Media

Radio: The 2 Johnnies set to leave 2FM next week, RTÉ confirms

Co Tipperary duo, who have hosted drivetime programme since 2022, had audience of 151,000 in latest JNLR figures

RTÉ 2FM has announced that Drive It With the 2 Johnnies, featuring Johnny 'Smacks' McMahon and Johnny 'B' O’Brien, is to come to an end. Photograph: Andres Poveda/RTÉ

Conor Pope
Tue May 21 2024 - 12:38

The 2 Johnnies are leaving RTÉ 2FM after two years, the station has confirmed.

The Co Tipperary pair have hosted the station’s drivetime programme since 2022, attracting an audience of 151,000 according to the latest Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) survey.

They will broadcast their last show on the station on May 31st.

Dan Healy, head of 2FM, hailed their “two very successful years” and commended Johnny B and Johnny Smacks for bringing “their original South Tipp humour and interesting music choices to 2FM audiences right across Ireland”.

READ MORE

He said the listenership for the drivetime show has been “very strong from the very start and the most recent listenership results continued that trend”. He added that the station will be “sad to see them go but wish them well as they continue their adventures”.

Mr Healy acknowledged “the great content created on the drivetime show by Aifric O’Connell, Aindriú De Paor and Emma Power, who shared the airwaves with The 2 Johnnies over the period”.

“We are fortunate to have such great talent working at 2FM and with them the station will continue to prosper,” he said.

Johnny “Smacks” McMahon said the pair had “unreal craic” presenting the show.

“We came in with the idea to have a laugh on the afternoons and cheer people up and get more mad scones on the radio from every county in Ireland telling stories and auld yarns,” he said. “After 2½ years my jaws need a rest from all the laughing.”

Johnny “B” O’Brien said the pair had “loved our time on the show” and that the listeners “have been the funniest, maddest, soundest crowd alive”.

He added: “The stories they’ve come on air to tell have been outrageous. It’s made me proud to be Irish to talk with the nation every evening.”

RTÈ 2FM will announce its summer schedule in the coming weeks.

Conor Pope

Conor Pope

Conor Pope is Consumer Affairs Correspondent, Pricewatch Editor and cohost of the In the News podcast

LATEST STORIES