Colm Hayes boldly goes where Ryan Tubridy is too meek to exploreThe 2FM jocks played their listeners against each other, with wildly different resultsSat Apr 20 2013 - 06:00
The Nordic Effect is one to savourA new show of Norwegian and Finnish work highlights the region’s bold design culture, a distinctiveness that Irish craft has struggled to achieveThu Apr 18 2013 - 07:00
Derek Mooney provides blank canvas for damning portrait of Margaret ThatcherThe most visceral reaction to the death of the late British PM was a bolt from the blandSat Apr 13 2013 - 07:00
Presidential reserve trumped by performer’s emotionJohn Bowman’s radio portrait of Mary Robinson was detailed but lacked the impact of the Aslan singer’s heartfelt interviewSat Apr 06 2013 - 06:00
Three is the magic number on LivelineThe Spunout sex advice controversy provided juicy material for Joe Duffy and Tom DunneSat Mar 30 2013 - 06:00
Where do you come from? What have you got?Ray D’Arcy’s cross-dressing guests highlighted Ireland’s different identitiesSat Mar 23 2013 - 06:00
Stories about bad parents don’t always make good radioRyan Tubridy’s preference for emotive impact over substantive discussion is a sign of the timesSat Mar 16 2013 - 06:00
They think it's all over. It is nowOff the Ball’s biggest story this week was off air, so could Ger Gilroy play super sub?Sat Mar 09 2013 - 06:00
The airwaves are alive with the sound of dissatisfactionRADIO On-air clashes can be a sign of a good compromise – or of a barrel being scrapedSat Mar 02 2013 - 00:00
A killing 40 years ago that still echoes though a familyRADIO: A documentary on the kidnapping of Thomas Niedermayer shows the tragic legacy left behindSat Feb 23 2013 - 00:00
The west's awake, and Hector doesn't let you forget itRADIO: Ó hEochagáin pumps city-country divide for all its zany worth with Dubs versus the rest quizSat Feb 16 2013 - 00:00
You think rock'n'roll is wild? It's nothing on feeding kidsRADIO: Tom Dunne is all about family matters these days, but he needs to rediscover his rock edgeSat Feb 09 2013 - 00:00
Even on a special birthday, Pat Kenny's done his homeworkRADIO: In an emotional week, the presenter showed an unusual amount of restraint and claritySat Feb 02 2013 - 00:00
Milking the moment with bare cheeks and the bum's rushRADIO: A couple of Kerry men made the most of their naked ambition for national publicitySat Jan 26 2013 - 00:00
Inner SpaceyOscar winner Kevin Spacey is on top form in David Fincher’s new political drama – whose story, he says, is…Sat Jan 26 2013 - 00:00
Councillor's careless talk of retribution in the not so wild westRADIO: This week we learned that revenge stories are best left to celluloidSat Jan 19 2013 - 00:00
Groundhog Day in the North and dog days in the RepublicFury about flying the flag is not the whole story, says a veteran reporterSat Jan 12 2013 - 00:00
Facing the Famine: a testy topic that stood out among the fluffRADIO: A series on the Famine was welcome in a week short of substanceSat Jan 05 2013 - 00:00
A year of stale sounds and static schedules on the airwavesRADIO: With any number of contentious issues to argue about, the airwaves were noisier than ever in 2012Sat Dec 29 2012 - 00:00
Some manipulation for everyone in the 'Tubridy' audienceRADIO: As the host of The Late Late Show, Ryan Tubridy is well acquainted with the programme’s freebie-touting mantra of “there…Sat Dec 22 2012 - 00:00
Taking a detached attitude to coming home for ChristmasRADIO: At this time of year, more than any other, there is an uncomfortable ring of truth to Robert Frost’s dictum that “Home…Sat Dec 15 2012 - 00:00
George's grandstand performance lets the Minister off the hookRADIO: George Hook’s on-air jousting with Michael Noonan was a lively and irreverent pantomimeSat Dec 08 2012 - 00:00
A shoulder charge to the media's tragic image of emigrationRadio: As Gaelic football rivalries go, the fixture is not as renowned as Dublin versus Meath or Cork against KerrySat Dec 01 2012 - 00:00
Marching season comes in like a lion but out like a lambRADIO: It was a case of contempt breeding familiarity and fatigue in the coverage of this week’s protestsSat Nov 24 2012 - 00:00
It's fun, social, engaging and inventive - but is it art?All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, runs the old proverbWed Nov 21 2012 - 00:00
Let's all agree to confine Hitler to the bunker for a whileRADIO: Whatever the programme, there is always room for discussion on the NazisSat Nov 17 2012 - 00:00
Obama wins the day, but Philo delivers the 'waaooow' factorFiachna Ó Braonáin's programme was a valuable reminder of Lynott's immense talentSat Nov 10 2012 - 00:00
Hard choices for hard news showsRADIO REVIEW: WITH THE AUDIENCE for Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays) slipping in the recent national listenership survey…Sat Nov 03 2012 - 00:00
The fine art of being economical with the truthThe contemporary Irish economist has a public image that politicians lack, clerics have lost and artists envy – but we need a…Fri Nov 02 2012 - 00:00
From soft soap to hard knocksRADIO REVIEW: HE HAS BEEN chided for his soft-soap approach, but Ryan Tubridy seemed to reveal a harder side to his on-air persona…Sat Oct 27 2012 - 01:00
Iron will, a raw nerve and all that jazzRADIO REVIEW : BE IT DUTY, honour or toughness, the robustly male values of military service can appear anachronistic in a civilian…Sat Oct 20 2012 - 01:00
Plenty of hot air on Hook but little fireWHEN IT COMES to courting controversy on radio, the ability to spew bile is an important component of the on-air provocateur’…Sat Oct 13 2012 - 01:00
Making allowances for middle earnersRADIO REVIEW: AS HE INTRODUCED a report on the possibility of the children’s allowance being slashed, Pat Kenny asked the question…Sat Oct 06 2012 - 01:00
'We're haunted by the lives we didn't lead'Declan Hughes’s new play featuring teenagers in south Dublin in 1977 – and the same people 30 years later – takes a snapshot …Mon Oct 01 2012 - 01:00
City boys' field trip yields mixed resultsTHERE WAS A sly tone to Damien O’Reilly’s voice as he opened last weekend’s edition of Countrywide (RTÉ Radio 1, Saturday). “…Sat Sept 29 2012 - 01:00
No topping the dead donkey storyRADIO REVIEW: AS HOT-BUTTON topics go, the publication of topless photographs of a woman married to the heir to a foreign throne…Sat Sept 22 2012 - 01:00
A clue for RTÉ in Danish drama seriesThe uncannily true-to-life storyline of Danish political drama ‘Borgen’ is the talk of Denmark and the toast of international…Mon Sept 17 2012 - 01:00
'Birdbrain' is a real hoot for Joe DuffyRADIO REVIEW : JOE LAUGHS! It might not have the same ring as “Garbo laughs”, but so singularly wondrous was Joe Duffy’s chortling…Sat Sept 15 2012 - 01:00
The smoking sock puppet mysteries‘Sock puppeting’, in which writers use pseudonyms to promote their own work and denigrate rivals, has hit the headlinesThu Sept 13 2012 - 01:00
Elliott lets the facts speak for themselvesRADIO REVIEW: AS ANYONE WHO has endured the phrase “going forward” will know, meaningless jargon is an unavoidable irritation…Sat Sept 08 2012 - 01:00
A lesson in gutsy broadcastingMUCH AS PARENTS naturally want the best education possible for their children, the experience of actually sending them to school…Sat Sept 01 2012 - 01:00
The perils of stepping on Irish turfRADIO REVIEW: DURING THE 1970s, Frank Kelly wrote and recorded a series of sketches for The Glen Abbey Show on RTÉ radio which…Sat Aug 25 2012 - 01:00
A little chutzpah clearly gets resultsRADIO REVIEW: IT’S THE moment that Leaving Cert students dreadSat Aug 18 2012 - 01:00
A clear winner among radio lightweightsRADIO REVIEW: AMID THE excitement of the past week’s boxing, it was easy to miss the action in another arena, which saw two …Sat Aug 11 2012 - 01:00
Sideburns and scooters: why the mod enduresWHEN HE triumphed in the Tour de France last month, Bradley Wiggins not only joined the select band who have won the famed yellow…Sat Aug 11 2012 - 01:00
A restaurant, a dinner and a side-serving of shockFOUR YEARS ago, after Herman Koch finished writing The Dinner, his sixth novel, the Dutch author asked several friends to read…Wed Aug 08 2012 - 01:00
Maeve's circle of friends out in forceRADIO REVIEW: AS A MEDIUM that essentially operates on a small-scale, subjective basis – a voice or two talking about random…Sat Aug 04 2012 - 01:00
Scrutinising the myths of the pastONCE AGAIN the airwaves were thick this week with lurid accounts of casual violence and riotous behaviourSat Jul 28 2012 - 01:00
Let's take a good look in the mirrorRADIO REVIEW: THE OUTCOME OF the Michaela McAreavey murder trial, in Mauritius, may have evoked an understandably indignant …Sat Jul 21 2012 - 01:00
Between a rock concert and a jail cellRADIO REVIEW: The programme challenged the widespread portrayal of the concert as the ninth circle of hellSat Jul 14 2012 - 01:00
