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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Sandra Mallon

Dave Fanning announces sudden departure from RTE 2FM - after 44 years

Popular radio star Dave Fanning is set to leave 2FM and move to RTE Gold, it has been announced.

He has presented the Dave Fanning Show at the station since May 1979.

In an Instagram post, Fanning said: "I've been thinkin' 'bout this for the past few years and have decided to step back from my weekend show on 2FM to spread the word of Fanning on the digital empire."

The presenter said he will be recording a podcast and presenting a show on RTÉ Gold as well as other projects including his Fanning at Whelan's TV show and a U2 special on St Patrick's Day.

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He added that it would be a "busy year ahead".

The Head of RTÉ 2FM, Dan Healy, said: "Dave Fanning is and will always be a cultural leader in Ireland. Dave's judgement to move his content to the world of digital audio is smart and also no surprise.

"This is an exciting time for Dave and for RTÉ and his unique voice and personality will continue to engage audiences on new platforms.

"No statement from me would accurately describe the role Dave has had in curating and being at the leading edge of culture in Ireland, never mind what he achieved for 2FM.

"I am thrilled that Dave will continue to be an important part of RTÉ."

It comes after Ronan Collins moved from Rte Radio 1 to Rte Gold this month.

Announcing his move at the time, Ronan said: “I don’t think the Radio 1 listenership are happy with the change, there’s a lot of people who have been in touch in the last few weeks since I made the announcement and I’m feeling so many things,” he confessed.

“I’m flattered by the attention, embarrassed by the attention and I’m a little upset that so many people are unhappy about the fact that I’m going.”

“It was my call to go, I’m 70, I’ve been doing this for 43 and a half years coming in here five days a week and loving every single minute of it right up to driving in this morning.

“I always had a fear that I’m in danger of wearing myself out here completely and I had a fear that other circumstances might make me have to stop doing it.

“I felt it was better that I get out ahead of these changes which were inevitable, but I had to look at my life and figure out what do I want out of the rest of my life and time is the one thing that I would like, time to do other things,” he said at the time.

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