change of this scale, there are always difficult conversations to be had, and that’s never easy for anybody.
“He is obviously not part of our future plans and that is never an easy thing or communication to have with somebody but, like I said, we wish him very well,” she said.
She would have had “no problem” with D’Arcy saying goodbye on air, but “different people choose to deal with that in different ways”.
She thanked D’Arcy and his team for their contribution over the last 11 “brilliant” years.
Collie Ennis, biodiversity officer with Trinity College Dublin, regularly contributed to wildlife segments on D’Arcy’s programme.
He said he “didn’t have a clue” the show was ending and heard the news via the media on Thursday.
“I was obviously very sad to hear because I really liked working with Ray. He’s always been super kind to me. The team are always fantastic.”
Ennis said it is a shame D’Arcy did not have a farewell show. The presenter deserved this after “11 years of service”.
“I’m sure he’ll be in demand elsewhere,” Ennis said.
