Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
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 covered 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.
Speaking to The Journal, Gallagher remarked that “even though it’s what you aim for and what you talk about all 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 of 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.”
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 this 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 also seems to be suffering somewhat in his new 11am-1pm slot.
Callan previously had an audience of 347,000 in his old 9-10am slot, but this has dropped to 308,000 with his new show.
However, David McCullagh benefits from a new 9-11am slot with the Today programme.
Claire Byrne signed off as host in a 10am-12pm slot with an audience of 354,000.
But in a new 9-11am slot, Today With David McCullough has an audience of 440,000.
Liveline under Kieran Cuddihy meanwhile has added a modest 1,000 listeners to reach 280,000.
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.
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 presents, 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.
The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show meanwhile has added 6,000 listeners, to an audience of 224,000.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say