RTE Radio One boss Peter Woods has recalled the moment he was told Pat Kenny sensationally quit the station.
Pat announced his departure from the national broadcaster in 2013 after a 41-year career as their highest paid TV and radio star.
The move to Newstalk shocked the industry – including Mr Woods who was on holiday at the time.
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He said: “We weren’t prepared for that. I remember the papers at that time I was in Dingle on a bicycle crossing Conor’s pass. I got a phone call about this.”
Pat has previously linked his surprise move to the decision to “subsume” his current affairs show Frontline into Prime Time.
He said Sean O’Rourke stepped in to fill the slot – despite the backlash from the media saying Kenny’s departure would be the end of Radio 1.
“We took Sean O’Rourke and we adjusted, and I remember there were all but supplements in some of the papers saying this was the end of Radio 1 and this was going to devastate radio.
“I worked with Pat, and he is a superb broadcaster and everything else but he’s 9-12 every day and we’re 10-12 every day and there aren’t comparisons between the audience,” he added.
Pat often spoke openly about why he quit the station to go to Newstalk.
“I know it was the wrong decision because they reversed it when I left and it became Claire Byrne Tonight. They took it back off Prime Time as soon as they decently could.
“I couldn’t negotiate a separate contract for radio, and then when I was approached by Newstalk I just thought, ‘What the hell, I’ve nothing to prove anymore in RTE’.”
He went on to voice what he sees as problems with how RTE finds new broadcasting stars across radio and television.
“The problem with broadcasting is finding the talent. In all my time in RTE I was never interviewed for any job — I was auditioned.
“And I think it’s a problem that’s not realised by broadcasters, particularly by RTE, who now interview people for TV. Really, if you’re looking for performance, you should be auditioning people.
“Presenters need the knowledge, but they also need the X-factor. Unless they can sell it, unless they can be likable on TV, it won’t work.
“And the only way to find out that is by auditioning them. Don’t forget, in the early days of television, all the guys came from a showbiz background — even RTE’s original newsreader, Charles Mitchel, was an actor.”
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