Pat Kenny

Who is Pat Kenny?

Patrick "Pat" Kenny is an Irish broadcaster and former disc jockey and continuity announcer. He is employed by the independent Irish radio station Newstalk, a subsidiary of Denis O'Brien's Communicorp group having moved, in July 2013, to the station following a 41 year high profile career at Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Kenny was RTÉ's highest paid presenter for several years prior to his departure from RTÉ. Latterly he presented Today with Pat Kenny on RTÉ Radio 1 each weekday morning between 10:00 and midday, and also presented the RTÉ One current affairs programme, Prime Time.

He succeeded Gay Byrne as host of The Late Late Show on RTÉ One from 1999 until 2009 when he announced his intention to step down via a live on-air announcement. He presented the RTÉ One current affairs programme, The Frontline, each Monday night, succeeding its' predecessor Questions and Answers in 2009 until its axing in 2013. Kenny hosted The Late Late Show for one programme in 2013 to cover for his successor, Ryan Tubridy.

Kenny had a past career as a lecturer and has academic degrees in the fields of chemical engineering. As well as his ten-year stint as host of The Late Late Show during the 2000s, he has co-hosted Eurovision Song Contest 1988, as well as numerous other television shows, including Today Tonight, The Pat Kenny Show, Saturday Live and Kenny Live, and has worked for both RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ 2fm, sometimes simultaneously, in a career that has spanned five decades. He is the holder of a Jacob's Award and was perennially cited as the highest paid employee in RTÉ's possession. He was named 23rd most influential person of 2009 by the magazine Village.