Ger Gilroy leaves the Breakfast Show

anndunnelim

Well they dont seem to be paying a whole lot of attention then do they?

Being a bit of a fan of talk radio and while I agree that Newstalk is slipping instead of progressing for whatever reason, I would miss them if they were gone.

Possibly the links might not be being sent quite high enough up the food chain?

Have to agree with what Mike (respect) said on another thread, they do seem to be just filling space between ad breaks. Great Shame.

Berti Vogts

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

Listened to off the ball, or whatever it's called last night.

Same old tired format with that semi comatose geezer Early pontificating about managers who earn more in an hour than he does a month.

Absolutely hate that smart ass crappery they go on with,trying to catch each other out and throw in cheap shots every now and again.

reminded me why I stopped listening in the first place:mad:

Frankly, I think that is a load of nonsense.

Firstly, Early is very well informed on football - what difference does it make that managers earn more than him? Should he just bow to them all in deference?

Secondly, I don't know where you are getting "smart ass crappery" from - they have good banter imo.

Stick with Dessie Cahill if you don't like it!

BM_2003

I think Ger is a big loss. Couldn't listen to the show this week and am currently switching between Today FM and morning Ire. Gilroy is intelligent and balanced out Clare's frequent blonde moments. Yates makes me grit.
I used to like Damien Kiebert and had heard that he had set up another station? That might be worth switching to.

KerranJast

FlutterinBantam wrote:

Listened to off the ball, or whatever it's called last night.

Same old tired format with that semi comatose geezer Early pontificating about managers who earn more in an hour than he does a month.

Absolutely hate that smart ass crappery they go on with,trying to catch each other out and throw in cheap shots every now and again.

reminded me why I stopped listening in the first place

You obviously don't like their down to earth way of presenting. Sadly for you the most of us do which is why the likes of OTB, Football Weekly and (to a much lesser extend since it became sheeeyte) Soccer AM are so popular.

Berti Vogts

KerranJast, I take it you meant to quote someone else and not me?

FlutterinBantam

KerranJast wrote: »

You obviously don't like their down to earth way of presenting. Sadly for you the most of us do which is why the likes of OTB, Football Weekly and (to a much lesser extend since it became sheeeyte) Soccer AM are so popular.

Indeed, you summed it up perfectly for me there.

As I said ,if I want to listen to that kind of reportage I will go on an away trip with "Trapp's Army" and listen to the "experts" desiccating the strategy's,and selections of someone who has been there and done that.

Now I would prefer to tie a length of electrical flex around my ballsack and tie it to the top of the Spire and jump rather than do that, so ,yes, you have summed up my tastes correctly.

Cahill is even worse,guy almost chokes himself when someone refers to "de lads" and the Munster Leinster rivalry.

I have no focking interest in whether Rafa puts Mascherano into midfield and moves Gerrard into the hole behind the strikers,being put forward by a goon with 42 28 measurements or smartass gimps who got control of a mic by false pretences.

I am not referring to anyone or any show in particular here.:mad:

raven136

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

Indeed, you summed it up perfectly for me there.

As I said ,if I want to listen to that kind of reportage I will go on an away trip with "Trapp's Army" and listen to the "experts" desiccating the strategy's,and selections of someone who has been there and done that.

Now I would prefer to tie a length of electrical flex around my ballsack and tie it to the top of the Spire and jump rather than do that, so ,yes, you have summed up my tastes correctly.

Cahill is even worse,guy almost chokes himself when someone refers to "de lads" and the Munster Leinster rivalry.

I have no focking interest in whether Rafa puts Mascherano into midfield and moves Gerrard into the hole behind the strikers,being put forward by a goon with 42 28 measurements or smartass gimps who got control of a mic by false pretences.

I am not referring to anyone or any show in particular here.:mad:

the humor you speak isnt that big on the show and the quality of reporting and punditry cannot be questioned.think you are way off the mark on this one

KerranJast

Possibilities wrote: »

KerranJast, I take it you meant to quote someone else and not me?

Sorry yeah I keep forgetting this place doesn't let me multiquote. Fixed above.

Berti Vogts

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

Indeed, you summed it up perfectly for me there.

As I said ,if I want to listen to that kind of reportage I will go on an away trip with "Trapp's Army" and listen to the "experts" desiccating the strategy's,and selections of someone who has been there and done that.

Now I would prefer to tie a length of electrical flex around my ballsack and tie it to the top of the Spire and jump rather than do that, so ,yes, you have summed up my tastes correctly.

Cahill is even worse,guy almost chokes himself when someone refers to "de lads" and the Munster Leinster rivalry.

I have no focking interest in whether Rafa puts Mascherano into midfield and moves Gerrard into the hole behind the strikers,being put forward by a goon with 42 28 measurements or smartass gimps who got control of a mic by false pretences.

I am not referring to anyone or any show in particular here.:mad:

"Smartass gimps who got control of a mic by false pretences" - LOL.They are surely as entitled to their jobs as anyone else.

Anyway, we're completely off topic here.

deadhead13

BM_2003 wrote: »

I used to like Damien Kiebert and had heard that he had set up another station? That might be worth switching to.

He is on 12 to 2, mon. - fri. on 4FM

rollex

EG77 wrote: »

i listen to newstalk shows all day at work, in car and home.

fairly pi$$ed off at getting rid of ger. i thought he did a great job in both sports and news (despite what others have said).

he was shafted big time. claire is decent but sometimes comes across as a bit idealist / righteous / etc. i think someone else made an interesting point that it could have come down to cash i.e. cheaper to get rid of ger than her.

having said all that, i thought the chemistry between the two was quite good.

not sure about ivan yates - always came across as a bit ditherer when standing in for george hook. cant seem to read out a bloody text properly! also his close close ties with fine gael dont exactly lend to interviewer impartiality very well

please newstalk dont ever change the format / presenters / etc for off the ball....best show on the radio

I love the fact that Newstalk have the guts to make big changes - they don't stand still - they have shown themselves well able to shift people around or get rid of them to avoid getting stagnant. Can't say I agree with all their choices, though. I am a big fan of Gilroy - I think he is one of the smartest voices on radio. Smart alone doesn't cut it though, and I think he will grow into his voice in a few years time. There is nothing to replace solid experience and that is what Yates has on all of them - you can hear it in every question that he was a political insider for years and has gotta know all kinds of stuff which has never been made public and that adds an extra level of excitement to his interviewing of the big players in Politics and business. Claire Byrne is also smart and capable, but I would have loved to see what Gilroy and Yates would have done together as a team. Is it possible that a m/f combination was seen as preferable just for the gender balance (taking into account, in fairness, that Byrne is good in her own right)? I don't think the partnership will work - but I am sticking with Newstalk -I would rather do the female equivalent of what that poster proposed re tying his nuts to the spire than listen to RTE.

Firetrap

I guess they were going for gravitas when they hired Ivan Yates. He is still a poor radio presenter though. He just sounds...I dunno....robotic or something.

exaisle

connundrum wrote: »

I'm definitely not pro FF, and I don't know how one would have balanced that interview seeing as Brennan is fairly weak, but this morning's interview was really poor.

Neither am I, but interviewees are responsible for their own shortcomings. Journalists/interviewers aren't there to ensure fair play, they are there to interview/interrogate/grill the guests and to test their professed policies and beliefs. If Shay Brennan was weak and got roasted, that's his problem. We've had politicians of all shades wiggle off the hook during interviews by spouting the party/government line and simply answering a question that wasn't asked.

Come back Carole Coleman.....at least she gives politicians the lack of respect that they deserve....

thecremster

ger gilroy was a bit too pompus for me but i didnt dislike him,. he is certainly better than this ivan yates muppet who is like a milder version of David Norris. I'm glad Gilroy is replacing that idiot Oisin Langan and his GAA and Rugby show on a Friday. Langan ruined off the ball on a Friday and i started listenin to Talksport instead. Talksport is the best station to listen too for any off the ball fans. its constant sport . i hope gilroy doesnt get his old job back as Eoin is a better and funnier presenter

Diabhal Beag

thecremster wrote: »

Talksport is the best station to listen too for any off the ball fans. its constant sport

For soccer and cricket. GAA is delved into in great detail on OTB with Murph. I don't like this Gilroy lad. He seems to want to dominate the airwaves over Eoin all the time.

Firetrap

Not having heard Newstalk in the olden days, am I right in saying that Ger Gilroy used to present the sports program before moving to the Breakfast Show and being replaced by Eoin McDevitt? Perhaps there's some jockeying for position going on

deadhead13

Gilroy is presenting Friday Off The Ball. Eoin, Murph and Ken will be rotating co-presenters. The logical thing would have been to give Ger Gilroy the Weekend Sports Show, Gerry O'Sullivan continue his role as the stations sports editor and return the normal Off The Ball to friday nights. But....

Aidric

deadhead13 wrote: »

Gilroy is presenting Friday Off The Ball. Eoin, Murph and Ken will be rotating co-presenters. The logical thing would have been to give Ger Gilroy the Weekend Sports Show, Gerry O'Sullivan continue his role as the stations sports editor and return the normal Off The Ball to friday nights. But....

Ya spot on. O Sullivan makes me want to put cotton wool in my ears. He's best away from a microphone.

WALSHMA

Yeh, I have listened to off the ball from the start. It touched on all the main sports and even managed to do some interesting features on more marginalised sports, but the most important thing was the humour, even though it was a bit collegy and infantile there were some great laughs. I was disappointed when Ger Gilroy left but Eoin McDevitt kept up the tongue in cheek attitude, although he is not quite as good as Gilroy for keeping the banter going naturally. The guests and co-presenters are excellent.
The problem with Gilroy is that he kept the same collegy, almost snide, attitude when he moved into serious current affairs. Claire sounds like his mother, yet there is probably only a few years in age between them. Only when Ger was given sports story in the morning show did he sound focused and competent.
If you like 'off the ball', there is a podcast through itunes by the Guardian presented by James Richardson (ex football Italia on C4), which uses same and similar guests. Informative and funny but only about soccer.

Shatner

My two/three/four cents...

I like Gilroy. I think he has been badly served by Newstalk but has performed really well across a number of types of show... sports, breakfast, moncrieff etc.

He does seem to have lost his portfolio, however. He's like the spare man, jack-of-all-trades at the moment.

Yates started off woefully. He has improved so much though and now is rock solid.

Claire Byrne is not likeable. I'm sure she's a lovely person... but her radio style just does not work - too smug.

Tom Dunne is probably the most likeable person ever. But his show has no direction and it is becoming painful. If he could play more music (cos he's a star when it comes to any music-related slot) it would probably be OK but I'd imagine he's restricted from that p.o.v. He can't fill 3 hours and it's a shame. I'd listen to him all day - but not to some of his idiotic filler guests.

I used to like Eamon Keane but he is starting to get boring. Bit too 'daily mail' for my liking and too much 'won't anyone think of the children/pensioners/cervical cancer jabs?'. He's not suited to tabloid and it doesn't work for national radio (maye radio kerry?). That guy Healy who stands in for him is far more balanced.

Moncrieff - phew - what's that about? I switch station as soon as I hear him. Meaningless show. Nothing presenter.

Righthook is always entertaining even though I don't always agree with george.

OffTheBall is super. Eoin/Murph/Ken are the best in the business. Great show.

Culture Shock is great. Fionn is excellent.

Talking History is better again. Patrick always does a good show.

That Irish show ain't bad, nor is the business show (mortell?).

Oisin Langan is the biggest waste of space in history. Dunno how he still has a job. Even the guests seem to hate him within milliseconds. Gerry is great on weekends tho.

WALSHMA

I agree 'Off The Ball' is great. Definitely the best show on radio.

I also listen to the podcasts of 'Talking History' because who's listening at 7:00pm on a Sat night??...does your wan Lyndsey Erner Byrne ever say a sentence in the intro without making a mistake?

Ivan Yates has definitely improved..

EG77

disagree with shatner about moncrieff...i find it a very entertaining show. he is very witty. also, a welcome relief from the negativity that's constantly on the current affairs shows.

off the ball is the best show on the radio. they look at a wide range of sports, have great guests, presenters are excellent and great craic. listen to it all the time

i think yates has grown into the role on breakfast. he knows which questions to ask. i am not mad about claire byrne...she seems a bit righteous

i can't listen to tom dunne. nice fella but constant fake laughter is very off putting. also he over does it with the whole parenting thing the whole time

hookie is alright but overestimates his intellect and seems a bit self obsessed. i dont particularly rate him as an interviewer but the show is reasonable.

eamon keane does a decent job. i disagree with the daily mail comment shatner. he is just sick of the sh;t that us taxpayers put up with and our total apathy towards it. agree with alot of his opinions.

overall a great radio station

Dub13

WALSHMA wrote: »

I also listen to the podcasts of 'Talking History' because who's listening at 7:00pm on a Sat night??

Its actually on at 7 on Sundays.

Shatner

EG77 wrote: »

eamon keane does a decent job. i disagree with the daily mail comment shatner. he is just sick of the sh;t that us taxpayers put up with and our total apathy towards it. agree with alot of his opinions.

overall a great radio station

I agree with you that the people of this country have been let down by our politicians and senior businesspeople.

Keane has a tendency to go OTT, however. I can't remember who he was interviewing but it was around the NAMA time and he kept asking (paxman style again and again and again)... "how many special needs teachers would this pay for? how many special needs teachers would this pay for?".

Of course there has been waste. We HAVE been let down. But NAMA (right or wrong) was a separate issue. Something had to be done. Whether it was the right thing or the wrong thing, only time will tell. But to be constantly framing everything in terms of cervical cancer jabs, medical cards, special needs teachers is irrelevant.

Look, if I had my way, I'd raise the dole by €100 p/w, I'd have 10,000 extra guards on the streets, everyone would be entitled to the best of healthcare (and free for those who could not afford to pay)... but that's not the way life works. It can't be done. And it's wrong for a broadcaster to equate spending on one important issue (and the banks had to be saved/nationalised/something) with another important (but not relevant to the argument) issue for the sake of sensationalism.

SprostonGreen

Ger did a great job filling in on the lunchtime show this week, would like if he did it full time.

coopersgreen

SprostonGreen wrote: »

Ger did a great job filling in on the lunchtime show this week, would like if he did it full time.

Me too. Anything that means I don't have to listen to Eamonn Keane.

deadhead13

I can only bear to listen to the show when Keane is off, which is surprisingly often.

Badabing

What is Gilroys job at NT exactly? I'm a bit suprised he is still there after their CEO said that Gilroy didn't have "gravitas" and was basicilly bad at his job.

deadhead13

He presents Off the Ball on friday nights and is one of the stations editors afaik.

orourkeda

Mehhhhhhhhhhh

Bungolio

Interesting to see the amount of comments in support of Ger Gilroy. Always found him irritating in the extreme with his know-all, and often sarcastic brand of broadcasting. The best thing that ever happened to Off The Ball was when McDevitt took over the reigns as presenter. He is excellent, and the show is noticeably weaker when he is not around. Gilroy was possibly a little better on the breakfast program but still not great...

mike65

He's a second-rater, I can't work out how he has managed to carve out a career, but then, I think the same about so many!

Rubik.

The only real problem I have with Gilroy, is, he tends to tie himself up in knots in asking Garth Crooks-length questions. The one major plus as far as I'm concerned - he is not Jerry O'Sullivan.

mike65

Thats true but any comparison to Jerry O'Sullivan is loaded!

Rubik.

You're right, it is. Ok, he is no worse than a lot of those knocking around RTE's sports department.