What's happened to the presenters?

RADIO REVIEW:D'Arcy attempted to fit himself into a suitcase. It was a spur- of-the-moment item that crackled with fun

WITH THE ARRIVAL of the summer holidays, an empty air descended across the country last week as a significant segment of the public sector took full advantage of their generous leave allowance. The Montrose migration got under way in earnest with most of RTÉ’s big names joining in the seasonal exodus from Radio Centre.

Pat Kenny, Joe Duffy, Marian Finucane, Ryan Tubridy, John Murray and Ronan Collins were absent, leaving RTÉ’s radio schedule as bereft of star talent as a top-flight footballing side playing a pre-season reserve friendly against lower division opposition.

Those seeking familiar voices by day were better served by the commercial sector, where vacations seem more restricted. Listeners to The Ray D'Arcy Show(Today FM, weekdays) were even asked nominate their favourite Irish holiday spots, with the winning destination to host the programme for a week, as well as providing recreational opportunities for the families of the presenter and his team.

It is basically a stunt but the symbolism of commercial radio’s stars seeking to combine work with leisure while RTÉ’s presenters took off was striking. Work, rest and play featured in another guise on Tuesday’s edition of the show. D’Arcy spoke to English jingle writer Jonathan Hodge, the man responsible for the theme to the old “a Mars a day” campaign, and many others. It was the kind of gossamer-light subject that dominates the fallow summer months, but it turned out to be an enjoyable item.

Hodge had written some of the most memorable ad themes of recent times, from Birds Eye potato waffles (“so waffly versatile”) to “do the Shake ‘n’ Vac”, a jingle so lethally catchy it has been resurrected by everyone from Jedward to English punk band Snuff. As D’Arcy learnt of the full extent of his guest’s back catalogue, his excitement grew ever greater, nicely contrasting with Hodge’s air of wry but polite bemusement.

Hodge also explained the secret to his success: if you spend too long tinkering with things you take the fizz out of them. It was advice D’Arcy can relate to. The next day, inspired by a news item about a Mexican convict who tried to escape in a suitcase, D’Arcy attempted to fit himself into one. It was a spur-of-the-moment item that crackled with fun, despite being inherently visual in nature. He fit in, incidentally.

The tone of the show can veer wildly to the point of inappropriateness: the same edition featured a heartbreaking e-mail from a woman whose baby had died nine hours after birth. But at his most astute, the presenter has an instinct for frothy, stimulating radio that brings a holiday atmosphere to the studio.

It is not always best to act on one's impulses, however, as English broadcaster Andy Kershaw proved to Myles Dungan, the stand-in host on Today With Pat Kenny(RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays). Long known as the BBC's world-music expert, Kershaw regaled Dungan with colourful tales, from giving Bob Dylan unwanted gifts of jam to visiting North Korea with polemic journalist Christopher Hitchens. Kershaw was self-effacing and, except when describing the genocidal slaughter in Rwanda in 1994, jaunty.

But when talk turned to the self-described tailspin that followed the breakdown of his marriage in 2006, Kershaw’s manner changed. He became agitated and strident as he explained how he had a nervous breakdown and started drinking excessively when his wife left him after an “admitted infidelity”.

It was uncomfortable to hear Kershaw getting so worked up. Though he has since got his life back on track, returning to the BBC and publishing a memoir, he did not seem like a man who had put his traumas behind him. As Dungan said, after stopping the interview mid-rant, "His book is called No Off Switchand I think we've already discovered why."

As such items showed, the absence of RTÉ's marquee names did not preclude interesting radio, especially when the substitutes had the earnest heft of Dungan. Meanwhile, resident presenters such as John Kelly returned from holiday to good effect, even if he initially found it difficult to readjust to work. To mark his return to The JK Ensemble(Lyric, weekdays), the presenter opened with Groucho Marx proclaiming Hello, I Must be Going followed by Julie London singing Sleigh Ride in July.

“That sums up my confused state of mind,” Kelly said. As the week progressed, he shook his slumber, however, playing a diverse selection of music, from Gregorian chant and contemporary classical to experimental jazz and harmony-laden rock. His ruefully laconic persona was still present, but his inspired choices suggested someone refreshed by his break.

Which, of course, is why people, even well-paid RTÉ stars, have to take holidays occasionally.

Surely, however, the Montrose management could arrange a roster that would not denude the station of its biggest personalities in one fell swoop.

Radio Moment of the Week

Despite being essentially a British news story, the News Of The Worldphone-hacking scandal featured prominently on Irish radio last week. Few presenters, however, made their feelings on the matter as clear as Séan Moncrieff ( Moncrieff, Newstalk, weekdays).

Having spoken about his attraction to red-headed women, a listener texted in to suggest that the presenter might fancy Rebekah Brooks, the flame-haired chief executive of Rupert Murdoch’s News International, who edited the paper at the time of the alleged offences.

Moncrieff, however, demurred. “She emanates evil, so that would kind of put me off.”

Tell us what you really think, Séan.