Damien’s parting tribute to his mentor and friend Joe Duffy
DEPARTING RTÉ presenter Damien O’Reilly has paid a warm tribute to his ‘great mentor’ Joe Duffy, who he says has been his guiding voice in radio for 24 years.
Ahead of his departure from the State broadcaster as he prepares to take up a new job in Brussels, Countrywide presenter Mr O’Reilly told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘I have to say, out of all the people in RTÉ, Joe has been one great mentor for me. He was the first man that came over to me when I joined in 1998, sitting on my own in the canteen, to welcome me.’
Mr O’Reilly’s appreciation of his veteran colleague’s talents has been cemented by filling in for him on Liveline over the years. He also revealed Duffy sent him ‘a lovely text’ when he announced his departure from the station this week.
‘I really look up to Joe,’ Mr O’Reilly said. ‘He’s a great man.’
Born, raised and still living in Castleknock, Dublin, Mr O’Reilly has found himself at the helm of RTÉ Radio’s agricultural programming for most of his career in Montrose House. Now he is about to embark on a new challenge as the EU affairs and communications manager with the Irish Co-operative
‘I really look up to Joe, he’s a great man’
Organisation Society, which represents and lobbies on behalf of Irish co-ops at the top table in Europe and the world.
‘I’m looking forward to it,’ he said of the new challenge. ‘It’s a great opportunity. I’ve been going to Brussels for the best part of 25 years and love it. It’s a great city. I have a lot of friends there, a lot of contacts there over the years.’
Among these friends, he said, is the former Ear To The Ground presenter Mairéad McGuinness, who replaced Phil Hogan as European Commissioner after 2020’s ‘Golfgate’ affair.
‘When I started in RTÉ, Mairéad was in the Farming Independent, so we would have soldiered initially as journalist colleagues, meeting at press conferences,’ he recalls.
‘I’ve kept in touch with her over the years and would have met her many times out there on different trips. So yeah, Mairéad is a good friend.’
Mr O’Reilly’s two children reaching the ages of 20 and 16 helped to convince him the time was right for the move, although they will stay in Ireland. ‘They’re at a good age [and] they’re excited at the prospect of coming over to see me, or me coming back,’ he said.
A keen sports enthusiast who has worked at three Olympics for RTÉ, Mr O’Reilly proved himself the consummate all-rounder during the pandemic, filling in on various shows when other presenters were unwell or isolating. ‘I was the “designated survivor” – standing in if people went down. We were all very pleased with how we managed to get through Covid and keep the show on the road.’
His proudest accomplishment is getting Countrywide – the Saturday morning magazine show he has fronted for 13 years – up and running. ‘It’s not many people who can say that they started a programme from scratch,’ he said.
He’ll be succeeded on the awardwinning show by the similarly versatile Philip Boucher-Hayes, who Mr O’Reilly describes ‘a perfect replacement’.
‘Philip has a fantastic background and pedigree in the whole area of agriculture, food and the environment, which is now interlocked with agriculture and very much a huge issue.’ Mr O’Reilly said the gig was ‘probably one of the best jobs in RTÉ’. ‘I was able to get out and about. I didn’t have to dress up to go and do a day’s work. Basically, put the wellies into the boot of the car and off I would go down the country to visit and interview ordinary people. When you’re interviewing politicians or sports people, they are “PR-ed” to within an inch of their life. So it’s always great to get out and just talk to ordinary people around the country,’ he said.
Naturally, it has given him a close affinity with those who work the land who, he says ‘feel at times that what they’re actually trying to do and the targets they’re trying to meet are not recognised by some critics’, in relation to environmental issues.
‘One of the first questions I ask a farmer is: “What are you doing to reduce the carbon footprint of this farm?” I’ve never gone to a farm, in recent times, where the farmer hasn’t been able to point to something that they’re doing.’
Mr O’Reilly said he would like to see some ‘understanding of farming and nature’ restored among urban dwellers.
‘When I was going to primary school, although I went to school here in Dublin, nearly everybody in my class had a granny or granddad or an uncle on a farm. We were only one generation away from it. That’s all changed now,’ he said.
‘I think what we need to do is make sure that how food is produced, the impact of food production on the environment, the benefit of locally-sourced food and the European support model for the family farm – that people are aware of the benefits of food production in Europe. And I think [we should be] educating consumers and restoring the link between consumers and farmers and restoring faith in each other.’
‘It’s great to get out and talk to ordinary people’