LIVE: Joe Duffy's final Liveline show as legendary broadcaster bows out after 37 years
One of Ireland's best-known and most loved broadcasters, Joe confirmed last month that his final Liveline broadcast will be on Friday, June 27 - 27 years after his first broadcast. Joe joined RTE as a radio producer in 1989 and came to prominence as a reporter on the Gay Byrne Show.
The Ballyfermot native took over as Liveline host from Marian Finucane in 1998 and quicklybecame an iconic voice in Irish radio on the hugely popular programme which regularly attracted over 400,000 listeners. Joe shocked Liveline listeners last month when he announced his retirement live on air, saying at the time: "After 37 wonderful years here in RTÉ, 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. I never took that for granted, not for a single minute." Joe will host his last show on Liveline this afternoon at 1.45pm on RTE Radio One.
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