Morning Ireland

{{more citations needed|section|date=October 2017}}

The programme was first broadcast on 4 November 1984. It replaced The Derek Davis Show. It had initially been postponed and endured a difficult time during its early years. The first major story to be covered by the programme was a few weeks after it began when an air crash in Eastbourne killed a number of journalists.

The first presenters of the programme were David Hanly and David Davin-Power.{{cite news|url=http://www.herald.ie/national-news/no-party-for-morning-irelands-25th-1937912.html|title=No party for Morning Ireland's 25th|author=Cormac Murphy|date=9 November 2009|work=Evening Herald|access-date=2009-11-10}} Davin-Power was also the first editor. Cathal Mac Coille succeeded David Hanly as the programme's signature voice,{{cite web

| url = https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/atticus-john-burns-zc55q6rxm

| title = Mac Coille joins the ‘and finally’ club

| last = Burns

| first = John

| date = 16 July 2017

| website = The Times

| access-date = 28 July 2017}} presenting it from 1986 to 1990 and again from 2001 to his retirement in 2017.{{cite web

| url = http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/tributes-paid-to-kind-and-diligent-cathal-mac-coille-as-he-leaves-rtes-morning-ireland-35976319.html

| title = Tributes paid to 'kind' and 'diligent' Cathal Mac Coille as he leaves RTE's Morning Ireland

| last = Fox

| first = Claire

| date = 28 July 2017

| website = independent.ie

| access-date = 28 July 2017}} Joe Little and Shane Kenny are other former editors and presenters. John Murray presented for the first time in 1994, returning in 2004. Aine Lawlor began presenting alongside Hanly in 1995.

File:Past and Present Morning Ireland Presenters.jpg

When Fianna Fáil's former government minister Desmond O'Malley left the party, Morning Ireland broadcast his renowned "I stand by the Republic" speech for an extended period, angering then Taoiseach Charles Haughey.{{cite news|url=http://www.herald.ie/opinion/they-said-morning-ireland-would-not-work-but-now-its-become-part-of-us-1934942.html|title=They said Morning Ireland would not work but now it's become part of us|date=2009-11-05|access-date=2009-12-20|newspaper=Evening Herald}}

In 1994, Joe Little was due to co-present an edition of the programme from the RTÉ studio in Castlebar, County Mayo, during the European Parliament election of that year, when it was realised belatedly that it could not be heard in Dublin. Disaster was prevented by mere minutes. When the IRA announced its cease-fire that same year, Joe Little was in the Belfast studio beginning an interview with the former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Sir Patrick Mayhew, when the sound broke down live on air on a temporary basis. During one edition, the entire programme did malfunction, and, with interviews suspended and a commercial break impossible, Hanly intervened to prevent a complete disaster for several minutes by commenting to the show's previous guest: "There was one other question I wanted to ask you [...]". Joe Little interviewed Lady Valerie Goulding to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of The Blitz of London by Germany.

In 1999, for Christmas Eve, the programme focused on those killed during The Troubles. Contributors to that programme included world leaders such as Bertie Ahern, Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Mary McAleese. In 2005, a Mary McAleese interview for the programme caused controversy when she compared the children of Northern Ireland to Nazis. Ian Paisley, Jr. replied, "So much for bridge-building Mary", and described her remarks as "irrational and insulting".{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4214263.stm|title=McAleese row over Nazi comments|date=2005-01-28|access-date=2009-12-20|publisher=BBC}} The Orange Institution cancelled a meeting it had ordered with McAleese as a result.

During the 2000s recession, an outside broadcast took place in the Waterford Crystal plant as employees barricaded themselves inside in a bid to save their careers. In another episode Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan criticised John Murray for his "dangerous and irresponsible" line of questioning him about Irish banks.

File:Brian Cowen on Morning Ireland.jpg on Morning Ireland at the 25th Anniversary celebration]]

Morning Ireland celebrated its 25th anniversary in November 2009. It was broadcast in front of a studio audience and featured guests including Mary McAleese, Brian Cowen, comedian Des Bishop and author Cathy Kelly.{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/ontherecord/2009/11/05/25-years-of-morning-ireland/|author=Jim Carroll|title=25 years of Morning Ireland|date=5 November 2009|work=The Irish Times|access-date=20 December 2009}} McAleese spoke of her intention to reduce her household budget during difficult recessionary times, including sending e-mails instead of posting cards for Christmas.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8343938.stm|title=President cuts her personal cloth|date=2009-11-05|access-date=2009-12-20|publisher=BBC}}

In 2010 the programme came to international attention after Taoiseach Brian Cowen gave a controversial nine-minute interview to Cathal Mac Coille from a Fianna Fáil think-in in Galway; the interview led to increased pressure for Cowen to resign in the days that followed due to allegations that he was drunk during the interview.{{cite news|author=McDonald, Henry|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/20/irish-pm-brian-cowen-drunk-allegations|title=Irish PM Brian Cowen under pressure after 'drunk' radio interview|date=2010-09-20|access-date=2010-09-20|newspaper=The Guardian}}

Garret FitzGerald made his final radio broadcast on the programme in 2011.{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/dr-garret-fitzgerald-dies-in-a-dublin-hospital-aged-85-26734185.html|title=Dr Garret FitzGerald dies in a Dublin hospital aged 85|date=19 May 2011|access-date=19 May 2011|work=Irish Independent}}

In 2010, two presenters, John Murray and Richard Downes, left the programme to expand to further areas of RTÉ, and were replaced by Aoife Kavanagh and Rachael English.{{cite web|title=New faces for Morning Ireland team|url=https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2010/1001/424916-morningireland/|publisher=RTÉ|date=1 October 2010|access-date=13 March 2020}} The programme is also presented by Claire Byrne, Gavin Jennings and Fran McNulty.

The current presenters are Aine Lawlor, Audrey Carville, Mary Wilson and Gavin Jennings. [https://x.com/johnburkerte?lang=en John Burke] is the series editor of the programme.

Morning Ireland won 'News Programme of the Year' in the 2002, 2003 and 2008 PPI Radio Awards.{{cite web|url=http://www.ppiradioawards.com/2002/winners_2002.asp|title=Entry Archive - 2002 - Winners|work=PPI Radio Awards|access-date=20 December 2009}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ppiradioawards.com/2003/winners_2003.asp|title=Entry Archive - 2003 - Winners|work=PPI Radio Awards|access-date=20 December 2009}}{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/arts/2008/1013/ppiawards.html|title=RTÉ Radio 1 is Station of the Year|date=13 October 2008|work=RTÉ Entertainment|access-date=20 December 2009}} Cian McCormack, a reporter for the programme, won News Reporter of the Year in 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.ppiradioawards.com/2009/winners_2009.asp|title=2009 PPI RADIO AWARDS WINNERS|work=PPI Radio Awards|access-date=20 December 2009}}

Hilary McGouran, Series Editor, and Shane McElhatton, Editor, were named by Village as amongst the 100 most influential people in Ireland in 2009. The studio and web producer of the programme, Lisa Pereira, a native of Trinidad and Tobago and educated in Ireland, France and the United States, was also on the list.

The programme, which is co-presented by various presenters, consists of a mixture of live interviews and pre-recorded location reports. Extended news bulletins are broadcast at 07.00 and 08.00, followed by a weather forecast and "It Says In The Papers", a review of the Irish morning newspapers. There are news headlines followed by sports news at 07.30 and 08.30 and business news is broadcast at 07.45.{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/1107/1224258280469.html|author=Noel Whelan|title=Long way from Mike Murphy's morning patter|date=7 November 2009|work=The Irish Times|access-date=20 December 2009}} AA Roadwatch provided traffic news for decades throughout the programme, however this was stopped{{Cite journal |date=2021-07-09 |title=AA to drop Roadwatch reports from tomorrow |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2021/0709/1234108-aa-roadwatch-reports/ |language=en}} in 2021. Since then, RTÉ provides its own traffic updates.

File:Morning Ireland broadcast.jpg (newsreader), Aine Lawlor (presenter), Nicola Hudson (AA Roadwatch)]]

A new website was launched in June 2009. It features additional material and a webcam that allows listeners to view the programme from the studio. The live stream from the webcam is also broadcast on RTÉ's rolling news channel.{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/ie/morningireland/entry/morning_ireland_on_the_web |title=Morning Ireland on the web |date=4 June 2009 |work=Morning Ireland |access-date=20 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090613053541/http://www.rte.ie/ie/morningireland/entry/morning_ireland_on_the_web |archive-date=13 June 2009 }}

Morning Ireland is the top rated radio programme in Ireland, with a listenership estimated by the Joint National Listenership Survey to be 491,000. It is considered the most influential news programme on Irish radio.{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/about/pressreleases/2009/1112/jnlr121109.html |title=Over 1 Million Tune into RTÉ Radio |date=12 November 2009 |work=RTÉ Press Centre |access-date=20 December 2009 }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite news|url=http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2009/08/21/story99151.asp |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707114701/http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2009/08/21/story99151.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 July 2012 |title=Morning Ireland leads RTÉ resurgence |date=21 August 2009 |work=Irish Examiner |access-date=20 December 2009 }} When ratings for the radio shows of prominent RTÉ broadcasters such as Joe Duffy, Pat Kenny and Gerry Ryan were declining in 2005, Morning Ireland remained Ireland's most popular radio programme.{{cite news|first=Seán |last=McCárthaigh |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-10096317.html |title=New RTÉ Radio 1 boss tasked with halting the slide in big-name listenership |date=18 February 2006 |access-date=13 March 2021 |newspaper=Irish Examiner }} It was at one point rivalled by The Full Irish in second place before that show ended.

{{Reflist|2}}

{{commons category|Morning Ireland}}

• {{official website|http://www.rte.ie/news/morningireland/}}
• [http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/archive/1984/1106/Pg016.html#Ar01602:2D22DD2FA2F22FA2DD3022F23022DD30B2F23722DD3792F23792DD3B32F205936D0633B606336D1283B60F23FF0F74120F73FF12741205645C05D46F05C45C08D46F08C45C09346F10755812456A12455812956A0545640665770D75CE1065E13BF2DD3EC2F205740C08041F08040C08641F09845C0C446F0C445C0C946F0AB5A70D15B9 An article reporting on the first programme in 1984] in The Irish Times
• [http://www.president.ie/index.php?section=5&speech=43&lang=eng Transcript] of Mary McAleese on Morning Ireland, 27 January 2005 — includes her Nazi comments
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110714184311/http://transitiontownsireland.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mary-robinsons-morning-ireland Link] to Mary Robinson interview concerning climate justice

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Category:1984 radio programme debuts

Category:Irish breakfast radio shows

Category:RTÉ News and Current Affairs

Category:RTÉ Radio 1 programmes