Ian Dempsey
Encyclopedia
Ian Michael Dempsey is an Irish
presenter of television and breakfast radio. He is the long-running presenter of the breakfast show on Today FM
, self-titled The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show
, which runs from 07:00 - 09:00 each weekday morning. He has won several major awards for his programmes and remains one of the most popular broadcasters in Ireland, placing 10th in 2007.
On 9 June 2010, he co-hosted the opening ceremony of the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games
Irish heats at Thomond Park
with Des Cahill
.
, to present The Weekend Breakfast Show on RTÉ 2fm
, and later, shows such as Poparama, The Hotline, Night Train and The Great Giveaway Show. Dempsey later hosted the lunchtime show before moving to the breakfast slot in the mid-1980s. He picked up where Marty Whelan
had left off, engaging the audience with his natural personality, a world apart from the 'jocks' that stalked the radio centre at the time. Apart from a brief time off breakfast following 2FM's 1989 relaunch, he has remained on early mornings since. Maxi
was placed on the breakfast show at that time but after a few weeks it was apparent to all that her style not suited to the format; Dempsey was promptly reinstated.
1986 saw Dempsey's first major exposure to television, with the now infamous children's show Dempsey's Den
, which also gave the alien twin puppets Zig and Zag
their first break to the small screen. Noted for his choice of brightly-coloured jumpers, Dempsey presented The Den
until the summer of 1990 and later reflected on his time at the helm in a 2008 RTÉ documentary. He also worked on various TV shows including the pop music quiz show Number 1 and three seasons of The Beatbox, a two-hour music video
show simulcast
on Network 2
and RTÉ 2FM
. He was also the first host of the Irish version of Talkabout
.
Dempsey weathered the storm of the advent of independent radio in Ireland on RTÉ 2fm breakfast. His style was informal and relaxed. His rapport with Des Cahill
was particularly strong. John Clarke, later head of RTÉ 2fm, produced the show and occasionally deputized.
team providing comedic value. 2FM have struggled to find a suitable replacement ever since, and are currently trying out Hector Ó hEochagáin
in a bid to rival Dempsey. When the move was announced he was refused entry to the Montrose campus and publicly complained that over 20,000 albums of his were not returned to him by RTÉ. In recent years it has been widely reported that 2FM have tried to tempt him back. In 2007 Dempsey started presenting an online radio show for Irish people abroad called The Craic.
and met him in 2003. His favourite song is "Heroes" by Bowie. Dempsey's biggest thrill was interviewing Bruce Springsteen
in Berlin
, whilst his tour manager looked on, horrified that he had obtained the interview without her consent.
Dempsey's favourite television shows include The Panel, Love is the Drug
and Prime Time Investigates; he also loves Ricky Gervais
and Stephen Merchant
's shows and watches Curb Your Enthusiasm
on TG4
. His preferred radio shows are The Last Word
with Matt Cooper
on Today FM
, Liveline
with Joe Duffy
on RTÉ Radio 1
, and Seán Moncrieff
on Newstalk. His favourite restaurant is The Unicorn but he also likes Shanahan's on St Stephen's Green and Casa Pasta in Howth
, Dublin. He has been going to Portugal
every year since 1990.
Dempsey is a founding member of the RTÉ Sports Club and the Wednesday Club. He achieved a birdie in Sutton Golf Club in 2004. He supports Chelsea F.C.
, receiving a team kit with Ian Hutchinson's number 10 on the back as a 10th birthday present. He admires Denis O'Brien
, because "he's restless and always seems to be making a clever move". He said his best business decision was moving to Today FM.
.
|-
| 2010
|| Ian Dempsey || Best Radio DJ - National ||
|-
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
presenter of television and breakfast radio. He is the long-running presenter of the breakfast show on Today FM
Today FM
Radio Ireland Ltd, trading as 100-102 Today FM is an Irish commercial FM radio station which is available nationally. The station, which commenced broadcasting on Saint Patrick's Day in 1997, can be received nationally and carries a mix of music and talk...
, self-titled The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show
The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show
The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show is an Irish radio show broadcast on weekday mornings from 07:00 - 09:00 on Today FM. Presented by Ian Dempsey, it is noted for its Gift Grub feature, performed by Mario Rosenstock...
, which runs from 07:00 - 09:00 each weekday morning. He has won several major awards for his programmes and remains one of the most popular broadcasters in Ireland, placing 10th in 2007.
On 9 June 2010, he co-hosted the opening ceremony of the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games
2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games
The 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games is a sporting event held from June, 25th 2011 - July, 4th 2011 in Athens, Greece. The opening ceremony of the games took place on 25 June 2011 at the Panathinaiko Stadium and the closing ceremony was held on 4 July 2011."Over 7,500" athletes, from 185...
Irish heats at Thomond Park
Thomond Park
Thomond Park is a stadium located in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and count Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. The capacity of the stadium is 26,500 following its large scale redevelopment in...
with Des Cahill
Des Cahill
Desmond 'Des' Cahill is an Irish sports presenter and commentator with national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. He presents a daily radio programme called Drivetime Sport on RTÉ Radio 1, while on television he has presented The Sunday Game, The Road to Croker, Play It Again, Des, and Up for...
.
Early life
Dempsey began his first experiments in radio in 1967 when at the age of six he made his first radio show in a friend's house. In 1978 he joined Dublin pirate station Capitol Radio, and later worked for Alternative Radio Dublin and Radio 257.RTÉ
In 1980 he joined the national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís ÉireannRaidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
, to present The Weekend Breakfast Show on RTÉ 2fm
RTÉ 2fm
RTÉ 2fm, or 2FM as it is more commonly referred to, is Raidió Teilifís Éireann's second national radio station. It broadcasts popular music programming aimed at a young Irish audience.- History :...
, and later, shows such as Poparama, The Hotline, Night Train and The Great Giveaway Show. Dempsey later hosted the lunchtime show before moving to the breakfast slot in the mid-1980s. He picked up where Marty Whelan
Marty Whelan
Martin 'Marty' Whelan is a Jacob's Award-winning Irish radio and television personality currently working for Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Frequently seen and heard on RTÉ radio and television, he has presented a variety of shows...
had left off, engaging the audience with his natural personality, a world apart from the 'jocks' that stalked the radio centre at the time. Apart from a brief time off breakfast following 2FM's 1989 relaunch, he has remained on early mornings since. Maxi
Maxi (singer)
Maxi is an Irish radio disc-jockey and producer; actor, journalist, and singer. Her real name is Irene McCoubrey. She was nicknamed Maxi in school because of the McC letters in her name. She came to fame as part of the popular girl band, Maxi, Dick and Twink, in Ireland in the late 1960s.She...
was placed on the breakfast show at that time but after a few weeks it was apparent to all that her style not suited to the format; Dempsey was promptly reinstated.
1986 saw Dempsey's first major exposure to television, with the now infamous children's show Dempsey's Den
The Den (television)
The Den was the brand of the children's television strand on Irish public broadcaster RTÉ Two. It first broadcast on 29 September 1986 on RTÉ One, before moving to RTÉ Two in September 1988. The strand began to diversify throughout the late 1990s and the 2000s...
, which also gave the alien twin puppets Zig and Zag
Zig and Zag (puppets)
Zig and Zag are an Irish puppet duo performed by Mick O'Hara and Ciaran Morrison.The characters are a pair of furry extraterrestrial twins from the planet Zog. They made their television début on RTÉs Dempsey's Den in 1987. A year later they won a Jacob's Award for TV Personalities of the year...
their first break to the small screen. Noted for his choice of brightly-coloured jumpers, Dempsey presented The Den
The Den (television)
The Den was the brand of the children's television strand on Irish public broadcaster RTÉ Two. It first broadcast on 29 September 1986 on RTÉ One, before moving to RTÉ Two in September 1988. The strand began to diversify throughout the late 1990s and the 2000s...
until the summer of 1990 and later reflected on his time at the helm in a 2008 RTÉ documentary. He also worked on various TV shows including the pop music quiz show Number 1 and three seasons of The Beatbox, a two-hour music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
show simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
on Network 2
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...
and RTÉ 2FM
RTÉ 2fm
RTÉ 2fm, or 2FM as it is more commonly referred to, is Raidió Teilifís Éireann's second national radio station. It broadcasts popular music programming aimed at a young Irish audience.- History :...
. He was also the first host of the Irish version of Talkabout
Talk About (game show)
Talk About is a game show produced in Canada for CBC, which bears some similarities to the board game Outburst. Originally produced for CBC for the 1988-89 season, it was later picked up for American television syndication, airing from September 18, 1989 to March 16, 1990, with repeats later airing...
.
Des Cahill
Desmond 'Des' Cahill is an Irish sports presenter and commentator with national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. He presents a daily radio programme called Drivetime Sport on RTÉ Radio 1, while on television he has presented The Sunday Game, The Road to Croker, Play It Again, Des, and Up for...
was particularly strong. John Clarke, later head of RTÉ 2fm, produced the show and occasionally deputized.
Today FM
Dempsey shocked the Irish radio world in 1998 by announcing a move to the newly relaunched Today FM. He had been tempted by a sizable salary package to join the station that 12 months beforehand had languished with a minimal JNLR result. He left RTÉ for Today FM in July 1998 and since late September 1998 (when his breakfast show was launched) he has worked at the station with his Gift GrubGift Grub
Gift Grub is a series of short comic pieces broadcast on weekdays on the breakfast show of Irish commercial radio station Today FM since 8 May 1999...
team providing comedic value. 2FM have struggled to find a suitable replacement ever since, and are currently trying out Hector Ó hEochagáin
Hector Ó hEochagáin
Hector Ó hEochagáin is an Irish television and radio presenter from Navan, Co. Meath, Ireland. He currently presents Breakfast with Hector weekday mornings on RTÉ 2fm.-Career:...
in a bid to rival Dempsey. When the move was announced he was refused entry to the Montrose campus and publicly complained that over 20,000 albums of his were not returned to him by RTÉ. In recent years it has been widely reported that 2FM have tried to tempt him back. In 2007 Dempsey started presenting an online radio show for Irish people abroad called The Craic.
Personal life
Dempsey is a huge fan of David BowieDavid Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
and met him in 2003. His favourite song is "Heroes" by Bowie. Dempsey's biggest thrill was interviewing Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, whilst his tour manager looked on, horrified that he had obtained the interview without her consent.
Dempsey's favourite television shows include The Panel, Love is the Drug
Love is the Drug (TV series)
Love is the Drug was a short lived drama based in Drogheda, Co. Louth and it ran on RTÉ Two for their 2004 season....
and Prime Time Investigates; he also loves Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
and Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
's shows and watches Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
on TG4
TG4
TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
. His preferred radio shows are The Last Word
The Last Word (radio show)
The Last Word is an Irish radio news review show hosted by Matt Cooper on Today FM on weekday evenings. Eamon Dunphy originally hosted the show but stepped down in November 2002.Kevin Myers was a regular stand-in presenter in the early years of the show....
with Matt Cooper
Matt Cooper (Irish journalist)
Matt Cooper is an Irish journalist and presenter of The Last Word on Today FM.Cooper was educated at the North Monastery school and University College Cork. He is a former editor of the Sunday Tribune, appointed in September 1996, as well as a former business editor of the Irish Independent...
on Today FM
Today FM
Radio Ireland Ltd, trading as 100-102 Today FM is an Irish commercial FM radio station which is available nationally. The station, which commenced broadcasting on Saint Patrick's Day in 1997, can be received nationally and carries a mix of music and talk...
, Liveline
LiveLine
Liveline is an Irish radio interview and phone-in chat show broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 each weekday afternoon between 13.45 and 15.00. The programme, which is currently presented by Joe Duffy and known for its slogan "Talk to Joe", seeks the public's opinion on various questions, normally one or more...
with Joe Duffy
Joe Duffy
Joseph "Joe" Duffy is an Irish broadcaster employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann . A Jacob's Award winner, he is the current presenter of Liveline, which is broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1, Monday - Fridays between 13:45 and 15:00.Duffy has a history as a student activist; he was President of the Union of...
on RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 is the principal radio channel of Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926...
, and Seán Moncrieff
Seán Moncrieff
Seán Moncrieff is an Irish broadcaster, journalist and writer. He currently presents the weekday afternoon radio show Moncrieff on Newstalk. His television credits include his own Raidió Teilifís Éireann chat show Good Grief Moncrieff!, comedy panel show Don't Feed the Gondolas, and The...
on Newstalk. His favourite restaurant is The Unicorn but he also likes Shanahan's on St Stephen's Green and Casa Pasta in Howth
Howth
Howth is an area in Fingal County near Dublin city in Ireland. Originally just a small fishing village, Howth with its surrounding rural district is now a busy suburb of Dublin, with a mix of dense residential development and wild hillside, all on the peninsula of Howth Head. The only...
, Dublin. He has been going to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
every year since 1990.
Dempsey is a founding member of the RTÉ Sports Club and the Wednesday Club. He achieved a birdie in Sutton Golf Club in 2004. He supports Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, receiving a team kit with Ian Hutchinson's number 10 on the back as a 10th birthday present. He admires Denis O'Brien
Denis O'Brien
Denis O'Brien is an Irish businessman with international connections. An Arts graduate of University College Dublin, O'Brien has received a MBA in corporate finance from Boston College in 1982, and was later given an honorary doctorate by University College Dublin.O'Brien has involvement with...
, because "he's restless and always seems to be making a clever move". He said his best business decision was moving to Today FM.
Awards
Dempsey was nominated in the category of Best Radio DJ - National at the 2010 Meteor Awards2010 Meteor Awards
The 2010 Meteor Music Awards ceremony took place on Friday February 19, 2010 in Dublin. They were presented by Amanda Byram. The launch took place in La Stampa on January 7, 2010 and was attended by The Coronas and Danny O'Donoghue from The Script....
.
|-
| 2010
2010 Meteor Awards
The 2010 Meteor Music Awards ceremony took place on Friday February 19, 2010 in Dublin. They were presented by Amanda Byram. The launch took place in La Stampa on January 7, 2010 and was attended by The Coronas and Danny O'Donoghue from The Script....
|| Ian Dempsey || Best Radio DJ - National ||
|-
External links
- Official website of The Ian Dempsey Breakfast ShowThe Ian Dempsey Breakfast ShowThe Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show is an Irish radio show broadcast on weekday mornings from 07:00 - 09:00 on Today FM. Presented by Ian Dempsey, it is noted for its Gift Grub feature, performed by Mario Rosenstock...
- 2009 ski trip of The Ian Dempsey Breakfast ShowThe Ian Dempsey Breakfast ShowThe Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show is an Irish radio show broadcast on weekday mornings from 07:00 - 09:00 on Today FM. Presented by Ian Dempsey, it is noted for its Gift Grub feature, performed by Mario Rosenstock...