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THE 2 JOHNNIES, who announced this week that they are soon leaving their RTÉ 2fm radio show Drive It, have said they are giving up the slot because “something has to go”.
The podcasters are attributing their departure to their busy schedules and have waved off suggestions it is related to new regulations at the national broadcaster.
Johnny McMahon and Johnny O’Brien, better known as Johnny Smacks and Johnny B, will present their last episode of the show next Friday.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio One this morning, the pair said they had looked at their schedule of podcasts, live shows and other commitments and decided that “if we want to ever have our lives back, unfortunately radio was going to have to go”.
The announcement that the 2 Johnnies were leaving the 2fm formed part of a string of high-profile departures from the station. Doireann Garrihy announced earlier this month that she was leaving her breakfast show after five years at 2fm, while Jennifer Zamparelli is leaving after more than a decade.
2fm chief executive Dan Healy has faced questions about whether the departures are linked to new rules at RTÉ aimed at identifying conflicts of interest, including work done by presenters by other brands or organisations and any payment received for external activities.
The 2 Johnnies insisted today that their decision to leave was not linked to the new system.
“It’s always been the case that when you sign an RTÉ contract that you have to get permission for outside work. That’s always happened anyway and we’ve still done it and you can on our Instagram and listen to our podcast where you’ll hear the deals that we’ve done, so it’s no secret for us,” they said.
The new register of interests “wasn’t something that came into our minds when we made this decision to change”.
“We came in to do a job, which was to bring up the ratings. We’ve done that – what more can we do?”
They added that their previous contract had ended in February.
The presenters said the door is open for them to go back in the future and that they are leaving the station on good terms, but are sad for themselves, the team behind the scenes, and for the listeners that their time at the station is ending.
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The Mercy has been overwhelmed for a very long time now, this was inevitable. There have been documented accounts of fights at the front door and violence inside the A&E. Overcrowding in the A&E and lack of beds is only going to escalate tensions and potential conflict. A review now is insulting a very much too little too late. I feel sorry for the staff having to deal with this, it’s very much not an isolated incident. Management, the HSE and the minister need a proper response to this, not a short term fix. RIP to Mr Healy and sympathies to his family, horrendous news.
Typiclal Union attempting to score points. Show some respect ffs
@SquideyeMagpie: The INMO has highlighted this issue well before this incident. There has been 33000 assaults on nurses in the last 7 years.
@Maria: Sick society.
It saddens me that this type of violence has crossed over into our Hospitals and the safety of those nurses and doctors is further put at risk. We all know this has been a long time coming, from drunks overcrowding A&E’s to drug addicts to mental health issues. But yet the priority by the I.N.M.O. and Phil Ní Sheaghdha is solely pay ( I totally get and support the pay issue), whereas the priority should surely be about safe working conditions and safety for patients. Are issues like safety, recruitment, i.e. more staff, agencies and the training and keeping of more nurses. Are safety conditions not more worthy of strike action than pay. It is not that the H.S.E. and I.N.M.O. etc don’t know what the problems are, it is that they don’t want to be bothered by trying to find a solution. E.G. Last week the HSE paid out E31m in compensation in a birth case, which has been an ongoing issue for years but it keeps on happening, that money and the excessive amounts paid to recruitment agencies could be pumped back into Health. Two weeks ago
Perhaps Minister Neale Richmond could do what Damien English failed to do and challenge the injunction Top Security have opposing the ERO for security workers who are stuck on €11.65/h since 2019
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