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TODAY FM HAS announced a radical shake up of its afternoon and evening programming with presenter Muireann O’Connell saying that she has been “fired” from the station.
The station announced this morning that broadcaster Mairead Ronan is to present a new daytime show between 12-2pm which will begin in September.
That slot is currently held by Today FM’s Lunchtime show which is hosted by Muireann O’Connell.
In a tweet not long after Today FM’s announcement, O’Connell said that she has been “fired” from the station and that “it’s embarrassing and a bit sad”.
O’Connell also wished Ronan well in her new presenting job, saying she “will be great”.
O’Connell also thanked the producers of her show, saying they have been “amazing to work with everyday”.
Ronan, who was a producer on Ray D’Arcy’s show when he was on Today FM, says she is happy to be back at the station.
It’s hard to put into words how thrilled I am going back to Today FM with my own show. This was always a dream of mine, ever since I was making coffee and posting prizes at the very start of my radio career. After two very busy years away it now feels like I’m going home. I can’t wait to get started.
Banging tunes
In a change to the station’s evening programming, presenter Ed Smith is to take his weekend Ed’s Songs of Praise show to a weekday slot.
The show is to be on nightly from 7pm, replacing Louise Duffy’s Lost in Music. Smith says it will have “banging tunes to the very best in Irish music”.
Today FM’s CEO Keith McCormack has confirmed that both O’Connell and Duffy are leaving the station.
“I would like to thank both Muireann and Louise for their contribution to the station and wish them well in their future endeavours,” McCormack said.
Duffy said in a statement that the “time had come” for her to move on.
“I have been so lucky to have had such incredible experiences with this station, but the time has come for me to move on. I bid a very fond farewell and a big thank you to my colleagues and listeners at Today FM and look forward to the next chapter,” Duffy said.
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Muireann was one of the very few reasons to tune into Today FM. Always thought she was naturally hilarious without too much pomp. Doesn’t take herself too seriously. Bad move Today FM. Bad move.
@Debbie Behan: Couldn’t agrees less. By far the worst in the station.
@Dave Harris: To each their own, I guess.
@Debbie Behan: I have to disagree, I’m not a major hater but shes not very good for the slot she would have been fine in the afternoon or weekend morning slots and I’m not sure mareaid will be much better for the time slot
@Dave Harris: you do better would ya. Always a troll always how would like to get fired
@Debbie Behan: Jesus she is dreadful. So fake, insincere and really tried to force laughter out of situations that just weren’t funny.
@Birdy: she wasn’t dreadful. I’ve told you a million times, do not exaggerate.
@Debbie Behan: Completely agree. She was great. AND Louise Duffy. Ffs!
Bring back Anton Savage!!!!
@Lorraine Smyth: Savage is a nasty piece of work as even the most cursory trawl of the internet will show. Not that you should be hired or fired on the basis of what kind of person you are, but in his case..
@alan: nasty, how so. I’ve never once heard that said about him
@ChuckE: among other things, for example
@Lorraine Smyth: now please
Couldn’t be as bad as Ciara Kelly
The same discussions everyday.
@The Grand Nagus: that’s Dr Ciara to you
@The Grand Nagus: Or Ray D’Arcy on Radio 1……….Jees he is a pain
@The Grand Nagus: loves the sound of her own voice does Ciara
@The Grand Nagus:
Absolutely…
Fannys or welfare or childcare or some other medical issue….its like they are still apologising for G Hook.
@The Grand Nagus: easily the worst on newstalk. Painful
@The Grand Nagus: Ray and Ciara are both equally insufferable. Impossible to call. I declare it a dead heat.
@Robert Kennedy: I better start listening to Ciara, I’m interested in f……….welfare and stuff like that.
@Sean: no, Ray is worse but it’s close. …
@The Grand Nagus: she is better than Hook.
@Declan Moran: she is very bad
@Muddy: laughing at his own commentry
Hopefully they will fire that Fergal Darcy next, I have to tune out when he comes on, hes unbearable
@Gavin Cooke: he’s about as genuine as a tube of fake tan. Brutal!
@Gavin Cooke: Easily the worst presenter on radio. And probably the world. How anyone can stand to listen to him I will never know
As someone who used to tune in every day, I have completely lost interest in that station the past few years.
@Jennie: not the same since tony fenton passed away. I do like ian and matt though
@Brian Dunne: can’t stomach Dempsey’s fake laugh,
I hate to see anyone lose their job, in these circumstances, but in fairness Muireann was painful to listen to. I always change the channel when she is on.
@Mairtin Antaine O Conaill: painful to listen to and watch
While I can’t say I was a big fan, that’s an incredibly gracious response to losing her job. Hope she lands on her feet.
@Caoimhín Ó Treasaigh: Interesting that’s your take on it. I read it as a bit unprofessional and maybe not the best way to handle it. Looks like she’s getting a few digs in at the station and some of its people to me.
@RogerRamjet: I didn’t get that from it at all. But that’s the beauty of social media. Impossible to pick up on the tone of something. I’ll choose to think the best of her I think
Used to listen to the station very regularly, but it’s gone very backwards in recent years and don’t tune in often now. Quality of the music selection is very poor too. I hear that it’s at the behest of a selection of producers, not the presenters most of the time, and you can tell. Saying that, I’ll not miss Duffy as I couldn’t warm to her. Hope the shake up works in some ways. It has a long way to go to get back to what they used to be like. Seems to be very cutthroat in the station now
@Andrew Taz Donohoe: you couldn’t warm to Duffy ! For god sake are you blind Man ?
@Andrew Taz Donohoe: Duffy would send anyone to sleep. Great to look at but not to listen to.
@Adam Gibson: you can’t see her through a radio pal :) nah couldn’t listen to her, pretended she knew about music but was bluffing most of the time
I like Songs of Praise. Good to see it go to weekdays but it was perfect where it was.
@Ed: yeah man. I purposely go driving on a Sunday just to listen to Ed’s songs of praise, 2fm used to have something similar on a Sunday night too but they cancelled it. Never really liked 2fm after that.
Used to listen to it all the time. Still love Ian but can’t listen to the music he plays it’s dire. Anton Savage is badly missed as well.
@Grumpyoldtroll: Ian Dempsey is great ans music is arguable good but probably not up your alley and that’s fair enough but it’s not Dire to others
Mairead effing ronan.i knew she’d come back to haunt the airwaves.even twink would be better than her.
Some of the decision making in Radio at the minute is mind boggling at best! I like Mairead and I think she was brilliant as part of the team on Ray Darcy Show but as a solo presenter I’m not sure if it will work. Similar decision made on 2FM where they gave Jennifer Zamperelli (I know I’ve spelled that wrong!) the gig but as much as I like her and rate her, she awful on her own and is lost without others to bounce off like she did on Breakfast Republic. Muireann is really talented and wont be waiting too long for another prime spot albeit on another station.
Irish radio? Awful tripe. Tuned in to Today FM once while driving. Couldn’t turn it off so I instinctively stuck my head out the window praying for it to hit a traffic pole.
@Luke Lee: Fe(k. Pity you didn’t hit a pole.
The only radio station I listen to is RTE gold, great music and minimal talking.
@Francis Sally: brilliant station. Pity it’s only dab
@Francis Sally: The music is great but I heard some ‘banter’ between songs lately and had to check it was still RTE Gold, hope they aren’t going down the same road
O’Connell is rubbish but Ronan is as bad or worse A talent vaccum
@John Kelly: why is Ronan bad
Muirenn and Fergal Darcy are both dire and are losing the station listeners in droves
They both suffer from the same problem of fake trying to hard to be everybody’s buddy
Naturals like Ian just breeze through their show
The greatest phoney was Anton Savage
It’s the music that needs changing up not the presenters. Only listen to daytime radio in work but it’s the same 10 songs they play over and over. We switch to Classic Hits or 2fm after lunch but will be switching at 12 now. Amazing what songs you’d hear on 2fm that never even got 1 spin on today fm… Muireann was always so bubbly and energetic, a big loss but hopefully bigger and better things await her.
@Très Bien: Today XX is super for radio
@Très Bien: agree fully, work was bad enough but the music on repeat was torture.
You ll go a long way to beat Ruth Scott!
@Ann Kehoe: true that
Is there any new young talent coming through, we always recycle the old ones, it’s like rte giving that Kathryn Thomas every show that’s going, there must be some new up and coming presenters that could be given a chance
Cant listen to the Dermot & Dave, they laugh and joke like Beavis and Butthead.
Presentrs or comedians, not working on either level.
@Derek McDonnell: totally agree with you. Two biggest twits on the radio. Absolute cringing stuff
Will miss Ed’s song of praise on a Sunday. Always helped me with the Sunday night fear. I don’t know if that format will work every night. I also still miss nadine o’regan’s songs in the key of life. I hope they keep some inde/ rock stuff on Sunday night.
@Shay K: he’s still got Ed’s songs of praise on Sunday night too. I love it, Sunday nights wouldn’t be the same without it!
Bring back TXFM
@Ali Kavanagh: Here here! 2XM on DAB is pretty good
@Ali Kavanagh: Give 8radio a go… Brilliant Irish radio
Finally today fm got sense. She is the most irritating, childish immature presenter on the radio. 2Fm would suit her
I used to always listen when Ray Darcy was there now I listen to Radio Nova.
Today FM for me has being going downhill for years, for me neither of these 2 ladies were the worst on that station, for me the worst lady is Matt Cooper with her unadultarated pro Gov & anti rural and eldery bias and she is worse on the Tonight show.
Classic hits 4FM all the way. Less D4 accents than the rest of the stations. And much better music.
#6music all the way. Irish FM radio is painful
Fergal Darcy Is shite with a capital S.Have to say you either love them or hate them but Dermot and Dave are funny.
No idea what to think. Don’t know her or the replacement, I don’t listen to pop radio stations and in really at a loss what to think.
Bring back Hector. Today fm never the same since he left.
Now just lose Ian “laughs at his own jokes” Dempsey and you’re heading in the right direction. O Connell and Duffy were painful
@Michael Wynne: yeah they should fire the guy who’s been pulling in a big listenership since the late 80s.
What evey happened to a good ‘radio voice’ being the #1 prereq for being a radio dj ?
She was unprofessional and lacked any musical knowledge.. I lost all respect when she dissed a DJ who has a list of music that they don’t play at weddings
Sounds very cut throat in Today Fm.Its amazing that none of the other presenters mentioned anything about this.Or even to wish them good luck.
I hope I’m not being over critical here but I think daytime radio in this country is terrible. Where I work I don’t have much choice but to listen to it .It probably depends on your age group I suppose.
Lovely person but awful presenter. Always switched off.
When you think the station couldn’t get any worse ….they do this!!
I tune in the odd time when driving and she seemed to be doing a decent job, was energetic and a natural talker. Can’t say I find her replacement to be likeable, another shake up in a year or two. For those saying the music is now crap, it’s always been crap. Most of ye think Bon Jovi is cutting edge so…
God not Mairead (look at my rich husband) Farrell again.
I always thought it was a bit strange Phil Cawley never got a prime time slot himself and dec pierce are the best on the station and they are on the weekend
@james mccarthy: Cawley was on afternoons for years in the late 90s/00s on Today FM (and Radio Ireland) before that
They should think about firing those pair of twits dermot & dave. Absolute gutter radio
Jim Jim and Nobby, that awful awful married couple on Nova, anyone involved with The Strawberry Alarm Clock (and that includes you if you listen), Ray D’arcy, Marianne Finnucane, Jenny Byrne I could go on but I’m choking on my own bile. Jim Jim and Nobby though.. you just know they can’t stand each other. Their vacuous empty lives yawning into the ether like a black hole every morning as they make a pun on farts
I love almost everyone. She needs to grow thicker skin if she is to survive as a broadcaster/Dj. Mairead Ronan left Today FM thinking her star was going to rise with RTE like Ray D’Arcy. TV work galore. Back to Today FM with you. Ireland is to small RTE & TV3 Virgin Media have their presenters.
Muireann could be (perhaps inadvertently) a bit mean sometimes, and she had a bit on the show not that long ago about Mathew Perry, that was not funny and seemingly abruptly cut short. My thinking at the time was that it was very inappropriate to have a laugh at a recovering addict. Her segments and the fools tweeting in to the show (one painfully long segment about tweezers. (are they called a pair of tweezers, or just tweezers??) went on forever, and im at work and have no choice but to listen to this. That said, her replacement going about sofas all day..not much better. The whole format is terrible. But i cant stand today fm in general. Dermot and Dave, wayyyy to smug and get a real kick out of themselves. BTW. Anyone who thinks that their bit, Say Stuff that Suits the Music, is just spur of the moment improv, is an idiot.
Why does this sacked lady want to tweet that she was sacked ? Just reading the comments and a lot of people do not like her I never heard of her so I won’t comment on her ability.
@Alan Scott: why not. Makes a change from the usual.
Any chance of getting pulse fm on fm frequency.
Rubbish show. No loss to the airways
I quite liked Muireann and Louise. But they were better suited to the early mornings. Not a big fan of Fregal D’Arcy tbh but he can be entertaining at times.
Will Gerry Ryan ever be replaced?
The quality of daytime radio in ireland has drastically dropped over the last number of years. The only shows that I find anyway decent seem to be on Newstalk… Moncrieff, Off the Ball etc. I’ve moved mostly to podcasts and audiobooks. Long gone are the days of Gerry Ryan and Dave Fanning! 2 FM not what it used to be.
Hope they Don’t bring back Fag Ash Lil McSweeney…
Unlikely to be perceived as toxic1.8/10
Ronan is a she not a he as above !
I miss,, sing something simple,, on the Beeb,, ah well, I’m of to Boora Bog for a walk now,, lovely lovely lovely
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