Broadcaster Pat Kenny has presented his final weekday edition of The Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk, ahead of a schedule change that will see the programme move to weekends later this year.
Kenny has held the mid-morning slot in various forms for decades across Irish radio, and he has been the voice of Newstalk's 9am to 12pm programme since joining the station from RTÉ Radio 1 in 2013.
Under Newstalk's new weekday line-up, the 9am to 12pm slot will be taken over by Claire Byrne from Tuesday, 3 February. The changes form part of a wider reshuffle of the station's daytime schedule, announced by Newstalk's parent company, Bauer Media Audio Ireland, in December.
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Kenny is due to return with a new weekend programme on Saturdays and Sundays from March, airing from 10am to 12pm, according to Bauer.
Tánaiste Simon Harris paid tribute in a message posted on social media, describing Kenny as a "constant and trusted presence" in Irish broadcasting and thanking him for "years of insight, balance and thoughtful discussion" on the programme.
Harris added that he had "always enjoyed engaging" with Kenny on air, and said he was looking forward to hearing him in his new weekend role.
