Seasoned RTE Lyric FM presenter Lorcan Murray said he learned of the proposed closure of the station’s studio headquarters in Limerick, through a text message last night, sent from a friend who had seen the news online.
“A friend of mine sent me a text at 11.30pm last night, asking me had I seen The Irish Times online. I was just going to bed. So, there you go. So, The Irish Times knew about it before I did,” Murray said.
Sources at Lyric said they felt “snubbed” by RTE in the way station bosses handled the announcement.
For Murray however, who left 2FM to join Lyric, and launch the station in Limerick 20 years ago, last night’s news came as something of a bombshell.
Speaking this morning, he remarked how it was a particularly bitter pill to swallow, having felt that he and his colleagues have been “very loyal” employees.
“It’s just so disappointing. I’m 31 years now with RTE and I would call myself a very loyal employee, and I feel very disappointed in the way I’ve been told,” he said.
Murray recently approached the City’s mayor to seek support for keeping the studios on air in Limerick.
“I had asked him to put forward a motion before the Council for all parties to endorse holding Lyric in Limerick.”
Last May Lyric’s Limerick staff outwardly maintained a positive outlook, despite their inner concerns about the studio’s future, after RTE announced it would hold Lyric’s 20 year celebrations in Dublin.
The decision not to hold the celebrations in Limerick was defended at the time on “cost grounds” by the Head of Lyric FM, Aodan O’Dubhghailll.
The star studded cast of this year’s eagerly awaited Robert C Kelly and University Concert Hall Panto, Snow White, were in Limerick today for the launch which took place in the beautiful No. 1 Pery Square.
Photo: True Media
After the announcement last May, Murray maintained that having a national radio station based locally was “a great feather in the cap” for Limerick.
Olga Buckley, a Lyric producer, said then that, many staff were on first name terms with loyal listeners.
They shared their personal stories – births, deaths, and marriages and corresponded in hand-written notes and letters.
Today, Murray, who steers the station’s flagship drivetime programme, Classic Drive, said he was gobsmacked by RTEs plan closing down Lyric in Limerick.
“I didn’t think it would come to be honest, I thought it was scaremongering to be honest, you know – holding out the baby. I’ve had around 30 calls, since 8am from friends, saying they can’t believe it,” he said.
RTE Director General Dee Forbes is due to address staff in Limerick this morning about the plans.
