It may be a fleeting reign, but right now Brendan O’Connor (RTÉ Radio 1, Saturday and Sunday) is king of the Radio 1 castle.
From his weekend perch, O’Connor has spent the past couple of years looking on as the station’s other big names have departed amid varying degrees of amicability, clearing his path to the throne.
But the presenter’s ascension hasn’t occurred purely by default. His show’s mix of political debate, celebrity chat and – unlikely as it sounds – reflective rumination has proved an audience winner.
It’s a formula neatly exemplified by O’Connor’s most recent programmes, his interview with Jeremy Irons providing the A-list stardust on Saturday. The English actor is promoting his new film, Palestine 36, set during the Arab Revolt against British rule of the territory.
Irons touches on the present-day ramifications of Britain’s colonial mandate – “The English legacy in Palestine is something we should be ashamed of” – but is more animated when discussing an altogether different, if not unrelated, oppressive regime: the boarding school he attended from the age of seven.
The actor evokes a harsh envi
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