RADIO REVIEW:REEL BACK the years to 1989: U2 were one of the world's biggest bands and the country's finances were in a right old mess. Okay, no change there, then. Documentary on One: The Curious Ear(RTÉ Radio 1, Saturdays) aired two documentaries on similar themes: Waiting for Jarodand Waiting for U2. The former was about the mother of an Iraqi soldier who longed for her son to come home safely. The latter was about three star-struck Dublin girls in 1989 who waited outside Windmill Lane Studios for Bono.
Meghan Vigeant’s story of Margery Richard in Mexico, Maine, who lived with a “flat daddy”, or life-sized cutout, of her son Jarod, was an ode to peace and a portrait of courage. She volunteered in the nearby senior centre and soup kitchen, and took cardboard Jarod with her in the car. “Even when he’s not here he’s here.” Margery counted the days using coins in a jar: “Every day I move a penny from this one to this one.” And, yes, the real Jarod finally came home.
Julian Vignoles' Waiting for U2was an intriguing trifle that was well worth the rebroadcast. Three girls wrapped up their dreams and romantic illusions in U2's music and lyrics. "It fills you with energy, like, 'Here, take a bottle of Lucozade'," one girl said, to roars of laughter from her friends. "We have lots of thoughts unchained, but we can't get them out just yet," said another. Oh, how I wish someone would track down these three girls now.
Another blast from the past: The Businessmagazine show (RTÉ Radio 1, Saturdays) starts today with George Lee, whose life in Dáil Éireann was almost shorter than that of the adult mayfly. Lee has been presenting Mind Your Businessin the same time slot since July, so there won't be much noticeable difference beyond the change of name. According to RTÉ, the show "promises to get under the skin of major news stories . . . in a punchy, jargon-free and accessible way." The words "wings" and "clipped" come to mind.
The Breakfast Show(Newstalk 106-108, weekdays) has lost Claire Byrne to a new afternoon television chat-show on RTÉ with Dáithí Ó Sé. She has gone from TV3 to Newstalk to RTÉ, the mothership of Irish broadcasters. Ivan Yates, the Claire Byrne-less Wonder, has been joined by Conor Brophy and Chris O'Donoghue. Brophy opens the show with business news at 6.30am, and Yates appears as if by magic a half an hour later. The Breakfast Showhas been extended, and Tom Dunne(Newstalk, weekdays) will now air from 10am to noon.
This means three things: it's sort of bad news for Dunne (or not, if he felt three hours was too much to stay so chipper), Yates may or may not be tired of getting up that bit early (a spokesman for the station said that wasn't the reason for the change) and The Ray D'Arcy Show(Today FM, weekdays) is now the only remaining three-hour mid-morning mainstream radio show in this post-Gerry Ryan era. Tubridy(2FM, weekdays) airs from 9am to 11am, so only fills two hours of his late colleague's slot.
It was another waiting game on Monday. Yates was up just after the birds to interview Anglo Irish Bank’s chairman, Alan Dukes, amid rumours that the EU may rule against the restructuring plan for the nationalised lender and fears that the Government’s bailout could soar far beyond €24 billion. “It seems to be good money after bad,” Yates said, “but I think the sands are shifting.” Oh dear. He should leave the sermons to George Hook.
This interview was based on shifting sands: a lot of ifs and maybes. Of those news reports, Dukes said: “That’s at variance from what we’ve been hearing from our own people who are in discussions with the European Commission.”
He said splitting the bank into an asset-management company and a “normal bank” was “in the best interest of the taxpayer because it’s the one that reduces the total exchequer cost, which will be huge one way or another”. Yates asked Dukes if there was a plan B for Anglo. “Ivan,” he replied, “when you get married you don’t plan for divorce, do you?” Asked about the reported rift over the future of Anglo in the marriage between the Green and Fianna Fáil parties, Dukes refused to comment but offered an open invitation to any Minister to discuss the plan.
And the €24 billion question? “I cannot tell you that that figure will not change either up or down,” Dukes said. No right-thinking listeners would bet their houses on the latter.
Dukes said he hoped that in years to come he will be talking about “the success of the split bank”.
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