Broadcaster and author Gareth O’Callaghan is celebrating a 45-year-long career today.
In 2018, the legendary radio host announced his retirement from broadcasting following his diagnosis with the neurodegenerative illness, Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), which has no cure. His return to broadcasting and to Radio Nova came after a five-year gap and presents a show every weekend.
He has credited his wife Paula with being ‘his rock’. The radio presenter has previously said that for about a year before his diagnosis, said he was fooling himself about the symptoms. The pair married in 2020.
The 62-year-old who celebrates his birthday later this month announced on his social media platform recounted how he started his broadcasting career precisely on March 3rd, 1979 at 8pm on Radio Dublin.
The father-of-three even remembered the first vinyl record he played.
He said: ‘For those of you who might have heard my very first show, I’m celebrating 45 years on radio today. It all started on a Saturday evening, 3rd March 1979 at 8pm on Radio Dublin, 253 metres on medium wave.’
The popular host, who now lives in Cork continued: ‘My first record, long before CDs, was Boogie Wonderland by Earth Wind and Fire and The Emotions. Not sure, but I’m fairly certain. So many great memories through all those years.’
He added that ‘unfortunately’ he had no photos to capture that ‘moment’, but he posted a photograph from three years later.
‘Here’s one from three years later, in 1982, from my afternoon show on Radio Nova.’
Revealing he does not see himself retiring soon and added: ‘Here’s to many more years on the airwaves.’
He received scores of good vibes from members of the public with one saying: ‘You still have it, a lovely and kind person Gareth. Love listening to your show,’ while another added: ‘Congratulations best wishes for the future’.
Last month O’Callaghan slammed criticism of RTÉ 2fm presenter and Dancing with the Stars host Doireann Garrihy which he called ‘disgusting’.
‘This woman is self-employed, something very few people in RTÉ can get their heads around down through the years. She works for herself. Everyone knows now that there are serious issues around self employment governance within RTÉ, just like there are major issues around senior management salary disciplines. So let’s leave all that aside,’ he added.
Mr O’Callaghan recalled his time working for 2FM for 17 years. ‘I was self-employed during all those years, and I had the time of my life. I had no staff protection. I could have been dropped at any moment, or fired because my ratings were low, which they were in the early days.
‘I realised very quickly that I had to become creative if I wanted to keep my gig, unlike those who, back then, had jobs for life, with all sorts of guaranteed benefits and pensions.
‘I worked alone, most of the time. I got no sick-leave pay. I wasn’t paid for holiday leave. If I took a day off because one of my kids got sick, I wasn’t paid.
Unlike those people who were staff in RTÉ, who got paid for holiday leave, for sick leave, pension contributions, expenses, bonuses, etc.
‘And it has to be said looking back that most of the people I worked with deserved everything they earned, because without them the great shows you listened to would never have happened’.
In April last year the popular presenter was discharged from hospital six weeks after a serious car crash.
The Classic Hits FM presenter was involved in a collision in Cork along with his wife Paula, and daughter Emma in March.
He had been recovering at Cork University Hospital (CUH) since the collision in which he suffered a broken back, ruptured lung and other injuries as a result of the crash.
