Christmas may be inescapably upon us, but David McCullagh is doing his best not to sound too festive. Even when faced with seasonal items on Today with David McCullagh (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays), such as his discussion with the journalist Jo Linehan about environmentally friendly Yuletides, the host manages to imbue ostensibly jolly queries with a jaundiced hue.
“I’m going to ask you a very important question now. What about Christmas jumpers?” McCullagh says with the strained sincerity of someone who until recently was regularly interviewing taoisigh on national television.
McCullagh is playing up his grumpy persona, of course. He even jokes about his “office Grinch routine”. (Or maybe it’s not a joke.) But while the former Six One anchor’s journalistic pedigree was an obvious asset when he was tapped to replace the Newstalk-bound Claire Byrne on the Today show, one of the revelations of McCullagh’s tenure so far has been his pleasingly world-weary demeanour.
This side of his on-air personality is on full display during his chat with Linehan about sustainability over Christmas. While she dispenses alarming facts about sparkly decorations (sequins never degrade), he kvetches about Secret Santa gifts – “No one likes buying them, no one likes getting them” – and frets that the reusable Christmas crackers his guest touts still contain bad jokes: “That’s the main thing.”
His mordant humour pops up throughout the show. Talking to the financial planner Eoin McGee about the cost of raising children, McCullagh says he’ll tot up a final figure for the benefit of his daughter, “because she will of course choose my nursing home”. When a guest asks how he’s doing, his reply – “Ah sure, fabulous, thanks for asking” – is, to quote PG Wodehouse, if not actually disgruntled, then far from being gruntled.
All in all, the presenter’s self-consciously sardonic style adds a dimension to the Today show in its new 9am slot, helping to reassure any listeners hesitant about tuning in to a two-hour current-affairs magazine after the daily pummelling at the hands of Morning Ireland.
But it would count for nothing without the experience and nous that he brings to his role. Whether discussing the final report of the Operation Kenova investigation into British security-force collusion during the Troubles or weighing up new charges for blister-pack medication, McCullagh sorts through the issues in phlegmatically confident fashion.
Meanwhile, he is supportive yet direct when talking to the abuse survivor Aidan Moore about the sentencing of the former teacher Peter Kelly, who abused him at Willow Park primary school, in south Dublin. “I’m just very, very tired,” Moore says about the lasting effects of the abuse he suffered 46 years ago. It’s a difficult conversation – years of such awful stories have only increased their distressing impact – but one that the host handles well.
If there’s a quibble about McCullagh’s otherwise positive first month, it’s that he hasn’t shown off his chops as a political interviewer enough. Maybe it’s just because the chances haven’t arisen, but Today’s refreshed iteration hasn’t featured too many heavyweight encounters so far.
Which is a pity: as shown by his memorable opening interview with the politician turned broadcaster Ivan Yates or his jousting tussle with Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan about immigration two weeks ago, McCullagh enjoys a good sparring session. Add a few more interviews like that and even the downbeat host might feel like celebrating.
A mockumentary about a housing crisis set during the run-up to Christmas, Drama on One: 30 Acres (RTÉ Radio 1, Sunday) would seem to be timely, but unfortunately it ends up sounding more dated.
It’s not because the four-part series, written by Colm Tobin and Aidan O’Donovan, concerns itself with the aftermath of the 2008 crash but because it was made in 2019, though is only now getting an airing. With so much having happened in the world in the six years since then, this would-be dark take on post-Celtic Tiger Ireland seems like a benign snapshot of a simpler time.
Told though a succession of farcical vignettes, the loose narrative follows the intertwined fates of the remaining residents and the bankrupt developer of the titular ghost estate, seen through the eyes of Tobin’s investigative reporter.
Two episodes in, the semi-improvised scenes are performed with much brio by a cast that features Stefanie Preissner and Barry Murphy, though subtlety is at a premium. And while the aim of dissecting the “two-tiered life” of a locality ravaged by economic calamity is both laudable and resonant, the execution is too meandering, and the characterisation too broad, for it to really skewer its targets.
That said, Drama on One deserves credit for resurrecting the series, both for radio and as a podcast: getting it out makes far more sense than letting it languish in the Montrose vaults, like some ghost estate.
And some moments remain bitterly relevant today, as when Philippa Dunne’s relentlessly aspirational developer’s wife downplays the decaying condition of her husband’s housing project: “Where you might see a gaping hole in the wall, I see a window of opportunity.”
Similarly, listeners should consider taking a chance on 30 Acres.
Another presenter less than thrilled at the prospect of this month’s festivities is Oliver Callan (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays), though it’s not Christmas that bothers him. Rather he’s annoyed that his December 27th birthday gets lost amid the other seasonal rituals. “There’s no worse birthday,” he complains. “I don’t feel like eating or drinking or nothing.”
This may account for the host’s ambivalent attitude towards the Australian stand-up Jim Jefferies, whom he calls “a curious fellow”. Callan appears tepid about the radio ads promoting Jefferies’ Dublin show, which feature the comic contrasting the phrase “Happy wife, happy life” with his own coinage of – wait for it – “Happy husband? We’ll see about that.”
The interview itself has Jefferies speaking with rambunctious candour about his brand of humour and his struggles with alcohol. But there’s less goodwill in the air when Callan raises his guest’s role in the controversial Riyadh Comedy Festival, sponsored by the Saudi government.
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Jefferies, who made robust statements defending the festival but ended up not appearing there, is unapologetic about his stance – “I believe it was for the greater good for comedians to go out there” – though he sounds anything but happy by the end.
Callan appears in better spirits, ending the chat mischievously: “We’ve given you your platform.” Ho! ho! ho! indeed.
Moment of the week
Marty Whelan isn’t someone you normally associate with trenchant political commentary. But on Thursday’s Marty in the Morning (Lyric FM, weekdays) the presenter casts a critical eye on United States visa plans that will require visitors to share five years of social-media history, before bemoaning Donald Trump’s description of Europe as weak and decaying. “Do you feel like you’re decaying?” a perplexed Whelan asks.
[ Travelling to the US? Check your social media posts firstOpens in new window ]
He concludes by mournfully reciting the famous inscription at the Statue of Liberty – “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses” – before playing Simon & Garfunkel’s wistful classic America. It makes for an unexpected but cutting elegy – or eulogy – for a bygone US era.
