RTÉ chairwoman tackles the crows on the aerial

Moya Doherty, the new chairwoman of the RTÉ board, is understood to be getting the guided tour to the inner workings of Montrose, where the sign on the boardroom wall reminds board members that RTÉ's vision is to "grow the trust of the people of Ireland as it informs, inspires, reflects and enriches their lives".

The list of RTÉ "values" also includes "be creative in everything we do" and "take pride in everything we do, everything we are and everything we create". That's everything.

The more prosaic entries on RTÉ’s list of values – “deliver a value-for-money service” and “be honest and transparent in all our activities” – are bound to take up some of Doherty’s time too.

The Riverdance co-creator and seasoned television producer is all too aware of the competitive challenge facing the public service media organisation.

Growing up on the border of Donegal and Fermanagh, her family home had the BBC "beamed in" through its overspill signal.

"I was the one charged with scaring the crows off the aerial, so we could watch Top of the Pops," she recalled at a television conference in UCC a couple of years back.

Would that it were so easy now to get those pictures into hearts and minds as to just scare the crows off the aerials,” she lamented.

“There are too many crows for us to handle.”