‘Secret RTÉ Producer tweeter needs a good slap,’ says Aonghus McAnally

Ahead of his Christy Hennessy tour, the musician and RTÉ personality speaks to the Róisín Meets podcast


"If you want to be brave, stand up and be brave, don't stand up and be half brave and hide behind something," says Aonghus McAnally about the "secret RTÉ producer" Twitter account.

“I genuinely have no idea who it is but I can categorically rule myself out . . . I actually think they should get a good slap,” he told Róisín Ingle on the Róisín Meets podcast.

McAnally says he understands that some people will be unhappy with decisions that are made higher up the chain of command, but it is “extraordinarily disloyal” to lift the lid on internal wrangling in their workplace.

The social-media account @rtesecretpro first appeared on Twitter on September 7th, and in a series of tweets has been denouncing RTÉ’s workplace customs and prompting ongoing speculation about its creator. The account’s tweets include excoriations of “lazy” commissioning editors, the grip of unions, morale and the poor standards of the canteen. The most recent tweet on the account, which has almost 28,000 followers, was posted on September 19th.

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McAnally has been the series producer of Joe Duffy’s Liveline on RTÉ Radio One for the last few years and has worked at the state broadcaster for decades on programmes such as The Lyrics Board, but he knows what it is like to be disappointed too.

“I can understand that lots of people will be unhappy with decisions. I mean I was sacked in a three-minute meeting,” he recalls of the end of his time on Evening Extra.

Also on the podcast, McAnally spoke about his, "unusual, interesting and completely normal" upbringing by his actor parents Ronnie Masterson and Ray McAnally.

“He was a genius, so on occasions he could be tough to live with,” he recalls of his famous father Ray McAnally, who starred in My Left Foot and alongside Robert De Niro in The Mission.

It was his father who encouraged him aged 14 to pursue music to the best of his ability because “he didn’t like mediocrity”.

Next week, McAnally will turn his attentions back the musical side of his career when he begins a 26-date tour around Ireland celebrating the life and music of his good friend Christy Hennessy, who died in 2007.

Throughout the Celebrating Christy Hennessy – The Platinum Collection show, the audience will "get a sense of a man who couldn't read or write and managed, in simple lyrics, to write incredibly moving and deep emotional songs," he says.

To listen to the full conversation between Róisín Ingle and Aonghus McAnally, go to irishtimes.com/podcasts

The podcast is also available on iTunes, Soundcloud or your preferred podcast app.