Joe Duffy is set to hang up his microphone on Liveline when his final programme airs on Friday 27th June.
Joe has been a listening ear for the nation for 37 years, with 27 years presenting Liveline on RTE Radio 1.
Announcing his retirement today, he said: “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. RTÉ has been a great place to work. Public service has always been at its heart. And now, after many happy years, I’ve decided the time has come to move on. I would like to thank you the listener for tuning in each and every day, it has been an honour to sit in this seat and hear your stories.”
Born in January 1956, in Mountjoy Square, Dublin, and raised in Ballyfermot, Joe Duffy originally pursued social work at Trinity College.
Joe became one of the first from his area to go to Trinity College and was actively involved in student politics and went on to serve as President of the Union of Students in Ireland.
He led protests on campus highlighting access to education and spending two weeks in Mountjoy Prison as a result. After working in the probation service, he joined RTÉ originally as a radio producer, in 1989, and came to prominence as a reporter on the legendary Gay Byrne Show.
He presented programmes like Soundbyte before taking over Liveline in 1998. In his 27 years in the Liveline hotseat, both Joe and the programme itself have become national institutions, with the programme frequently attracting some 400,000 listeners.
Joe Duffy will be Patrick’s Kielty’s special guest on tomorrow night’s The Late Late Show, marking his 37 years in broadcasting. Joe will present his last Liveline his last show airing on Friday 27th June. RTÉ will run a process over the coming months to appoint Joe’s successor with an announcement expected in the autumn.
