When it all gets too cosy for comfort

RADIO REVIEW:FANS OF Derek Mooney, it is probably safe to assume, do not tune into his radio show expecting to hear forensic political analysis. Sandwiched between the discontented drone of Livelineand the earnest newsiness of Drivetime, Mooney(RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays) is an oasis of chatty warmth, its menu of offbeat human (and animal) interest topics providing an afternoon break from the partisan rancour raging around it.

Even so, there are times when a modicum of political perspicacity might be expected. On Monday’s show, the reporter Fergus Sweeney joined Mooney for an item on the late Charles Haughey’s yacht, which was recently donated to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group. Sweeney’s description of the yacht – which bore the cringeworthy faux-mythic name

Celtic Mist

– confirmed all the worst fears about Haughey’s lifestyle. The interiors below deck were made of mahogany and teak, while refreshments included personalised whiskey miniatures.

The sticky subject of the boat’s previous owner was glossed over, however. Sweeney called Haughey “a character” and “a bit of a rogue”, cosy terms for a politician with such a tainted reputation. There was a reference to Haughey living a “champagne lifestyle” with his mistress on the boat, but none to the fact that businessman Dermot Desmond had paid €75,000 to refurbish the boat back in the early 1990s.

Such quibbles might seem churlish. After all, much of the item related to Mooney’s love of wildlife, in this case seabound mammals, and Haughey had declared Irish waters a whale and dolphin sanctuary while in office. Having a soft-focus report is one thing, however; air-brushing distasteful aspects of the past is quite another.

It is not as if Mooney shuts the real world out from his show. He was joined on Tuesday's programme by the broadcaster Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh, who spoke of her work with the Plan Ireland charity in famine-hit Ethiopia, which was hardly fluffy fare. Even then, however, matters did not get too earnest, as Ní Chofaigh also spoke about her role as the host of the D-list showbiz contest Charity ICA Bootcamp.

The show is at its best when it sticks to its natural remit, so to speak. On Tuesday Mooney’s on-air sidekick Brenda Donohue reported on a wild food hunt she had undertaken with Mary Bulfin, a professional forager. The expedition to gather edible fungi and sorrel was vividly captured through background sounds and Donohue’s wide-eyed verbal descriptions. True, there was a bit of tittering when Donohue confused “naturist” and “naturalist” as she introduced the report, but the report was as refreshing as a country walk.

Still, Mooney and his team might occasionally acknowledge the political world as well as the natural one.

One can touch on troublesome realities without getting on a soapbox, as Paul McLoone(Today FM, weekdays) did when he opened Monday night's show. "For reasons that are not altogether pleasant or welcome, classic British punk seems to be back in vogue," the DJ said, introducing riot-themed anthems from the Ruts, the Clash and the Sex Pistols. The latter's punk standard Anarchy In The UK, McLoone said, summed up last week's sorry situation in England.

Beyond musing briefly that such riots probably had “underlying causes”, he did not dwell on the matter. But he had made his point. McLoone’s musical template may be fairly limited – indie guitar music and slight variations thereof, no chance of British urban subcultures such as grime or dubstep here – but by paying attention to the events in the real world he was able to give his show an exhilarating jag.

Unsurprisingly, England's civil disorder featured prominently last week, and not just on news programmes. Kevin, a Meath-born, London-based architect, phoned The Ray D'Arcy Show(Today FM, weekdays) in the aftermath of the riots in his neighbourhood of Clapham. The atmosphere the morning after was, he said, strange and uncomfortable. When he told of a young hoodie screaming obscenities at his girlfriend for no apparent reason that morning, he recounted a disturbing vignette of civic breakdown.

The item was also a revealing snapshot of how modern communications have changed the way people experience events. Kevin discovered there was trouble in Clapham via messages on Facebook rather than seeing it outside. He then watched the carnage on his local high street live on Sky News. His most dramatic sketches – seeing nearby shops in flames, for instance – were drawn from television images seen across the globe.

For the listener, Kevin’s location imbued his testimony with the patina of authenticity, but he had no more real inkling about what had happened and what caused it than any other media user. Yet his call was one of the most compelling contributions about the riots on last week’s radio. Forensic analysis isn’t always the best approach. Sometimes you have to trust your instincts.

Radio moment of the week

The appearance of the former 2FM presenter Simon Young on The John Murray Show (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays) was an unsettling reminder that the confident timbre and hey-wow patter associated with radio DJs can hide real pain.

Young spoke, in precise detail, about his long battle with depression, and his related health problems, marriage breakdown and professional travails. His voice still had a deep tone, but there was a tremble which betrayed his fragility: Young said he had spent four and a half of the past nine years in hospital due to his illness. Easy listening it was not.