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IT HAS BEEN more than two years since Pat Kenny made the shock decision to leave the RTÉ after almost four decades at the station.
He has since made Newstalk his home, presenting a two-hour-long news and current affairs show that rivals his old slot on RTÉ Radio 1, placing him head-to-head with Sean O’Rourke.
The move was an expensive one for the Commericorp station, who bet big on Kenny’s reputation to pull in more listeners. His pay package was previously reported to be in the region of €2 million, spread out over five years.
The veteran broadcaster has a lot more freedom now. Previously he would have been tied to RTÉ television and radio, but is free to pick and choose projects elsewhere as he pleases.
Kenny has since returned to our screens, appearing on UTV Ireland presenting the station’s launch programme and also chat show In The Round, in which he believes he produced “five pretty good” episodes before it was axed.
He has also appeared in front of the camera for a series of video reports with Newstalk.
However, he isn’t ruling out a return to Montrose if a project that interests him comes up in future, “something that would suit me in terms of what I do.”
I mean, I’m not going to be presenting the Rose of Tralee.
Kenny said he didn’t burn any bridges when he left RTÉ.
“I’m not turning my back on television but as projects come along, like In the Round, I will do them and select them as they suit me,” he told TheJournal.ie, “There’s a lot going on at the moment [in Irish television].”
Kenny said he would not be interested in a more permanent position at UTVI:
No, I’m happy at this time to keep myself pretty flexible and fluid.
However, he has some issues to address at Newstalk first. According to the most recent JNLR figures, released in October, The Pat Kenny Show was languishing at 134,000 listeners, a drop compared to the same time a year previous.
Upstairs from Newstalk in Today FM, The Anton Savage Show is racing ahead on 191,000, having managed to retain Ray D’Arcy’s listenership, while over at Radio 1 Sean O’Rourke enjoys a massive 328,000 listeners.
“I built a great audience for Sean, and he’s done very well to hang on to a lot of it,” Kenny said.
He described his own listenership as a “slow grow”, but the biggest problem he faces is inertia as kitchen radios across the country are still tuned to one station, with people unwilling to make the change. He says this isn’t an issue for drivetime, when most people are listening in their cars.
Regardless, his reputation in the Irish media landscape remains, but it could have been very different for Pat.
Cast your mind back to 1988. A young Pat Kenny presented the Eurovision Song Contest alongside Michelle Rocca. He was exposed to a massive audience and has revealed he was then inundated with offers from stations in the United Kingdom to head across the water.
He said he has a ‘niggling regret’ about the decision to turn them all down.
That’s always one of those crossroads movements where you say, if you had said yes to those, everything else would have been different.
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Is it just me who can’t warm to Pat Kenny and his giant ego? He comes across as someone who is arrogant and full off themselves
According to Pat Kenny himself he is incredibly intelligent and incisive as well as a great entertainer. Pat Kenny greatly admires his on talents. He suffers from a terrible worry that not enough people have enough access to his genius.
Pat kenny is good..his problem is Sean o Rourke is just as good.
Fiona…the Late Late Show was on life support while he ran the show….he’s just not cut for light entertainment….or any kind of entertainment for that matter.
That’s like walking into a morgue looking at the bodies on the slab and asking which one is the livliest
Jenni. Sean O’ Rourke is better by a mile.
Pat Kenny is grand doing serious interview and political sort of stuff. When it comes to light entertainment he’s so retentive that not even a team of the world’s best proctologists could help him out.
Remember his cringe inducing interview where he insulted Dawn French in front of her husband Lennie Henry.
We heard enough about Slab today!
When Pat said to Gay Byrne “Bikers like you and me Gay” When Pat rode a C2 scooter 125cc and Gay rode a Harley Davidson Sportster badly, that said it all for me !
Humility is lacking .
Why not just ask what brand of cranberry says will your neighbour buy this Christmas? It would warrant justcas much care and consideration.
I think Pat went to the school of arrogant and full of themselves with Gaybo the headmaster!
he helped SF/IRA attack a presidential candidate ffs
Whats in it for me ?
Pat Kenny is not working in RTE? When did this happen? Why did the Journal not cover the story? I feel so left out of really important news!
The only thing running through kenny head is “show me the money!!!!!”
Alan. Gave me a good giggle
Delighted for ya shawn :)
Please God no…
UTV-flop
Newstalk-flop
Fallback to RTE and a nice fat paycheck from the taxpayer.
Why don’t RTE hire 4 other presenters that would probably be just as good and have them on a range of programmes and give the viewer some variety rather than the same overpaid “stars” who do virtually all of the big programmes? Ray D’Arcy is actually worse than Brendan O’Connor and I never thought that was going to be possible. There is something wrong with a TV and Radio station when the main stars have been holding the prime time spots for longer than most people who are alive in their 40′s.
It’s no surprise that the Late Late and Buzzkill are a disaster…
Wouldn’t you think that somebody could legitimately spend the week preparing for them?
But no, we must have celebrity cross promotion..
Of all the interesting and Seasonal articles to choose from on a Sunday before Christmas, you chose the one about Pat Kenny possibly returning to Rte? Disappointing journalism Nicky!
who gives a shite?
Who killed Kenny, B**tards!
I’m not paying for that!
If the price.is right… he’ll do anything for a big fat check…
Cheque, for Jesus sake. Can anyone spell properly on this fcuking site?
That especially for monty…see you can’t spell also…..
That especially for…? You’re hurting my brain.
Hope to fk not. We already have Pat in drag in the Miriam show. Don’t make him take the dress off again. RTE and Pat Kenny, 2 planks that we unfortunately have to pay for through our licence.
” I want loadsa money”
Has not been missed on RTE, nobody turned the dial for him. Perhaps the penny is finally starting to drop that he isn’t particularly liked?
Of course he will, he’s a hoor.
It’s impossible to burn bridges in RTE. They all come back in the end.
RTE the cosy club. Once yer in yer in ain’t that right George Lee. The Order of the Knights of RTE
Lost all credibility when he had Bertie ahern on he’s show a few times, and hadn’t the balls to ask him about bankrupting the country!
As soon as the broadcasting charge is introduced and everyone in the country is forced to hand over 160 quid a year to Montrose, RTE will be only too happy to throw our hard earned money at these talantless so-called celebrities like Kenny
Bring back Tom Dunne to that slot I say. PK is very wooden
The wodden robot.
Tom Dunne was great, it took a while but he got there. His even show is excellent.
He is so far up his own backside. unbelievable.
Denise..Anton is the man..and he plays good music
Never listened to him on RTE
Never listened to him on NewsTalk
Won’t listen to him on RTE again
Wait … Did Pat Kenny move to Newstalk?!
Ends Kenny as Taoiseach again, Pat Kenny as Government spokesman on RTE, homelessness gets worse, delays in the health system get worse, the poor get poorer and Ireland continues to do the same things over and over again expecting different results.
Ever notice when there’s a scientist or some such other obscure specialist subject individual on the show Pat turns the interview into a platform for his knowledge on the subject and hen there’s an stiff upper lip British accent e.g. Pat ends up sounding like he’s from the House of Lords.
I notice this anyway don’t know about the rest of ye.
Indeed Tommy
Indeed Tommy…he has that art of reading cue cards down to a tee.
I hear yea there Tommy.
Pat Kenny is dead to me.
Pat the plank. No personality,no talent. Dry as a nun.
Who cares? ….overindulged prat
Who gives a f..k pat kenny made his money off rte and the hard pressed tv licence payers for rubbish programme and repeats over the years utv Ireland just copped on that his show in the round just didn’t cut it with its viewers having said that his better off where he is on news talk which I think he dose a good job and we tv licence payers are not paying him stick with d radio pat
There’s a lot in that Liam.
The guys in UTV, who hired Kenny and thought he’d benefit the station? Should be fired, or just shot!
Stephen…which just goes to show Kenny is no crowd puller and without the licence fee even RTE would go broke like UTVI having to pay lavish wages for what turned out to be a ‘clanger’.
If RTE ran like a pure private station you’d see the dead wood being cut so fast there’d be saw dust everywhere….but as they milk at the teat of the taxpayer, there’s no need to think very hard about choices.
He’s past his sell by date. He thinks he’s Gay Byrne, another ‘hanger on’
In leaving Montrose Pat was introduced to the 19th,20th and 21st centuries so why go back to the dark ages.
Who cares!!!
ive noticed every presenter on newstalk are exact clones ..from chris in the morning all through the day they all sing the same exact song…its weird..
Any chance he’d just Fook off, leave us alone and do humanity a service. No wonder, half the country is depressed and I blame RTE for all these shysters they produce!
Oh, Jesus Christ, give me patience.
I think he’s very good on the he radio but he doesn’t come across well on tv
RTE – The great retirement home for the RTE broadcasters. All coming back to suck out of the National broadcaster sow. Gaybo, Murphy, Bowman, Kenny, Gogan, Balfe, Whelan, and 100′s of others. This is not taking from their talent, but really they should move on to the green pastures of retirement or take up some voluntary work somewhere instead of trying to enhance their bank balance.
Leave room for some new exciting talent.
I found myself listening to Pat on Newstalk last week doing a spot on “A day in the life of a Priest”. At the end he asked the nice young lady producer if ever the day should come is it the type of job she’d like doing herself, chuckle. “Well you never know, I do look good in black and white” to which Pat chuckled again and then reminded her more seriously “Well that will never happen”
Were there not a few bridges burnt there..??
And will Garth play Crime park. Less grave digging in Glasnevin
*Croke
Hope not.
Please God and the TV license holders. Noooooooooooo!
Thoroughly enjoy Sean O Rourke on RTE Radio 1. Wouldn’t miss the programme.
Apparently he tried, he thought on rte he was rte. But time has proven his rte team were the business. On news talk he hasn’t pulled the listeners.
On rte he was the best, now I only give him 50% at the most of my time
The real question is – would Newstalk role out Gay Byrne specials and keep Gay going for 10 years past his sell by date?
I think like George Lee know which station is best to retire to.
Pure clickbait.
Communicorp…sic
Who cares if he returns ? If he does he should nit be given a €300K + contract.
He’s a spud
Wowwwwwwwww !
I think he’s quite good on Newstalk…
Who needs Arnie. When you have Pat…I`ll be back!! I need your clothes… your Boots…and your TV Licence Fee!!
That clip of him in his younger days reminded me of Patrick bateman
Yes… that Eurovision clip? Personally I can`t help being reminded of some sleazy Douchebag from a Steven Seagal Flic!!
The clip of him tearing up the toy show tickets. Best hissy fit ever !
The only ones that are any good at newstalk is ivan yates.. hook… off the ball and Tom dunne pats show anybody could do it. That fela on launch time is a joke he doesn’t have any balls. Better entertainment looking into a mixer full of cement.
Pat “paint drying” Kenny.
I pity the lifelong RTE view and listener – CHANGE THE FECKIN CHANNEL/STATION!
Why does my tax money go to pay for an orchestra that is off the radar, a twice day ‘call to prayer’, and endless repeats and stagnant programming? Fed up with the TV licence and what little I get in return!
Just disappear pat .., thanks
Who cares…….?
Gus Sheridan: My sentiments exactly. Who cares. At least my tv licence tax isn’t going into his pockets now.
After 3 days lol.
Leave him where ever he is ,
Then do us all a favour Damian, and dont think! :-)
Cogito ergo sum ;-)
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