Myself and Derek do a daily walk... we march for 40 minutes and fix the world, we fix RTÉ
Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh is breaking down those tired old stereotypes and letting her talent speak for her
BLÁTHNAID Ni Chofaigh jumps out of her car and skirts across the road; she is as always a bundle of energy and good vibes and gives a big hug and a smile. Despite the angry clouds engulfing the south Dublin coastal village of Monkstown she playfully poses for the camera ignoring the wind and now pelting rain that has arrived at the last minute of the shoot.
As we duck for cover in the doorway of a nearby chemist Bláthnaid waves away any apologies for the impromptu soaking and says: ‘Is it terrible that I am wondering if anyone has brought the clothes in?’ And that is Bláthnaid Ni Chofaigh, television presenter, award-winning Irish language radio host and most of all down to earth, passionate Meath woman.
There is simply no time in her life to be a diva. About a month ago I ran into Bláthnaid and her lifelong pal Derek Mooney having coffee in Roly’s Bistro in Ballsbridge.
They were deep in conversation, hatching plans for a clandestine project that turned out to be their very own Saturday morning Radio One programme.
Derek and Bláthnaid met for the first time in the old library building in RTÉ in 1994. They were soon co-presenting young people’s programme Echo Island.
More than 20 years later they are back co-presenting and will be on the airwaves on Saturday mornings (10am-11am) for the month of August on RTÉ Radio 1. This is radio like you haven’t heard before.
‘It wasn’t like we had a deep and meaningful conversation in a manager’s office or anything like that’, she says. ‘I have known him since Echo Island. Síle my daughter is 20 so I have known Derek for 24 years. Myself and Ciarán used to rent a flat down in Belgrave Square and Derek would always drop over n a Friday. It was great when you were in young people’s TV then. Because there was energy and we were churning out so much stuff and there was all this competition to get the best guests. Derek had this, been there done that about the world, because he was always ahead of his time about his age.
‘And I was intrigued with how conservative he was compared to how non-conservative I was (although now I realise I probably wasn’t at all). He used to drop me back to the flat and we would both be caked in make-up. Back then they would plaster you in make-up, now with HD there is no point because they are going to see right through it.
And Derek and I would stand there and I would be down to my bra taking it all off and it didn’t matter to Derek, I might as well have been naked and then he would have his t-shirt off and be doing the same and then one evening Ciarán came in and just brushed it off as normal.
‘I remember asking him later if it ever bothered him. And he just asked “Derek?” and smiled. So we were always very close and had a real honest relationship and Ciarán knew that.
‘We were always straight up and if we don’t agree we don’t agree. We do a daily walk, we march for 40 minutes and we fix the world, we fix RTÉ.
‘We fix the culture of broadcasting. We are actually incredibly intelligent people. Nobody listens to us and I can see us in our 70s doing the same.
‘I know him very well and we know each other’s nuances and I think it will make for a fun and interesting show.’
The truth is that Bláthnaid has been broadcasting regularly as Gaeilge on Raidió na Gaeltachta for two years now and has won three international awards.
So turning her hand at a weekly radio show with her best pal is just another string in her bow.
‘I won three awards in one year’, she says proudly. ‘I suppose because the awards were credited to my Irish language work and not my English work they didn’t get the publicity. But you know what, the Celtic Media Award was amazing because it was BBC Radio Ulster, Wales and, when I heard the guy presenting the award, and he didn’t define the gender of the person who was winning it, I thought that is really clever and I was convinced that the lead singer from Deacon Blue, who presents a show on BBC Wales, was going to win it.
‘When I won it, it meant the world to me.
‘I am over there in the radio centre two years now and I am looking at them, trying to get on TV wondering if they are stupid. Stay where you are because there is nobody watching TV and there will be less watching it. I have come the other way.
‘But maybe with radio they take profiles, they don’t necessarily create profiles. You always need your producer to back you and believe in you and that is how you work in this business. I was lucky that producers did believe in me. I was always a grafter but I do know that is not always necessarily the all it takes. Maybe I should have been a bit more political in ways, who knows?’
The promo for Derek and Bláthnaid’s new show involves a quirky conversation about the Meath mum having a tattoo removed from her back. It is the sort of irreverent banter that will set people talking around the nation’s breakfast table. There is no reason why this programme can’t be taken to a more regular slot.
‘I would love to do it in a bigger capacity, oh yea. It is the quibbling and the set-ups that will be funny but also us challenging one another. He won’t be long telling me that he wouldn’t have worn whatever I am wearing. But I adore him. Because the real truth is that you don’t really make good friends in our business.
You think they are friends but they are not. It is growing-up time really isn’t it? I was in there at 18 and Derek and I would both be just as sensitive to people letting us down. So I think I have just had a bit more bashing publicly so I am kind of going its okay.
‘I have a handful of friends. Anna (Nolan), Derek, Trevor Keegan. It is four or five and that’s okay. That’s all you want because no matter where you end up they will still be in your life.
‘When you really ask yourself, when I leave this big institution that is RTÉ, how many people will actually ring and give a sh***? Like really. That’s okay. Derek and I feel the same which is good because we won’t let each other down. But loyalty is important.’
You only have to spend a moment in the pair’s company to understand that the bond between them is set in stone. Friendship and loyalty are old-fashioned traits that Bláthnaid fiercely believes in. She is someone who is constantly fighting the status quo.
When she speaks of fair pay or working conditions or just fights her own corner she is branded feisty, or gobby or fiery. But perhaps brave, is a label that would be better suited to her. And when she speaks about issues surrounding pay and gender gaps, she believes it is a national conversation that must be acknowledged by every household in Ireland.
She says: ‘What I have always found is that you get labelled. You become feisty. Why can’t I just argue my point and have an
Maybe I should have been a bit more political in ways. Who knows?
opinion without being called feisty. How many times have you opened an article to read feisty red-head? You wouldn’t; get that with a man. What I am trying to say is how often do you see ‘father-of-five Seán O’Rourke’ or ‘father-of-three Joe Duffy’ in pieces. But you always see ‘mother of four’. And I am not like some feminists I don’t run away from being defined as a mother. But it is not my only role.
‘I actually believe it adds to my persona and I believe that it has added to my traits and attributes. In fact I am probably a better mother than a wife, and I don’t mean that in a negative way. Everyone has to take responsibility. Every editor of a newspaper, he or she must take responsibility.
‘Every manager and every parent. Like when I see a little girl and I immediately go, “Oh aren’t you so pretty”. I see a little boy and I go, “Oh you are so strong”. Why can’t a girl be pretty and strong? And that boy be handsome and strong? We all have a part to play. I saw it at home the other day when my daughter Síle asked me why I always asked her to turn the washing machine on? The others were there and I said thank you, that is so right. I am not commenting about this because I am perfect, I am saying I have a lot to learn.
‘I am a feminist and I want the freedom to say that without sounding like a lesbian.
‘These labels that are thrown at people who are just making points about women’s rights. And by the way they are human rights, not women’s rights. Every day as a parent I learn something new. That is all you are. What are you defined as when you die? They will only talk to your kids, and ask what you were like. Nobody else will care.’
Family is key to Bláthnaid. When she speaks of her husband, music producer Ciarán Byrne, her eyes light up. The same happens when she causally drops her daughter Síle and sons in to the conversation. They are the corner stone of her existence and the point that she always returns to. When her home life is good she is a happy camper. And the Chofaigh Byrne brigade is on an emotional rollercoaster following son Peader and the minor Dublin footballers on their quest for an All-Ireland football championship.
‘I have never talked about this before but my son is playing minor Dublin and we are on a rollercoaster. Sandwiches are made, flasks are packed and we hit the road every weekend following him.
‘It is weird but it is okay to support Dublin. Someone challenged me recently and said ‘‘a Meath supporter roaring for Dublin?’’ I know it is crass but I turned to this man from Meath and I said: ‘‘I bred four of them what do you expect?’’ ’
‘You can’t fight it. Like I will never put on a Dublin jersey but that doesn’t take from the fact that I want my baby to win, all 6ft 6ins of him.
‘He has Connemara blood in him from my side and Ciarán played all his life in the Artane Boys band so he has played in Croke Park more than Pat Spillane.
‘He has a real mix of the two of us where he has my passion and he has Ciarán’s calmness.
‘He is only 17, and I keep saying to him to respect the opposition. But it is a wonderful time and so exciting and sure you would be sick on the sideline hearing other people talk about your son in the stands. But he loves it and I am so proud of him.’ ÷The Mooney Show with Derek & Bláthnaid, Saturdays at 10am on RTÉ Radio 1.