As she ponders the topic at hand, Claire Byrne makes clear that she prefers the sharp to the plain. “You need a little bit of bite,” the presenter opines on Tuesday (Today with Claire Byrne, RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays), while expressing her disappointment that much of the fare under discussion is “sort of bland”. Now, in case anyone think otherwise, Byrne is not critiquing her own show, even if that does tend toward the solid rather than the piquant. Instead she’s weighing the merits of mayonnaise and salad cream with home economist Agnes Bouchier-Hayes, rating the “thinner tang” of the latter over the mildness of the former.
It’s testament to Byrne’s style that even this ostensibly saucy item ends up as a sensible if still enjoyable discussion, with her guest laying out the history of the two condiments while sharing recipe tips. But while the host isn’t one for dressing up stories, it equally means she eschews exaggeration. So when, on Wednesday, Byrne observes that “yesterday was a particularly sad day for this organisation”, you know she isn’t spreading it on thick. If anything, she’s understating the case.
Certainly, Byrne takes a low-key approach to the previous day’s news that “we’d lost two of our greats”, with the deaths of celebrated GAA commentator Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh and former RTÉ journalist Tommie Gorman. The host remembers the indefatigable Gorman by playing a clip of his famous interview with Roy Keane following the footballer’s tumultuous exit from the Republic of Ireland team before the 2002 World Cup. Meanwhile, Byrne leaves it to Leo Varadkar to recall his childhood neighbour Ó Muircheartaigh, with the former taoiseach admiring the late commentator’s commitment to the Irish language: “He weaved Irish and English together, made you feel you knew more Irish than you really did and gave you confidence.”
As to the other event shaking Montrose on Tuesday, the unveiling of RTÉ's strategy to shrink and decentralise the network, Byrne again sounds out Varadkar, who thinks the plan puts the onus on government to make a decision on the organisation’s future funding. “Having quality current affairs and news is essential in the era of misinformation,” says Varadkar, before delivering a decidedly backhanded compliment: “Not that RTÉ always gets it right, but you’re a lot better than a lot of the alternatives.” High praise indeed. Then again, given the barrage of invective the network has faced over the past year, this tepid endorsement probably counts as a ringing vote of confidence.
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But with the provision of reliable information ever more crucial to RTÉ's future viability, Byrne’s show provides a vital plank to that remit. The host deals with subjects from the Aer Lingus pilots’ dispute to the UK general election in thorough yet accessible form, while her conversation with grieving mother Joanne Casey, whose 25-year-old daughter, Kasey, died after taking fake benzodiazepine tablets, highlights the human cost of counterfeit drugs in heartbreaking fashion. Her own tastes notwithstanding, Byrne shows you don’t always have to spice things up to have some bite.
The deaths of Ó Muircheartaigh and Gorman is as big news elsewhere as it is in Montrose. As the news breaks about Gorman, Seán Moncrieff (Newstalk, weekdays) invites recently retired RTÉ news anchor Bryan Dobson to share memories of his former colleague. Dobson tells how Gorman lived with cancer for 30 years, and would always give “reassurance and hope” to others with the illness. He also points to his late friend’s “insatiable hunger for the story” and determination to hear all viewpoints, pointing to his good relationships with unionist politicians while he was RTÉ's northern editor. But perhaps the most striking thing about the interview is Dobson’s manner, with his signature authoritative delivery absent as he speaks to Moncrieff. “I’m still in shock at this news,” he says, “I’m really just stunned.” It only adds to the poignancy of Dobson’s tribute.
Later, on The Hard Shoulder (Newstalk, weekdays), presenter Kieran Cuddihy is effusive in his homage to Ó Muircheartaigh, recalling their one encounter with audible awe: “There was just this aura around him.” Meanwhile, RTÉ personalities past and present venture on to commercial airwaves to join Cuddihy in remembering the late commentator for his colourful portrayal of on-field action, as well as for his unique position in Irish life: he wasn’t just “a giant of Irish broadcasting” but also a “cultural icon”. The atmosphere, while inevitably bittersweet, is celebratory rather than melancholy.
There’s no such mixed emotions on the next day’s show. Instead, when Cuddihy talks to Palestinian-Irish man Zak Hania, the mood is one of naked grief, coupled with trembling fury. Zak, who recently returned to Dublin after being trapped in Gaza for seven months, starkly reports that 10 of his relatives were killed by an Israeli missile strike on their home the night before.
It’s unsurprising that even the loquacious Cuddihy struggles for words: Zak’s story is unspeakable
Somehow maintaining his composure, Cuddihy’s guest recounts how seven of the victims from his cousin’s family, aged 10-80, remain buried under the rubble of their obliterated house. Eventually, though, Zak’s testimony gives way to raw anguish. “The wound in my heart is deepening,” he laments. “I am full of rage. Where is the humanity?” It’s just the latest horror inflicted on Zak’s family by the Israeli onslaught: he describes how one of his sisters died from a combination of hunger and lack of healthcare for her diabetes.
Cuddihy is stunned into silence. “I almost don’t know what to say to you,” the host eventually manages, “What impact does it have on you?” Zak, his voice faltering, replies that he’s trying to be strong for his children, but feels helpless: “To be honest, life is unbearable.”
It’s unsurprising that even the loquacious Cuddihy struggles for words: Zak’s story is unspeakable. All that’s left is to gnash the teeth in anger and despair.
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