Donncha O’Callaghan has confirmed his exit from RTÉ 2FM, following a number of shock departures in recent weeks.
The presenter currently hosts the station’s breakfast show with Carl Mullan and Aifric O’Connell.
The show recently underwent a refresh following Doireann Garrihy’s shock exit from 2FM, with Aifric taking her place on the popular programme.
Donncha is now set to follow suit, just weeks after Jennifer Zamparelli and The 2 Johnnies also decided their time at the station had come to an end.
In a post shared on Instagram, the former rugby player wrote: “I’m sure we’d all agree, it’s never easy to step away from something you really enjoy doing. Friday the 5th July will be my last ‘2FM Breakfast’ Show.”
“I’m so incredibly grateful and proud of the last five years in 2FM, I’ve absolutely loved it. Thank you to Dan and Paul for an amazing opportunity & taking a complete flyer on me.
“Loads of people say they will give you a chance, very few actually do it and I can’t thank ye enough. To all the producers, BCOs and presenters that I’ve been lucky enough to be around, thank you for being so incredibly helpful and kind to me,” he continued.
“All unsung heroes like Cieran in Promotions, Lily you superstar, the social media team and all of the crew in Switching (up & down on Cork 2) The Cork studio for always being so accommodating. Bar Paul on numbers, I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone.
“The heartbeat of course is the fantastic listeners, I will always appreciate the love and support – you have been the absolute best!
“Some people do deserve special mentions. Producer Grace, ‘thank you’ will never cover it. When everyone else tells you what you want to hear, you jump in and speak the truth, you are an amazing teammate,” Donncha wrote.
“Willem, of course you are exceptional at your job we all know that, but you learn a lot about people at 5am in the morning, you are an exceptional human. Aifric, I know we didn’t get a lot of airmiles together but I enjoyed every minute.”
“Carl and Doireann, ye know exactly what ye mean to me and only one word does it justice – TIME. We all have a reason for bouncing out of bed and taking on the day. I’ve been blessed yet again to do something I’ve loved for the last five years.
“Of course it requires sacrifice and commitment, in my case that load has been carried by Jenny. Thank you for always backing me. We go again❤️❤️❤️
“It is now time to focus on winning Ireland’s Fittest Family 😉, to continue working on all my exciting rugby projects and something else that is a complete ‘Disaster’… 📕😜
“In the words of Farmer Hoggett “That’ll do pig, that’ll do…”
View this post on Instagram
Donncha confirmed his exit from 2FM on Tuesday after The Irish Sun broke the news of his departure.
The 45-year-old will host his final 2FM Breakfast at the end of the month — exactly one month after Doireann left the show.
A source told the publication: “How can 2FM Breakfast replace first one, now two presenters?”
“The most important show on a radio station is the breakfast. If listeners tune in, they stay with the station for the rest of the day. I don’t see how 2FM Breakfast can survive this.”
Referencing 2FM boss Dan Healy, they continued: “I wouldn’t like to be in Dan’s shoes. With so many presenters leaving, ultimately the responsibility rests with the boss.”
A Montrose source added: “2fm has gone into a complete spiral. It’s carnage. The staff are panicked because we are losing another star presenter.”
“There have been more emergency meetings. There is a huge amount of fear in the office among staff. What is happening to our station?”
The news comes amid reports Lottie Ryan is set to be axed and replaced by a TikTok star in 2FM’s Drivetime slot.
The radio host recently took over the Drivetime show from The 2 Johnnies, after they announced they would be leaving 2FM last month.
Lottie, who is the daughter of the late 2fm broadcaster Gerry Ryan, is reportedly feeling “betrayed” and “used” following the decision.
According to the newspaper, TikTok star Kayleigh Trappe is being lined up to replace Lottie as soon as this Friday.
An insider told The Irish Sun: “Lottie was the face of the new 2FM summer schedule but she was really only covering Drivetime for a month.”
However, it was business as usual for the RTÉ presenter and her co-host David O’Reilly as they greeted listeners at the top of their Drivetime show on Monday afternoon.
Lottie didn’t address this story when she took to the airwaves, and is yet to comment on the reports.
