Several well-known presenters have lost out in the radical changes at RTÉ Radio, writes Emmet Oliver.
There is an old management dictum that the best time for a manager to introduce radical change is during the first few months of taking up a new role.
Ana Leddy, the new head of RTÉ Radio 1, clearly believes in this adage. Ms Leddy, who has spent 18 years with the BBC, only started her new job in March and already she has performed radical surgery on an RTÉ schedule often criticised for lacking imagination and freshness.
She previously ran BBC Radio Foyle in Northern Ireland and yesterday's reshuffle of key broadcasters resembles the kind of convulsive change regularly implemented at the BBC.
Any change at RTÉ - funded partly by the public through a licence fee - tends to elicit strong reactions from the public. The changes being introduced by Ms Leddy will be no different. The arts community is unlikely to welcome the decision to ditch Rattlebag, hosted by Myles Dungan, while many listeners were fond of the eclectic music offered on John Kelly's Mystery Train.
But while disappointment over these decisions will be rife, Ms Leddy has clearly decided that the overall health and future positioning of RTÉ 1 and 2FM should be her chief pre-occupation.
The decision earlier this week by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) to award NewsTalk 106 a "quasi" national licence effectively creates three major national services aimed at what might be loosely called "middle Ireland".
The three - RTÉ 1, Today FM and NewsTalk - will be furiously competing from September. It is clear that some of the changes announced yesterday take place - at least partially - against that backdrop.
While some of the presenters displaced from high-profile slots - such as Myles Dungan and John Creedon - will be disappointed at the decisions, RTÉ is clearly now accepting that radio is increasingly personality-driven.
Take evening radio at present. George Hook (NewsTalk) and Matt Cooper (Today FM) had reasonable recognition before they took to the airwaves. This is a different approach from the one often practised at RTÉ Radio, where broadcasters hone their talents over many years in the radio centre.
RTÉ is clearly hoping that a new group of radio personalities will emerge from the new line-up.
Derek Mooney, although a radio veteran, has never occupied such a central position before. He is to front a new programme, Afternoon Ireland, between 3pm and 5pm, while Des Cahill, another experienced broadcaster, will be given a chance to develop his own space in the schedule between 6.30pm and 7pm.
Intriguingly, Dave Fanning, for so long associated with the youth-orientated 2FM, is moving into a new slot at 7pm on RTÉ 1.
Ms Leddy, for all her radicalism, will face criticism from some quarters that the changes represent nothing more than a mild shuffling of the RTÉ pack.
For example, there is not a single change to the morning line-up at RTÉ 1, and Gerry Ryan is staying with 2FM.
There was also some surprise that the RTÉ announcement failed to say who the new host of the evening programme (Drivetime) will be. Most RTÉ sources believe Evelyn Ní Rourke will be given the position, although others are backing Philip Boucher Hayes.