Ian Dempsey has told Brendan O'Connor on RTÉ Radio 1 that he still does not know how he did in his Leaving Certificate, because he never collected his results.
The Today FM presenter joined O'Connor on Sunday to pick five of his favourite songs and dropped the bombshell while talking about his school days.
"School suited me to [a point]," Dempsey recalled.
"I liked meeting people. I liked some of the lessons. I liked English, and I liked French. I hated Mathematics. Still do - don't know how to get my head around numbers at all. I'm terrible on that!"
"I'm ashamed to say it - and I would hate anyone out there who's studying at the moment for state exams to follow my lead, because I was lucky and it worked out for me - but I didn't actually get my Leaving Cert," Dempsey continued.
"I did the Leaving Cert exams, but I actually... I don't know what I got in it! I never actually picked up my Leaving Cert results!"
"No way!" said the host.
"Because I was already working. I was on a pirate station," Dempsey explained.
"I have a surprise for you..." said O'Connor.
"Oh yeah?!" laughed Dempsey. "Have you got them?! Oh great!"
"We went into the archives," laughed O'Connor.
"How did I do in French?" asked Dempsey.
"Do you know what? We just decided it would be unfair to read them out on air. We're going to give them to you in a sealed envelope afterwards," O'Connor replied. "I think maybe it'd be best if you were alone when you open it!"
"Ah, ok, right!" laughed Dempsey.
Dempsey's musical choices were: Ned Miller, Louis Armstrong, Supertramp, David Bowie, and Paul Brady.
The broadcaster, who turns 65 in January, said he enjoys his work as much as ever.
"I'm very happy to continue on," he told the host.
"I do jump out of the bed in the morning. I'm signed up with Today FM, with Bauer Media, until 2027. And sure, we'll see what happens there.
"But, I mean, I'm still enjoying doing it, and I get a buzz out of it. I get a buzz talking to people on the radio. I get a buzz talking about what we're going to talk to people on the radio about!
"And, I mean, it's become much more like a business, I think, you know, than it ever was. But at the same time, if you concentrate on the bits in between all the songs and all that and just try and entertain, that's what it's all about."
The Brendan O'Connor Show, weekends, RTÉ Radio 1, 11:00am
