With a bump in listeners on her lunchtime slot on 2FM, Tracy Clifford must be doing something right. She chats to Janice Butler about not focusing on the numbers, her priorities in life and her recent health issue.
I was looking forward to catching up with 2FM DJ Tracy Clifford. We met once before, just after lockdown, and I immediately warmed to her. She's instantly easy to talk to and very chilled; probably why she’s had a 20-year career on the airwaves.
On this occasion, I meet Tracy in the RTÉ radio building, where she’s chatting with Brendan Courtney, who's in for the Nine O'Clock Show on RTÉ Radio One. The two seem delighted to have bumped into each other. They say their goodbyes, coffees are ordered, and we sit down to shoot the breeze.
Professionally, it’s a great time for Tracy: recent JNLR figures reveal that her show (and most other 2FM shows) are on the up. Tracy, who hosts the lunchtime slot from 12-3pm midweek, gained an extra 6,000 listeners.
While she says she is obviously pleased by such news, she tries not to focus too much on the numbers.
"I just go, that’s great and let’s just get on and do a good show," she says. "I don’t think you can equate yourself to numbers; you just want to do a good job every single day. So, when they’re up, I’m delighted and when they’re down, I’m obviously not. But I think after t20 years in the industry, the best thing I can do is not dwell on them. Can you imagine? Every three or four months you’d be fretting."
But surely with an increase of that many listeners, she must be doing something right – has she reflected on why the show has attracted so many extra listeners? "We went around the country a lot during the summer," she answers. "We were at festivals all over the place, doing lots of outside broadcasts, so we were out and about more. That could have been it. I always think if you’re visible around the country, that can only help."
While Tracy, 43, is best-known now for blasting out pop music, meeting the biggest names in the business and appearing at festivals, news and current affairs were her first love. A Dublin native – "If you slice me down the middle, it’s all Dublin" – Tracy went from college to East Coast FM, where she says she cut her teeth reporting on everything from sport to local politics.
She then moved to Spin FM as head of news in 2005 before doing a 360 and moving into the music and entertainment side of things. She’s been with 2FM for eight years and says it’s a good time to be at the station.
"There’s a good buzz and sense of craic around 2FM now that wasn’t there before, and that’s down to people being back. When we were working remotely, you just didn’t get that connection; it really makes a difference to be in-person."
She admits she keeps an eye on what other radio stations are doing. "I would definitely be looking to see what’s going on in other stations and in other countries. I would always look, you have to," she says. "It’s the only way to get inspiration or see if there’s something you could be doing better. I have friends in every radio station because I worked my way up and there wouldn’t be competition when we chat. We’re all very supportive but everyone is always looking to see what other radio stations are doing."
Speaking of the small world of Irish radio broadcasting, what does she think of her former radio colleague, Ryan Tubridy, and his move to Virgin Media Radio in the UK? "I think fair play," she replies.
"Most radio presenters, if they’ve worked in Ireland and left a national station, will inevitably look to the UK, so I think no matter what radio station it is, it’s testing out the English market, isn’t it? It will be tough but as a radio person, I think it’s a deadly move."
She is hesitant about the effect of syndication – as Ryan Tubridy is reported to be doing with his UK radio show – on the local Irish radio market.
"That’s an interesting one. With that, I haven’t fully formulated my thoughts on it yet. I need to see what happens," she says, "but I do think that local radio needs to be protected in Ireland. There has been a demise of local radio in the UK when stations have been syndicated. From working in local radio, I know that it’s so important to the community – local stories, local news, it’s the heart of the country and outside of Dublin. So, I say best of luck to Ryan but local radio has to be protected at all costs in this country."
When I last met Tracy, she had just renovated her new home with fiancé Mark. The couple had to cancel their wedding during the pandemic and put their focus on the house instead. They have yet to set a new date for the wedding and I can tell she’s a bit tired of being asked when it will be. "Everyone asks. We will do it but it’s just not our top priority any more; it’ been on the back burner."
There is a sense from her that the couple have their focus elsewhere. She explains that they have been trying to start a family. Fertility issues and the journey to having a baby is not always a smooth one. It’s a conversation Tracy and I end up having unexpectedly, but she’s keen to sharing her experience of the condition known as silent endometriosis in the hope that her experience will help others.
"We’ve had a little fertility journey; not a journey, an expedition, and we’re always in the trenches," she explains.
"After all the exploration that you do when working out why it’s not happening, I found out that I had silent endometriosis and that was just in February, so I’ve been trying to navigate that," she adds.
Women with silent endometriosis have tissue similar to the lining of the uterus growing in other areas but with none of the characteristic symptoms, such as pain, of other forms of the condition. A lack of symptoms can result in women not receiving a diagnosis for a long time.
"I wasn’t in any pain with it, no symptoms that I was aware of. When I did research on it, I found out that one in ten Irish women have endometriosis that they’re suffering terrible pain with and of course, it affects their fertility, their mental health, their work life and home life. So I was walking around with stage three endometriosis, and I didn’t have a clue, and it was affecting my fertility. No one was exploring it and it made me realise that you have to advocate for yourself so much."
She had a laparoscopy earlier this year where the endometriosis is removed. Now, Tracy and Mark are continuing to try for a baby. She hopes that opening up about her experience will help others in a similar situation.
"I didn’t plan to talk about this," she says, "but even if this interview helps someone else to figure out that they have silent endometriosis, I’ll be glad I talked about it. There needs to be more information about it. Women go through the medical system for years and years being fobbed off about fertility or menstrual concerns and the dots are not connected. We need to do better."
I thank her for being so honest, knowing it always helps when people with a profile share their story. "I don’t think I’m brave enough to fully talk about my fertility journey because it’s so personal, but I definitely will chat about it more, when I’m ready."
Moving onto lighter topics, I can't but ask her about her trip to Las Vegas recently to see U2 perform their much talked about concert in the Sphere. She was one of the few media invited along to see the show.
"We were there for 48 hours, and it was an experience like no other. It’s hard to even explain it. It was phenomenal, a brand-new way of seeing a gig. I didn’t know what I was stepping into; every seat has a speaker, the ceiling makes you feel like you’re out in the open air. It’s a sensory experience like no other and I’ve never been to a gig like it."
She’s a big promoter of new Irish talent and bands and together with others in 2FM, Tracy has compiled this year’s 2FM Rising Artists for 2024. The class of 2024 are Big Sleep, Brad Heidi, Chubby Cat, Jordan Adetunji, Qbanaa, Saibh Skelly, Shee, Sick Love, Strabe and The Cope. 2FM will champion the ten selected artists throughout the coming year.
"I get really emotional when I see new Irish talent on stage doing well," she says. "It makes me so happy. These are acts that we think the 2FM audience will really like and get behind; there’s something for everyone with the list."
She’s looking forward to the Christmas break and spending time with family. "I’m a traditional homebird at Christmas. I’ll go to my parents' house and Mark goes to his and we meet up later on. We’ll probably always do that", she laughs.
In the New Year, we’ll see Tracy on our TV screens too. She tells me she’ll be filling in for a few days on Today, for Sinead Kennedy, who is on maternity leave. "I love Dáithí. It’s a couple of days and sure, I’ll give it a go. I love trying new things," she says.
And what of her ten-year plan that she told me she had last time we met?
"Did I say that?" she laughs. "You might tell me what it is."
"Do you know what? When you work in this industry, people always think you need to have more and more and more. I’m very happy working in radio and doing my job. My ten-year plan might not include just work; it’s to do with life."
