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Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Culture That Made Me: Paula MacSweeney of Today FM picks her touchstones
Born in 1985, Paula MacSweeney grew up in Piltown, Co Kilkenny. In 2012, she started on air with Today FM, initially doing daily showbiz reports on the Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show and later presenting her own programmes, including the early breakfast show. In 2022, she began hosting the radio station's evening show, 7pm-10pm, Monday to Thursday. She also presents a Sunday night rock music show on Today FM. See: A Woman's Heart I remember my mam bought A Woman's Heart. Every household had a copy of it in 1992. As a family, we used to hop in the car – eight of us going on holiday with my granddad, so nine of us in a car; you wouldn't be allowed to do it now – and we used to drive to France, children literally hanging out the windows. We had that album on tape. I remember listening to it constantly. I knew every word from those holidays. Even though it wasn't meant for a six-year-old girl, it had a real impact on me. I loved it. I rediscovered it on Spotify a couple of years ago, and it's just beautiful. Take That I was a huge Take That fan. My first ever album was Take That & Party. Santy brought it for me – that's how young I was. I was about seven. I absolutely loved it, and I loved Take That throughout the Nineties. There was a Take That vs. Boyzone rivalry; I was always Take That. I loved the five-piece. Now that Robbie has left, and I think they're down to about three, I've kinda lost interest a little bit! Ricky Gervais Ricky Gervais. I'm a huge Ricky Gervais fan. I know he's not for everyone. Some people find him too much. People love to give out about him online. With his observations, sometimes I even find myself going, 'He's gone too far, he's gone too far,' but I still love it because dark humour is something I find very funny. Comedy's gone a bit dull, so I love when Ricky Gervais goes for it. I love the way he uses satire to critique societal norms, politics, celebrity culture. Nobody is safe. He's witty. He's clever. I love him. Britney Spears As I grew a bit older, into my teenage years, I loved Britney Spears. She came out when I was about 13 so throughout my whole teenage years – like a lot of girls who were into pop at that age – I was obsessed with Britney. Because we didn't have social media at the time – and she was being absolutely harassed by paparazzi – I was one of those buying the magazines to see what she was up to. I owned every album. I knew every word. I love her. Lily Allen I'm an enormous Lily Allen fan. I've loved her since 2004-2005 – when she was young and very new. She hasn't released music since 2018. It's been quite a while, and she only has four albums. I went to see her when she was on at Electric Picnic in 2014. I'll never forget it. She was on early in the day. It was Sunday, maybe about 6pm, so it was bright. I was waiting for her set all year. I was so excited to go and see her. She was promoting her album, Sheezus, which probably is her worst album. I'll never forget standing there with a cup of warm beer, in a field, it had been raining, and I felt the happiest I'd ever been. I'd finally got to see her live on stage, and it was magnificent. Gavin & Stacey Gavin & Stacey. I'm very passionate about Gavin & Stacey. The word play in it is clever. James Corden and Ruth Jones are phenomenal writers. The characters are so clever, so well-developed. I love the character arc as well from when they started 20 years ago to that amazing Christmas special finish. Their finale made my Christmas. Every line was perfect. It's like a warm hug on the TV. It's my go-to whenever I need a little pick-me-up. It's gorgeous TV. The Sopranos My favourite TV box set of all time is The Sopranos. It's perfect – the characters, the storylines are amazing. There are unexpected twists. Nobody was safe in that show. It explores the American dream, and what it takes to obtain that. There's nuanced exploration of stuff like identity, loyalty, the human condition. Tony Soprano is so multidimensional. He's flawed. He's brilliant. He's funny. I've probably watched it from start to finish at least 10 times in my life. Every time I watch it, I find something new that I hadn't seen or heard before. It's so entertaining. The Pillars of the Earth The best book I've read is Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth. He's an extraordinary writer. It's set in the twelfth century, in England during a time of political turmoil, religious strife, and the construction of a magnificent cathedral. He travelled around Europe years before writing his book to understand architecture and how these cathedrals were built. That side of the book is very detailed. Even though I didn't find that bit particularly interesting, it's so powerful. The drama is gripping. It has complex characters. It's a rich tapestry of human experience, with insight into human ambition, and the power of the church. It's brilliant historical fiction. The book had a profound effect on me. I remember finishing it thinking I want to restart it. Ian Dempsey Ian Dempsey. I loved Ian Dempsey on RTÉ 2fm. I remember, in my teens, the moment when Today FM announced, 'Look who we've poached for breakfast' and he moved to Today FM. It was such a big deal. It was huge news. Everybody was talking about it. I was a huge fan. All I ever wanted to do was work with Ian Dempsey. It was a life goal. It's funny because we've worked together now for, like, 13-14 years. He's the greatest of the greatest, and he's only getting better. There's no slowing down. Then She Was Gone I read seven Lisa Jewell books in a month about six months ago because of this book of hers, Then She Was Gone. Some of her books are better than others. Then She Was Gone is full of suspense and mystery. I couldn't put it down. It is sad, I have to say. It's a hard read at some points – because some of the best things are – but it's brilliant. The book has it all. It has amazing twists, a real page turner. The Baby Tribe I have three children aged six, four, and two. I've come out of my era of listening constantly to parenting podcasts, but The Baby Tribe is a podcast I listened to religiously for about two years. It's hosted by Professor Afif El-Khuffash, a neonatologist in the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, and his wife, Dr Anne Doherty, who is an anaesthesiologist. It's evidence-based fun, and ways to learn about stuff. There's no opinion. It's all 'according to research', which is so reassuring. They have some good guests on it as well. It's very good.
The Journal
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Journal
Irish radio heavy hitters lose listeners as Callan and Savage enjoy big audience gains
CLAIRE BYRNE, JOE Duffy and Ray D'arcy have all lost thousands of listeners in recent months, according to the latest JNLR figures – though it's not all bad news for the hosts at RTE Radio 1. According to the JNLR survey, which covered the 12 months up to the end of March 2025, roughly 3.83 million adults are listening to Irish radio every day. Of these, over 2 million are tuning in to RTÉ. The national broadcaster's shows dominate the top 20 programmes list, taking a total of 17 spots. Radio 1 is the most popular station in the State, reaching 1.3 million listeners every week. Its market share of 35–54 year-olds has grown, outperforming all other stations in that demographic. RTÉ 2FM retains its position as the most-listened-to by 15-34 year-olds, now reaching 714,000 listeners every week. Despite the gains made by the station, listenership figures on a number of their top shows are down – including for Joe Duffy's Liveline, who is down 7,000 listeners since December 2024. Duffy, who recently announced his upcoming departure from the afternoon radio slot, currently has an audience of 307,000. Today with Claire Byrne also saw a drop in recent months – Byrne now has 348,000 listeners, down by a thousand since the last JNLR survey. Advertisement Louise Duffy's audience dropped by 5,000 to 223,000 listeners, and Ray D'arcy dropped 2,000 to 192,000 listeners. Radio 1′s flagship news shows saw mixed results – Morning Ireland increased its listenership by 5,000 to reach an audience of 471,000, while News at One and Drivetime lost a significant number of listeners – 10,000 and 5,000 respectively. Some Radio 1 hosts saw gains however, with Oliver Callan seeing the largest increase. The host now has an audience of 355,000, up 6,000 in recent months. Brendan O'Connor also recorded an increase of 5,000 listeners to reach an audience of 363,000. Elsewhere in Irish radio, Bauer Media (owners of Today FM, Newstalk, Spin1038 and a number of other stations) also recorded mixed results. The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show on Today FM recorded a gain of 2,000 listeners to reach a morning audience of 204,000. Newstalk's Pat Kenny Show lost a significant 13,000 listeners however, now hosting an audience of 224,000. The Last Word with Matt Cooper now holds an audience of 163,000 (down by 4,000 listeners), while Ray Foley hosts 153,000 listeners (down 11,000). On Newstalk, the Anton Savage Show now has 133,000 listeners on Saturday (up 10,000) and Sunday (up 5,000). Off the Ball on Saturday recorded 157,000 listeners (up an impressive 21,000 listeners) and on Sunday, 146,000 listeners (up 19,000). Kieran Cuddihy on The Hard Shoulder now has an audience of 153,000, up 3,000 listeners, while Andrea Gilligan's Lunchtime Live audience is down 5,000 to 134,000. Moncrieff is down 4,000 to 108,000 listeners. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
