Claire Byrne is leaving RTÉ later this year and will join broadcasting rivals Newstalk in 2026, RTÉ said on Friday.
The presenter will be replaced by David McCullagh on Radio 1’s Today show.
Byrne will join Newstalk early next year to host a new midmorning programme, RTÉ said on Friday.
Earlier Pat Kenny said he was leaving his weekday Newstalk show, and moving to weekends on the radio station in the new year.
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The co-ordinated announcements are the biggest shake-up in talk radio since Kenny left RTÉ in 2013 after 41 years to take up the slot in Newstalk that he has held since then.
Ms Byrne has been the presenter of the Today programme since August 2020. At that time she was also hosting Claire Byrne Live on RTÉ One television which she quit in May 2022, citing her heavy work schedule and her young family.
The most recent JNLR figures, published in August, showed that Today with Claire Byrne has 354,000 listeners making it the joint fourth most listened to programme on Irish radio. The Pat Kenny Show has 216,000 listeners in the same slot.
David McCullagh is one of RTÉ’s most experienced current affairs broadcasters. He currently anchors Six One News and presents the Behind the Story podcast.
He is also the author of several books on Irish history including his two volume series on the life of Éamon de Valera - Rise and Rule. A two party documentary series on the life of de Valera, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of his death, begins screening on Wednesday.
In a statement Pat Kenny said he will be moving to a weekend slot in spring of next year “where I hope to make a big impact”.
More to follow ...
