Nearly two months into their partnership on Drivetime (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays), Katie Hannon and Colm Ó Mongáin are still getting to know one another. But while the pair learn more about each other as they cheerily chat about learning Irish and driving home for Christmas, some revelations are greeted with alarm.
Prefacing an item about protecting hairdos during the festive party season, Hannon asks her colleague whether he gets his locks trimmed for Christmas.
Ó Mongáin replies that he opts for a “quarterly economy haircut”, essentially a short back and sides. “My only foray into the exotic hairdo was a brief lockdown Mohican.”
“An actual Mohican?” she asks incredulously. “Do you have photographic evidence of this?”
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Ó Mongáin says there is but regrets there isn’t a video of his children helping him shave his mohawk: “It’d be like a beheading video.”
Hannon hurriedly changes the subject. “Okay, let’s move on,” she says, sounding relieved at the prospect.
It’s a representative snapshot of how the duo’s dynamic has evolved, with Ó Mongáin firing off wisecracks as he overshares personal snippets and Hannon wincing at her cohost’s candour with knowing dismay.
When he owns up to an “audible tummy rumble” on Wednesday’s show, she mournfully acknowledges her designated role in such exchanges: “People are going to think I made you say it.”
Indeed, their developing double act routine sometimes seems almost too good to be true. Introducing an item on Christmas traditions such as pantomimes, Hannon remarks that she didn’t go to such shows as a child: “We weren’t a panto family.” Right on cue, Ó Mongáin shoots back: “Oh yes you were!”
But the two RTÉ presenters don’t totally forget that they’re supposed to be presenting a current-affairs magazine. Political issues are duly covered, such as the fallout from Fianna Fáil’s internal review of Jim Gavin’s botched presidential campaign. Ó Mongáin hears the former party adviser Derek Mooney draw a blistering conclusion from the report: “Basically, it describes an organisation that doesn’t function as a political party.”
The duo’s lens extends to wider social and economic issues, though technical glitches hamper the flow of some discussions. Two items on Tuesday’s show, about rising electricity prices and increased Government spending, are interrupted by dropped phone connections, eliciting a forced joke from Ó Mongáin about “short episodic interviews” ending on a cliffhanger.
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The most successful segments feature both presenters asking questions in interviews that illuminate off-centre topics. The archivist and barrister Martin Bradley succinctly outlines the laws about ownership of exhibits in museums while neatly chronicling the occasionally dubious justifications that some institutions deploy for holding on to contested artefacts. The British Museum’s continued retention of the Parthenon marbles inevitably features prominently.
Meanwhile, Prof Luke O’Neill entertainingly describes the science behind the “biochemically fascinating” (and seasonally relevant) subject of hangovers, debunking some much-cherished cures along the way: big fry-ups don’t alleviate morning-after misery.
Overall, the wide variety and comparative brevity of topics means that proceedings zip by, helped by the fact that the programme is now two hours long, 30 minutes less than before. While this makes for a leaner show than the previous iteration, under Cormac Ó hEadhra and Sarah McInerney, the new 4pm-6pm time slot sits more awkwardly.
For one thing, the implicit idea that the titular drivetime finishes with the evening Angelus seems wildly optimistic, particularly when so many recent stories concern inadequate transport infrastructure. (This fanciful notion appears widespread at RTÉ, with 2FM Drive also ending at 6pm.)
More importantly, the earlier finish means less opportunity to cover late-breaking stories – Ó Mongáin ruefully notes that the Jim Gavin report was released just after Tuesday’s show went off air.
But for all that radio audiences are supposedly resistant to changes in routine, listening habits can and do change. And Hannon and Ó Mongáin remain formidable broadcasters: they may still be getting acquainted with each other – inevitably inviting comparisons with their zingily dogged predecessors in the meantime – but they have plenty of time for their on-air relationship to fully gel. Oh yes they do.
Change is also afoot at Newstalk, where details of the station’s new schedule are announced during the news bulletin on Monday’s Lunchtime Live (Newstalk, weekdays). Andrea Gilligan, its presenter, is vocal in her enthusiasm for the forthcoming changes, possibly because she, along with her fellow Newstalk afternoon stalwart Seán Moncrieff (an Irish Times columnist), is unaffected by them. (The roster makeover, launching in February, has Claire Byrne taking over from the weekend-bound Pat Kenny; Shane Coleman and Ciara Kelly moving from Newstalk Breakfast to The Hard Shoulder; and Anton Savage assuming morning duties.)
Although Gilligan’s phone-in show has suffered a ratings dip of late, in common with most Newstalk offerings, she has been a steady performer during her five years in the traditionally quiet slot, helped by a folksy manner that draws out callers on a range of issues.
Some segments are deliberately frothy, tackling urgent matters such as the wisdom of families wearing co-ordinated sleepwear over Christmas, a trend that elicits a strong reaction from normally mild-mannered roving reporter Henry McKean: “I will not be forced by my wife to wear matching pyjamas.”
But Gilligan also covers stories of everyday concern that touch on broader themes. On Tuesday the host hears one caller ask whether a mental-health support service is operated by AI, when Aoife describes how a bipolar friend received generic-looking responses from a text line run by SpunOut. In response, the charity categorically denies the use of AI, saying its supportive text service is run by trained volunteers.
The next day, however, Gilligan raises more questions. She speaks to a former volunteer, Marie, who recounts conducting several conversations at once, with some exchanges run to a timescale, “which I thought was strange”.
Marie stresses that texters with self-harm ideation were immediately handled by supervisors, but she believes the service should be more transparent. “It’s not counselling,” says Marie, who took an online training course for the work. “It needs to be better explained.”
Gilligan deals with the matter nicely, clarifying facts and avoiding sensationalism – she talks about being neither “critical nor judgmental” – while hearing out Marie in the manner of a trusted friend rather than a radio presenter, which is no mean feat.
It may not seem like a big story, but it will surely resonate with anyone feeling the pressure to hide anxiety at a time of year when merriment can appear mandatory. It’s the season of goodwill for everyone, after all.
Moment of the week
Even as Pat Kenny (Newstalk, weekdays) prepares to move on from his daily slot, he continues to surprise. On Wednesday the presenter sounds unexpectedly enthusiastic as he speaks to Aimee Connolly, founder of the Sculpted by Aimee beauty brand.
After mentioning recent social encounters with Connolly – “We can’t go on meeting like this” – he appears genuinely engaged by his guest’s speedy make-up tips, encapsulated by her philosophy: “Five minutes, fuss free, feel good.” The slogan delights Kenny. “That’s my regime every morning,” he chirps. He may be a veteran broadcaster, but there’s nothing ancien about him.
