Analysis: Four decades later, fuming listeners continue to ring in about everything from scams and rip-offs to politics and social issues
It's 40 years ago this year since Liveline first went on air. In 1984, the pioneering RTÉ radio programme Women Today ended and, a year later, Marian Finucane, who had temporarily left Women Today as presenter to edit the short-lived Status magazine, was back on air with Liveline. The show was devised by former Women Today presenter Hillary Orpen and editor Ed Mullhall. It was envisaged that its daily 2pm to 3pm slot would continue to empower women, many of whom were slowly returning to the workforce after a forced absence, brought about by the marriage bar, which was revoked only in 1973
Liveline went on air at a time when the Catholic Church continued its pervasive presence in Irish life, and attending the confessional was still a regular ritual. Hitherto, talk radio in the form of the Gay Byrne Show, had played a significant role in propelling the very private experiences of Irish people into the public arena, acting as a substitute confessional.
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From RTÉ Archives, 1985 episode of Liveline where witches Janet and Stewart Farrar answer questions from listeners
It was anticipated that Liveline would continue this concept. By the mid-1980s, callers were accustomed to the new technology of the telephone and phone-in or talkback radio. There was also a decline in the numbers going to confession, precipitated by a move towards individualism, secularisation and a number of church scandals which emerged during the early 1990s. These developments facilitated the emergence of the phenomena of the public confessional.
But over time, listeners to Liveline rang the programme more out of a sense of frustration or grief, rather than over a private event. Women, in particular, by the late 1980s, no longer wished to endure outdated inequities.
One woman, so fuelled with frustration, rang Marian when she was refused a hire purchase agreement for a television as it required her husband’s signature to legitimise the transaction. Finucane rang the store manager who attempted to defend his policy live on air. A nation applauded as the presenter's tenacity and no nonsense tone highlighted the illogical and unfair treatment of female customers.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Liveline in 1997, Anne Butler tells Marian Finucane about how she lost her job as a presiding officer in Bruff at the general election after being photographed shaking hands with Bertie Ahern
On another programme, a heavily pregnant women who sought assistance for a flat tyre at a local service station and was refused rang Liveline from the garage. Finucane asked to speak to the manager of the garage on air and she gently but forthrightly admonished him for not helping this lady. It was due to insurance reasons, he opined. The presenter tutted and scolded; what happened to common decency and neighbourly assistance, she asked? Days later, Senator David Norris brought up the issue in the Seanad.
Everyone had a line to Liveline. As mobile phones became more affordable and widespread, this helped to create a democratisation of the airwaves. A Cork man rang to ask Marian’s assistance in the grave matter of putting labels on different brands of stout; he and his five brothers met regularly in the Lobby Bar in Cork and there was imminent danger of their mixing up their pints! Finucane listened with intensity and empathy, never judgmental, forever fearless in her search for truth.
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From RTÉ Archives, "there's a major story breaking from New York". Liveline coverage of the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York on September 11th 2001
In 1999, Finucane moved to the 9am slot with The Marian Finucane Show (a show which produced this iconic moment) and Liveline was taken over by Joe Duffy, who has just announced his retirement after 27 years. A former Gay Byrne Show co-host and Byrne protégée, Duffy saw the programme as a' voice for the voiceless' and studio guests were gradually phased out to allow for live phone-in. In his autobiography, Just Joe, Duffy says that that it was the 'scams, rips and double-dealing' rather than serious political and social issues that brought listeners to Liveline.
By the 2010s, the Celtic Tiger had come and gone, leaving vast swathes of Liveline listeners desperate to talk to Joe about the banking crisis of 2008.They filled the airwaves to express their collective anger and outrage, all seeking succour and some kind of communal catharsis.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Liveline in 2013, listeners react to telephone conversation between Anglo Irish Bank executives about how to persuade the government to stabilise the bank during the 2008 financial crisis
Liveline was never as polarised or as politised as US radio talk shows where so called 'shock-jocks' like Sean Hannity and Howard Stern thrive on dissension and disinformation in an unregulated radio freefall environment. In contrast, in Ireland, Coimisiún na Meán ensures that Ireland’s airwaves are subject to strict regulation and presenters must abide to the Code of Fairness, Objectivity & Impartiality. Thus, we have measured debate on Liveline, intermixed with Duffy’s Dublinese humour and endearing empathy. His stewardship of the programme has helped it evolve into a central forum for national debate and discussion.
Liveline is a now a distinctly Irish cultural phenomenon. A survey in 2024 found that just 16% of Catholics attend confession monthly, but one could argue that the confession box in Ireland has been replaced by the soap box provided by Liveline and the priest by Duffy. The former firebrand from the northside of Dublin still clocks up a listenership of over 314,000, impressive in a time when there are 37 local and national radio stations also on air in the country.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Liveline, a listener called Susan has received over 500 poison pen letters since 2020 and still doesn't know their source
On a recent programme on a random day in March, Duffy negotiated the topic of poison pen letters, opening up a week-long conversation on rural isolation, mental health issues and the toxicity of anonymous abusers. The immediacy, impact and intimacy of radio generally, and Liveline in particular, makes it one of Ireland’s best-loved programmes.
With news of Duffy's retirement, a successor to Liveline will be announced in the autumn. But age has not withered Duffy, as he continues to confidently serve as a conduit through which an entire nation can talk to itself. How comforting it is to know, that after 40 years, you can still talk to Joe - and the Liveline is still open.
The author is convenor of the forthcoming conference; From Broadcast to Podcast; 100 years of Radio in Ireland, which will be held at UCC on January 29 & 30th 2026
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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
