Ray D'Arcy dives into a particularly piddling subject, even by his standards

• Published date: 24 June 2022
• Publication title: Irish Times: Web Edition Articles (Dublin, Ireland)

Whatever about taking a leak underwater, when it comes to his show D'Arcy sometimes must feel like he's pissing in the wind. Seven years after he left Today FM to return to Montrose as presenter of Radio 1's afternoon show, it still feels like his tenure has never really lived up to expectations. Far from transforming the slot, he attracts essentially the same ratings as his supposedly underperforming predecessor, Derek Mooney

D'Arcy's cause isn't helped by the top-of-the-head extemporising that characterises his patter. After hearing him discuss the correct way to use bendy straws in juice cartons or dissect the "unwritten rules" on eating tuna in the morning, his musings on Galician seaside bylaws seem like philosophical treatises.

But all is not lost. Of late there's been a discernible uptick in the quality of D'Arcy's interviews. Last Friday's special edition of the show, given over to a live-audience spot with the author Marian Keyes, is an obvious highlight, the host audibly buoyed by the novelist's characteristic intelligence, openness and wit.

But D'Arcy continues the trend on Monday when he talks to another A-lister: Jessie Buckley, the Oscar-nominated Kerry-born actor who has just recorded an album with the British guitarist Bernard Butler. In truth, it's more good-natured banter than in-depth exploration, as Buckley and Butler breezily outline the origins of their collaboration. But the item engenders an appealing atmosphere, helped by the duo's arresting in-studio musical performance.

There's more substance to Tuesday's conversation with Cait O'Riordan. The former Pogues bassist talks about her past alcoholism — she has been sober for 15 years — as well as Irish society's problematic relationship with drink. O'Riordan candidly recalls how her drinking was exacerbated by her time as the "messy punk-rock mascot" in the infamously boozy band. "I never had tolerance. I think that's why I'm alive," she says, describing her shock when a doctor suggested she might be addicted to alcohol: "My concept of addiction was heroin and junkies."

For all her honesty, O'Riordan has an irreverent sense of humour that ensures the interview isn't preachy or earnest. As she contemplates the Irish alcohol industry's fig-leaf slogan "Drink responsibly", she unleashes a loudly derisive guffaw to rival the legendary cackle of her erstwhile bandmate Shane MacGowan.

D'Arcy is palpably engaged, not just by his guest's lively presence but also by the issues she raises...