Ger Gilroy brings maverick spirit to new RTÉ podcast Howler

When news broke that Ger Gilroy had quit his position as head honcho at Newstalk’s sports radio empire Off the Ball to join RTÉ as a podcaster, the move raised a few eyebrows. Not just because the crisis-ridden national broadcaster didn’t obviously appear the most alluring destination for Gilroy, who was presenter as well as managing director of Off the Ball, but also because of the irreverent barbs he had aimed at RTÉ’s sports coverage down the years.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the odd disgruntled employee at the embattled state network views the arrival of Gilroy – whose new daily podcast, Howler, debuted last week – as a rare example of a rat boarding a sinking ship.

But any such grumbling is likely to be viewed by RTÉ management as a small price to pay if Gilroy can replicate the success he achieved at Newstalk with his new venture. Beginning in 2002, he masterminded Off the Ball’s transformation from anarchic cult radio show into cross-platform behemoth, in the process changing the landscape of Irish sports broadcasting. But while Howler has got off to a solid enough start, Gilroy has his work cut out if he wishes to recreate former glories.

Certainly, the opening podcasts are a bit of a mixed bag, at least regarding content and contributors. If former Republic of Ireland international Kevin Kilbane brings experience and telling anecdotes to his role as resident soccer pundit, Bordeaux coach Noel McNamara’s detail-oriented style as regular rugby panellist is less accessible for the general listener.

Meanwhile, former Ireland rugby players Nick Popplewell and Gordon D’Arcy make for entertaining guests while discussing the national team’s underachieving World Cup performances, mischievously characterised by Gilroy as “40 years of pain”. Popplewell cheerily (if slightly alarmingly) blames his occasionally spotty memory on “too many concussions”, while D’Arcy recounts his misfiring boozy antics following a tournament defeat. In contrast, Gilroy’s interview with recently retired Mayo Gaelic footballer Cillian O’Connor is less interesting, favouring career recap over candid revelation.

In other aspects, however, the aforementioned bag could be more mixed. Not only do the opening episodes concentrate almost exclusively on rugby, GAA and soccer, but coverage of the latter code is mainly focused on a single team, Manchester United. True, the English side’s managerial woes have been big news of late, but to analyse the problems of one team three times in a week seems excessive, especially for a new podcast seeking a broad audience.

More consequential is the podcast’s conspicuous lack of female voices. In fairness, Gilroy has stated that Howler is targeted at a younger male audience, with another product aimed at women promised for next year. (Gilroy has plans to build a sporting podcast network at RTÉ.)

Even so, the distinctly blokey atmosphere of the opening episodes appears unnecessarily limiting for a new venture, even one helmed by someone of Gilroy’s pedigree. Meanwhile, the podcast’s male-oriented direction can also seem like a deliberate counterpoint to RTÉ Radio 1’s magazine show Inside Sport, presented by Marie Crowe and Jacqui Hurley.

Equally, such elements speak of the provocative streak that has powered Gilroy’s career to date. Described in his podcast tagline as a “professional rabble rouser”, Gilroy undeniably possesses maverick instincts – “I’m a big fan of chaos theory,” he remarks at one stage – but it remains to be seen how well this spirit fares in the institutional environment of Montrose.

[ Podcaster Ger Gilroy on moving to RTÉ, his upstart attitude and starting over: ‘Your job is to win, right?’Opens in new window ]

At Newstalk, he effectively oversaw the station’s sports coverage, deploying such gifted presenters as Eoin McDevitt, Ken Early and Joe Molloy, all of whom departed Off the Ball amid varying degrees of contention. In comparison, his position at RTÉ so far appears detached from the network’s wider sports infrastructure, thus missing the synergistic interplay between broadcast and digital spheres that added so much value to his Newstalk brand.

Moreover, while Gilroy first forged his reputation nearly 25 years ago by staking out the terra incognita of freewheeling sports radio shunned by a staid RTÉ, he is now venturing into territory firmly held by Off the Ball; luring away loyal listeners is a different game from attracting hitherto untapped demographics.

For all the size of Gilroy’s task, his inaugural week contains encouraging omens. Last Tuesday’s extended discussion on the differing ownership models of Manchesters United and City was particularly compelling, encompassing geopolitics, catastrophic fallings-out and old-fashioned football tribalism. And Gilroy remains as accomplished a presenter as ever, informed yet iconoclastic; he stands his ground when D’Arcy sounds annoyance at the implication that Irish rugby has lacked quality at World Cup level.

Whether all this is enough to win the younger digital audiences coveted by RTÉ will become clearer over time. It may be a gamble for Gilroy but, right now, Howler doesn’t seem like a mistake.