KIERAN CUDDIHY HAS been announced as the permanent replacement for Paul Williams on the Newstalk Breakfast show.

The station announced today that Cuddihy will join Shane Coleman as co-presenter on the breakfast show which airs weekdays from 7am – 9am. On 8 November, Williams announced he was stepping down as co-anchor of the show, which he had presented with Coleman for over two years. 

Newstalk Breakfast is described as “a flagship show for the station which currently enjoys it highest ever market share of 6.7% and is a must listen for 25 – 44 year old talk radio listeners”.

Cuddihy is a qualified solicitor and is a Kilkenny native. He began his broadcasting career in Canadian radio and joined Newstalk in 2011.

He said: “I have two young children at home so I’m used to early mornings and am delighted to be joining Shane on Newstalk Breakfast. I have thoroughly enjoyed working on the show in the past and look forward to engaging with Newstalk Breakfast listeners on the issues that matter to them every morning.”

Newstalk Managing Editor, Patricia Monahan said: “We are delighted to announce Kieran and Shane will now be a permanent fixture for listeners during their morning commute. Kieran has always been a popular voice among our listeners and as a commuter and a dad of young children he will bring listeners a fresh perspective on the news of the day.”

In January, Cuddihy began presenting On The Record, the station’s Sunday morning current affairs offering, which has 77,000 listeners.

Newstalk  said it will announce a new presenter for On The Record “in due course”.