Have we reached Brexit overload yet?

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HE farmers on BBC Radio 4’s The Archers are starting to get worried about selling their lambs to the French in the event of a no-deal Brexit. That’s fair enough. The ongoing drama was traditionally billed as an “everyday story of country folk”, and rural issues have always been a background theme during its near 70 years on air — but it was a reminder of how impossible it is to escape talk about Brexit these days. On Tuesday’s Moncrieff, the Newstalk host actually managed to shoehorn the topic into a discussion about plans to lay a new path up Croagh Patrick.

A caller by the name of Confused Atheist texted in to ask why suffering, in the form of climbing the hill barefoot, was deemed to bring one closer to God. Sean Moncrieff replied by referencing The Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole’s recent book about Brexit, saying: “For some bizarre reason, there seems to be this strain, particularly in Tory thought, that a good thrashing does you the world of good.”

That's a pretty tenuous, if not downright weird, connection to make, it has to be said. It suggests the subject of Brexit is now so dominant that it's invading every corner of our brains, to the exclusion of all else.

Even during Liveline’s celebration of DJ Larry Gogan on RTE Radio 1 the same day, Joe Duffy from nowhere suddenly said of the veteran broadcaster: “He’s a good man for the times we live in... when you listen to Brexit and Trump and the nastiness that’s around, in our rich tapestry of life it’s a great reminder that there’s people like Larry.” Surely we’re reaching overload on the Brexit references by now?

The show itself was a fitting tribute to Larry Gogan, who will be leaving 2FM at the end of this month after 40 years, to host a new slot on digital station RTE Gold.

Among the guests who gave their time to pay tribute was Newstalk’s Pat Kenny, an erstwhile colleague from days gone by, who generously predicted that listeners would “move the dial” and “follow Larry” to his new home. Fingers crossed that he’s right, but digital radio has really never taken off to the expected extent. It’s not even known how many people listen to RTE Gold or other dedicated stations such as Pulse (dance and hip hop) and Chill (an all-night station playing soothing ambient music), because no one bothers counting at all.

Whatever the reason for his departure, Larry Gogan is taking the move in his stride. His advice to anyone looking for a long career in the business has always been to “keep coming in”, though Marty Whelan, who was on hand to offer his own accolade, had a more drolly cynical take, insisting that the best plan was to "keep your head down in case they realise you're still here".

Over on BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback, meanwhile, it's now become possible to spot the unionist callers because the're the ones who call the Taoiseach "Leo Varadakar". It's the equivalent of nationalists mispronouncing the UK parliament as "Westminister".

Presumably it’s meant to demonstrate contempt for opponents by suggesting that you can’t even be bothered to get their names right, but it’s ugly on the ear, not to mention shocking bad manners.