In the latest episode of #RadioRoots: Voices That Shaped The Airwaves, we were excited to chat with Robbie Fogarty, a familiar and reassuring voice to radio listeners across Ireland. From humble beginnings spinning records on New Year’s Eve in the 90s, to leading heartfelt charity broadcasts and navigating an ever-evolving media landscape, Robbie’s journey is a testament to passion, adaptability, and a deep respect for the craft of radio.

Robbie reflects on the magic that first drew him to the medium, the meaningful moments that have shaped his path, and the lessons he has learned from both the old-school days of reel-to-reel tape and the digital age of instant access. His stories are not just about broadcasting – they’re about connection, resilience, and the power of simply showing up, whether behind the mic or on a 400-kilometre charity cycle.

#RadioRoots: Voices That Shaped The Airwaves, is a celebration of the expertise and experience of those who have spent decades shaping the airwaves with their talent, dedication, and passion. This series honours the wisdom and experience of those who have been in the industry for years, demonstrating that everyone, regardless of age, has a valuable contribution to make in the workforce.

Scroll down to read or to listen to the full interview with Robbie.

 

What drew you to the world of radio and how did you get started in the industry?

I suppose what interested me most about radio was the thought of a person sitting in a room playing music or just generally talking to an audience and creating these visual pictures in people’s minds and taking them to places and situations. It fascinated me how all of that worked. And as a result, I endeavoured, even though I had a career in Irish Rail at the time, to get into radio.

I remember approaching Martin King in 1994, who was with 98FM at the time. He was looking for somebody to manually spin the overnight tunes on New Year’s Eve (because back then there were no computers or automation).  So, I was more than happy to sacrifice a New Year’s Eve night out to get a foot in the door, and I never looked back. It’s been an amazing journey for me since then.

So, thank you, Martin King, for giving me a start.

 

What’s a moment in your career that stands out as especially meaningful or transformative?

For me, the moment that stood out in my career was working on the first Radiothon in Dublin on 98FM back in 2007, having the opportunity to see radiothons in action in Houston, Texas, and then bringing it home with the help of a great team of people, working on the behind-the-scenes production and organisation, to presenting with my colleagues on air, live from Crumlin Children’s Hospital. And then witnessing the stories of the staff and the children, which moved hardened DJs to tears over the course of three days.

And it was fantastic to be able to raise so much money and do something so positive off the back of hearing people’s heartbreaking stories. And it will always stand out for me as a very memorable time in my career.

And then picking up the award for it was fantastic as well at the IMROs. It was an amazing moment for me.

 

Radio has changed so much over the years – what’s the one thing you wish hadn’t changed, and one thing you’re glad has?

I suppose one thing that I kind of miss were the old days of sitting amongst lots of equipment and preparing your show in a more kind of analogue and tangible way, whereas nowadays everything is all done on screens and virtually. It’s taken a lot of work out of it in fairness and I think it’s helped me do better programmes, but it doesn’t quite feel the same sitting in front of a couple of screens, a keyboard and a mouse, as it did back in the visceral days of radio where you had big reel-to-reel players and lots of blue cartridge tapes around the room.

One thing I am glad has changed is the internet and having been in pre-internet times working on radio where you had to consult tomes of books for research, get newspapers to get all your information, you now have everything at your fingertips.

And of course, we all take it for granted now that we can pick up our phone and go to a computer screen and literally find out any piece of information we want in an instant.

 

What’s a piece of advice or perspective that only years of experience in radio have taught you?

I want to the best pieces of advice or perspectives I’ve had over the years is trying to be humble and yet be useful to people. I think you get a lot further in life being respectful to people and giving a positive vibe. I think we can all get caught up in a lot of the negativities around the world and around the industry. But I think staying positive and focused is probably the best piece of advice I got and could give others who are getting into radio.

And the most important thing is to have fun. Radio should be fun and not a chore, because let’s face it, a lot of people out there do a lot tougher jobs than I do. Going into hospital theatres, working underneath buses, et cetera. You know, it should be a privilege and a joy to sit and play records for people and spread some positivity to.

 

 

Can you share a moment where your experience helped you navigate a challenge others might not have anticipated?

One of the unexpected challenges i had to deal with was when i first joined Classic Hits 4FM. Back in twenty eleven i think it was, and in my first week i had to do a 400k cycle around Ireland, because one of the presenters who had committed to doing this charity drive got ill (through no fault of his own) and we were going to be broadcasting along the route. So, there was an on-air element to this.

We needed to fulfil what we promised and we didn’t want to let the charities down, so i literally hopped on a saddle, did some quick training and headed off with a group on the four-city cycle. It was an amazing experience, although i can’t say i didn’t have any aches and pains but it was an amazing four days on the road visiting various cities with a group of lyra-clad cyclists.

But i suppose taking it back to the radio experience it was just one of those things where the show must go on you kind of learn to adapt and change to every circumstance to make sure that the broadcast happens. It was something i probably never would have done on my own but was glad i did and it was particularly memorable time in my life as somebody who isn’t very sporty.

 

Is there a listener interaction or on-air moment that’s left a lasting impression on you?

There have lots of interactions with listeners over the years for various reasons, but it relates to Wish Week, which was a charity broadcast we did for Make-A-Wish Ireland. I was talking to a young boy on the air who was describing the things he was doing and make wishes come true for other children, despite the cancer treatment he was going through.

This particular child had a terminal cancer diagnosis. So, to hear somebody so selflessly give of themselves at such a young age (despite what they were going through) was not only a very tough interview to do for me to try and keep it together.

But just made me realize how courageous some people are and some young children in particular, left a very lasting impression on me and certainly humbled me in a very big way that day. And I’m sure a lot of listeners who tuned into that broadcast that day felt the same way.

 

What do you think keeps people passionate about radio, even with the rise of podcasts and streaming?

I think the reason people are quite passionate about radio, even in the era of podcasting and streaming, is that it’s live it’s connecting people over the airwaves. I mean, you have to remember that a lot of the people that listen to Sunshine, for example, are maybe living on their own. They may see and have very little contact with, other people other than those they listen to on the air. Whether it’s Joe, Carol, myself, Sean, or anyone here on Sunshine they look upon us as friends they share their lives with.

I think podcasts, although are informative and very popular, don’t have that live element where they’re actually talking to somebody live via the live microphone. And there isn’t that live interaction that radio brings, particularly with call-in shows. I think that’s radio’s greatest strengths – connecting people.

And thankfully in Ireland, we value radio very highly and long may that continue.

 

If you could go back in time, what’s one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self starting out in radio?

If I could look back and give myself some advice, given my experience in radio to date, I think it would be to have gotten into the industry younger than I did. I was 25 when I started in radio. I may have benefited from starting at a younger age and maybe getting involved in the stations during the early years of independent radio. I don’t have a lot of regrets though. think radio is being good to me. It’s been a great career to me and continues to be.

I’m just amazed I’ve gotten away with it all these years. People haven’t discovered how much of a chancer I am! I think I probably would have liked to have started younger and maybe had more years in the business, particularly in the early days when things were very exciting and new, particularly with independent radio going on the air at the end of the 80s. Radio was a really big deal back then.

 

What do you think today’s radio professionals can learn from the “old-school” way of doing things?

I think radio professionals could learn at lot from the old school ways of doing things and realizing the struggles we had back in the day when we didn’t have a lot of this technology now, which makes editing easier and news gathering a little bit less of a drudge. B able to edit on phones, record into a smartphone and literally have your audio appear on the air is amazing to me.  Whereas back in the day, we were hitting streets with Marantz recorders and editing on reel-to-reel tapes, which obviously took a lot longer.

But I think it helps you respect the program making process a lot more when you have to physically cut tape to compile a program. And that’s what I admire a lot of when I listen back to radio documentaries in the past, where they didn’t have access to all this technology and created first class broadcasts.

 

What’s one thing you hope the future radio professionals take away from your story and career?

I think the one thing I’d like radio professionals to take away from my story is to stay positive about what you’re doing. Don’t take things too seriously or think too hard about the direction you’re going in. Just enjoy it.

Enjoy the ride and don’t be too precious about doing things that you may think are beneath you or maybe don’t feel like doing. Because I think what’s worked for me is if you give your all to the industry, and to your work colleagues, you get it back in spades.  It’s certainly worked out for me that way. And I’m very grateful for the career I’ve had so far.

 

Robbie Fogarty, Presenter of Sunshine Breakfast on Sunshine 106.8