‘You'll be sorely missed' cries RTE's Claire Byrne as stars floored by ‘broadcasting legend' Joe Duffy's Liveline exit

The Irish Sun

08-05-2025

TRIBUTES have begun to pour in from across Ireland for radio legend Joe Duffy after the RTE stalwart announced his retirement.
RTE colleagues, including Claire Byrne, and members of the public were quick to wish Joe the best and praise him for his decades of work.
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Radio stalwart Joe will be hanging up his Liveline mic in weeks
Credit: RTE
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Tributes and praise poured in from across the nation
Credit: (C) MARC OSULLIVAN,WWW,MARCOSULLIVAN.IE
Joe
He told
Fellow RTE broadcaster
"Thank you for being a great colleague over the years and for creating a special place for so many people on Liveline. You'll be sorely missed by many."
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TV presenter
"Enjoy your art Joe when you do relax, it'll be very well deserved."
And
"Thanks Joe, for as many gas as important conversations over the airwaves through your tenure. "
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Outside of the broadcasting industry, Joe garnered respect from politicians and members of the public alike.
Taoiseach
RTE fans left in stitches as Joe Duffy 'couldn't get a word in' during his own radio show
"So many were helped by 'Talking to Joe'. An essential part of the national conservation."
And Tanaiste
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"Joe has held a unique position in public life and will leave an important legacy in broadcasting & in public service."
While plenty of listeners shared their thoughts too.
One said: "Loved listening to the show, would only listen if Joe was on. Joe will be missed."
Another said: "1.45pm won't be the same without your voice. You've just a way with you, so many laughs, so many campaigns, well miss you."
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While another listener said: "Will miss your unique take on so many topics. The voice of reason in a cracked up world".
Announcing his impending departure today, Joe hailed the trust of listeners as the reason Liveline saw such success.
LISTENER TRUST
He said: "After 37 wonderful years here in RTE, and 27 years presenting Liveline, it has been an incredible honour and privilege to be part of a programme that relied entirely on trust: the trust of our listeners.
"People felt they could pick up the phone, ring Liveline, and share their lives, problems, stories sad, bad, sometimes mad and funny, their struggles, and their victories."
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Joe also paid tribute to his predecessor, Marian Finucane.
The dad-of-three said: "Liveline began under the stewardship of the late
Paying tribute to the radio icon, RTE boss
"Joe was always the guide, never the story. His journalistic insights were perfectly in balance with his human instincts, and Liveline under Joe became both a sanctuary for those seeking justice, and a public square of which Joe was in full control.'
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He added: "Joe Duffy is an icon of broadcasting, and will be hugely missed by his listeners, his colleagues, and all who picked up the phone to the nation's hotline."
READ JOE DUFFY'S STATEMENT IN FULL
"After 37 wonderful years here in RTE, and 27 years presenting Liveline, I just wanted to share a few words with you as I prepare to move on.
"First of all, it has been - and I mean this from the bottom of my heart - an incredible honour and privilege to be part of a programme that relied entirely on trust: the trust of our listeners.
"People felt they could pick up the phone, ring Liveline, and share their lives, problems, stories sad, bad, sometimes mad and funny, their struggles, and their victories. I never took that for granted - not for a single minute.
"Over these years, I've been blessed to work alongside hundreds of producers, researchers, broadcasting assistants, and all the wider public servants who make RTE - and when I say everyone, I mean everyone. Those who lifting a paintbrush, wielding a Black & Decker, a hoover drill, operating a sound desk. From the person at reception to the person climbing a mast. We were and are all working towards the same goal: serving the public.
"And it goes without saying that my wife June and my three children Sean, Ellen and Ronan, have been such a part of keeping me going, day after day, often through difficult times on an intense daily programme.
"For that alone I am deeply privileged and eternally grateful.
"As the American poet Maya Angelou wrote: 'People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.'
"And I hope, in some small way, through Liveline and through RTE, we made people feel heard.
"And now, after many happy years, I've decided the time has come to move on.
"I wrote to the head of Radio last November, informing her that having already extended by contract for two years, that Friday June 27 next when it was due to expire would be my final day on Liveline.
"As you know I'm not a firefighter - a garda, not a paramedic, teacher, parent of young children, not a nurse, not a street cleaner - all of them real, vital, essential public servants.
"As my late mother Mabel used to say to me, you're not to lose the run of yourself if you're just answering the phones, I was just trying to listen, trying to connect, and trying to give people a voice, especially those without.
"Mabel, who died two years ago would have been 96 on Sunday and on the day she was born the Irish parliament was debating the abolition of workhouses - we've come a long way - like many in her generation who have been great Liveline listeners, remember you dug the well - subsequent generations drank the water. As a country, a community we've come a long way.
"Liveline began under the stewardship of the late Marian Finucane 40 years ago and it will endure.
"So onwards! I'm looking forward to the chapter. Please, please keep talking to Joe. I'm here until the end of June."
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Joe broadcasting from Grafton Street in 1998