Considering it’s a day of rest, mid-morning Sunday is a remarkably busy time on Irish radio. While the rest of the country is emerging from slumber or basking in post-worship glow, studios are a-thrum with panels seeking to enliven audiences with analysis, argument and gossip about the day’s news.
At least, that’s the theory. Just as loafing on the sofa with the Sunday papers is an increasingly rare ritual in the digital era, so a collection of diverse guests reading through them on-air is a throwback to a different age. Nowadays, the idea of a programme called Sunday Supplement, as Sam Smyth’s defunct Today FM panel show was titled, sounds as anachronistic as one named “Sabbath telegram”.
Yet it remains a coveted slot, with Marian Finucane (RTÉ Radio 1, weekends) still attracting a large, if slipping, audience. That her programme doesn't do as well on Sundays as Saturdays may be partly down to the competition on the day, in the form of same-same-but-different efforts from Newstalk's Gavan Reilly and Today FM's Mario Rosenstock. But despite sharing similar formats, each tries to forge its own identity, with varying success.
As for Sundays, Finucane's show remains an institution, in one sense at least: it's in need of reform
For nearly two decades, Finucane’s programme has reigned supreme, though it’s tempting to think her popularity these days is much like that of the Queen in Britain, resting on tradition and respect for past achievements rather than any great relevance to everyday life. Certainly, the host prefaces many of her questions by regally professing her lack of knowledge about the subject to hand. Phrases such as “not my area of expertise” pepper her discussions on online harassment and the fate of Irish Islamic State supporter Lisa Smith. The intention may be self-deprecating, but it can come across as a lofty disdain for the small stuff.
Finucane also adopts an air of bemused wonderment at the ordinary and obvious when quizzing her guests. Talking to Sinead O’Carroll, one of six female journalists harassed online by convicted troll Brendan Doolin, Finucane sounds puzzled as she asks why they were targeted. “There didn’t seem to be a huge amount connecting us, bar that we were women,” comes O’Carroll’s grimly inevitable answer.
Intentional or not, the host’s tone makes her appear out of touch.
Her panel on Sunday doesn’t help matters. Venerable though the format is, dating back to her predecessor Andy O’Mahony, it’s also unwieldy, the pool of five guests resulting in disjointed conversation. Potentially interesting avenues of discussion, such as security analyst Declan Power’s point about reaching out to alienated young men, are too often curtailed as Finucane moves on to the next panellist. As the panel segment ends, the host blithely remarks that she never got round to “the most extraordinary story of the day”, Seán Quinn’s complaint to the Vatican about his local parish priest’s sermons. It rather begs the question why she didn’t raise it earlier.
Finucane is better in one-to-one encounters, whether it is British historian Anthony Seldon’s cool dissection of Theresa May’s premiership or Horslips musician Jim Lockhart’s stimulating talk on the revival in cassette tapes. It’s perhaps no coincidence that there are more such interviews on the higher-rated Saturday programme.
As for Sundays, Finucane’s show remains an institution, in one sense at least: it’s in need of reform.
Given this, On The Record With Gavin Reilly (Newstalk, Sunday) would seem nicely placed to swoop in for listeners. As Virgin Media TV's political correspondent, Reilly is well-informed, handling his nicely-proportioned panel of three guests from the worlds of politics, media and academia with unobtrusive confidence and good humour. Unlike Finucane, he heads straight for the Quinn story, eliciting blunt assessments from former Fine Gael leader Alan Dukes, who is even more forthright later about dog-whistling independent TD Noel Grealish: "I think he's an odious person."
Generally, however, the discussion deals in facts rather than broad strokes of opinion, with guests matching the host’s command of detail. This means that the conversation occasionally veers into wonkish territory, for instance when discussing the Central Bank. Reilly’s own news background is also evident during his jousting, but in-depth, interview with Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty.
Overall, On The Record is more current affairs programme than general interest magazine. But as his "hidden histories" slot with Donal Fallon attests, Reilly is a curious and engaged host who can bring specialist items to life. As such, he's a worthy pretender to the Sunday chat show throne, if not yet the heir apparent.
Mario Rosenstock, on the other hand, sounds happy to be the jester. On Mario's Sunday Roast (Today FM), the satirist and impressionist tries to foster an irreverent atmosphere by inviting his panellists, columnist Larissa Nolan and personal trainer Dominic Munnelly, to nominate their pet peeves. It seems a more novel format than that of his rivals, but such iconoclasm on demand is, if anything, more formulaic.
Rosenstock isn't grumpy enough to be a shock jock. He sounds happier playing genial host to Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott's salty rock'n'roll tales
Nolan makes the predictably provocative claim that there’s no such thing as a gender pay gap, raising some interesting points on the way. But Munnelly’s beef against vegan documentary Game Changers lacks, well, bite. Rosenstock, meanwhile, lauds Fianna Fáil for standing by Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee in the controversy over her past ill-judged Twitter posts. “Bravo,” the host says. “If we were dredged up on all the dumb things we said, none of us could ever go forward.” When Munnelly gingerly demurs – “Didn’t she have something to say about Travellers?” – Rosenstock backtracks a bit. Not everything is game for a laugh.
In truth, Rosenstock isn’t grumpy enough to be a shock jock. He sounds happier playing genial host to Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott’s salty rock’n’roll tales. He’s even better riffing on a theme, as when he uncannily mimicked the evolution of Gay Byrne’s delivery two weeks ago. But while Rosenstock’s show provides light relief, it doesn’t make a lasting impression.
Radio Moment of the Week: Hard man going soft?
As host of the Hard Shoulder (Newstalk, weekdays), Ivan Yates makes a point of never giving guests an easy ride, particularly if there's any hint of squishy liberalism. So it's strange to hear his interview with former Tory minister Ken Clarke. It's an absorbing conversation, but even more striking is Yates's treatment of his guest, which is unusually obsequious. "We have a special treat for you," says Yates, sounding like a fanboy as he expresses his "great pleasure" at Clarke's presence. Less hard shoulder than softball.
