THE STRAWBERRY ALARM Clock on FM104 has been Dubliners’ favourite breakfast show for almost 30 years – until now.

Soft rock station Radio Nova has claimed the coveted number one position in Dublin in the latest JNLR figures covering 2025 for Morning Glory with comedian PJ Gallagher and longstanding presenter Jim McCabe. The show has been heavily advertised in the capital, including on buses.

The JNLR survey is conducted among an annual sample of around 16,800 people aged 15 and over. It uses the “one-day-aided” recall methodology, whereby the respondent recalls all their listening activity for the day prior. 

‘We want to celebrate’

Speaking to The Journal, Gallagher remarked that “even though it’s what you aim for and what you talk about all the time, it’s really hard to believe that you will get there”.

“We talked about it a lot,” he added, “but you talk about trying to win the lottery sometimes, but you’re not sure if it will ever happen.

“And now that it has, we definitely really want to celebrate it… I do anyway!”

Jim McCabe meanwhile quipped that PJ has already started the celebration.

“There’s no real point in doing it unless you’re going to aim to be the best you can be in the market,” McCabe told The Journal.

“It’s fair to say, we always knew we had a good show, but it almost feels like sometimes to get to number one, it’s a little bit out of your hands and out of your control.

“We put our best into the show every day and put our best foot forward, whether you are number one or not.

“There is a little bit of that sort of mystical thing about the number one spot and so it’s fantastic then when enough people come and listen to the show that you hit the magic number.”

PJ Gallagher and Jim McCabe celebrate as Morning Glory becomes Dublin’s No.1 breakfast show. Gareth Chaney Gareth Chaney

Radio Nova described today’s figures as a “milestone” and added that Morning Glory is now almost 10% ahead of its nearest rival.

Radio Nova added that it “marks the end of an almost 30-year run for FM104” and represents a “significant shift in the capital’s radio listening landscape”.

The latest JNLR figures also show that Radio Nova is the leading music radio station in the Dublin market.

Elsewhere, RTÉ holds 18 of the top 20 most-listened to programmes and the entire top 10 list. There have been several changes to Radio 1′s schedule recently, so these JNLR figures will be looked at closely.

When compared to the most recent figures, covering the 12 months to September 2025, RTÉ’s Morning Ireland has lost 4,000 listeners, though it remains Ireland’s most listened to programme with an audience of 467,000.

Oliver Callan meanwhile has a new 11am-1pm slot and has an audience of 308,000 with his new show.

David McCullagh also heads a new timeslot, with his Today programme taking place between 9-11am – Today With David McCullagh has an audience of 440,000.

Liveline under Kieran Cuddihy, meanwhile, has added a modest 1,000 listeners to reach 280,000.

Kieran Cuddihy RTÉ RTÉ

And while Brendan O’Connor has added 10,000 listeners to his Saturday show to hit 429,000, his Sunday show sees a decline of 9,000 to 418,000.

Director of audio at RTÉ, Patricia Monahan, who last year left Newstalk to join the national broadcaster, remarked that the “new Radio 1 schedule is all about delivering for the audience, and this book shows that RTÉ Radio 1 is delivering”.

Over on RTÉ 2FM, the breakfast show has lost 10,000 listeners to 121,000, while its drive time programme has seen a modest increase in Doireann Garrihy’s maternity leave absence, up 2,000 to hit an audience of 126,000.

RTÉ 2FM head Dan Healy remarked that the “small dip in our adult market share… is not surprising when something new is introduced to a schedule”, such as the new breakfast and evening drive show introduced in February of last year.

Over on Newstalk, Pat Kenny signed off from his weekday show with an added audience of 10,000, to hit 206,000. Last week, Claire Byrne took over this slot.

Claire Byrne is back on Newstalk after 15 years at RTÉ.

Anton Savage meanwhile left his Saturday show on Newstalk with a record audience of 164,000, up 18,000.

Elsewhere, Shane Coleman and Ciara Kelly signed off from Newstalk Breakfast with 3,000 listeners fewer, to 158,000, while the Hard Shoulder, which the duo now present, lost 2,000 to an audience of 149,000.

Off The Ball’s Saturday offering, meanwhile, reached a record high of 161,000, up 11,000, and its Sunday show is also up 2,000 to 157,000.

Managing editor of Newstalk, Eric Moylan, remarked that the “figures set us up well as we embark on a new era for the station”.

Over on Today FM, Matt Cooper’s The Last Word remains the same with an audience of 184,000, while Dave Moore’s show sees a slight dip of 1,000, to 203,000.

Matt Cooper Today FM Today FM

The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show has added 6,000 listeners, to an audience of 224,000.