RTÉ 2FM has dropped veteran broadcaster Marty Whelan from its new weekday schedule, saying his programme had always been intended as a "bridge to new things".
Whelan has been replaced by the team behind the popular Strawberry Alarm Clock morning show on Dublin radio station FM 104, but he will continue to present his morning show on the station until they take over in March.
Announcing details of its new weekday schedule yesterday, the station also said Will Leahy, who currently hosts the Saturday Show, will anchor its new drivetime weekday programme, to be called The Shift.
Presenter Rick O'Shea is to move from his early evening show to an afternoon slot between 2pm and 5pm, while Ruth Scott will anchor the 7pm to 10pm slot on weekdays and the Saturday show between noon and 3pm.
Whelan's departure from 2FM follows the announcement earlier that veteran broadcaster Larry Gogan is to move to a weekend slot with the station. Their departures are widely seen as part of the station's attempts to win a greater share of the youth audience.
Whelan, who previously co-presented the afternoon television programme Open Housebefore it was replaced by the Afternoon Show, was unavailable for comment last night. He is understood to be out of the country.
Station boss John Clarke said he was "very happy" with Whelan's audience figures. "But there was a perception that we were a young person's station but were growing the over-35s ... it was a holding thing for me. Marty's a professional, I would say he knew that," he said. "[The move] has got nothing to do with talent.. I tried Marty, he gave me time to plan and see who is available."
Mr Clarke declined to say how much the station has paid to recruit Colm Hayes and Jim-Jim Nugent, the presenters of the Strawberry Alarm Clock.