After years of working as a broadcaster, John Creedon is a man who is comfortable in his own skin. “I have to say, I am getting closer and closer to who I am and who I should be,” he says.

“I always felt that, even as a youngster, I’d be at my prime as an auld fella, because I liked auld fellas and I liked auld women and I liked people with stories to tell.”

He sure has a story to tell. Starting out in RTÉ at the age of 27 after winning a public competition, John has enjoyed a diverse career – from being known as Terence the Hairdresser to travelling across Ireland and the world as a presenter.

The spice of life

Indeed, no one embodies the phrase “variety is the spice of life” better than the Corkman.

“It’s not like, ‘Oh I’ve had a great career,’” he says, putting on a mock posh accent. “It’s Jaysus, I’ve been lucky! The places I’ve been and the people I’ve met, and the mischief and the craic we’ve gotten up to. Overall life has been very good . I love it. I love the road, I love meeting people.”

The self-confessed music lover, who hosts his own show on RTÉ Radio 1, is now set to appear as a judge on Glór Tire, TG4’s country western talent show for his 12th series.

“It’s a tough gig, in ways. It wouldn’t be in my nature to be judgemental, it’s not in my nature at all at all. I would be very subtle. You’re not going to say to someone: ‘Your dress is horrendous.’ I know Simon Cowell might, but I’d be more likely to say: ‘It might be no harm to look at the whole presentation,’ without saying you look minging in that dress,” he laughs.

“My job here is to be objective and really to hone in on what might work and where there is a career for someone. Over the years we’ve seen a number of people come through who won it, or came second or third even, who went on to do bigger things. There is Lisa McHugh, who is on a major roll, out there with a fleet of trucks touring England and Ireland.”

Irish is not John’s first language but, in keeping with his thirst for knowledge, he studied it later in life.

“I have to admit that I have a huge love for the Irish language, but maybe not a brilliant command,” he says.

“I went back to UCC some years ago to do a two-year diploma course in regional studies, and really it was that that brought me back into the night classes in spoken Irish. I didn’t have the intention of broadcasting in Irish, but ironically Glór Tire contacted me and asked if I wanted to be a judge.

“When I said to them that my Irish wasn’t good enough, they said, ‘No, we know from listening to you on the radio that your Irish is good enough.’ And even where you’re stilted, the reality is that Irish speakers don’t take offence at that. If anything, they’re honoured that it’s not your first language but that you are willing to make the effort, so they don’t snigger or laugh or tut.”

a country man

Filming for Glór Tire took John to Galway, and he travels to Dublin for work too – including his recent sketches on Republic of Telly. He lived there for 13 years, but decided to return home 15 years ago.

He is unmistakably of the county – that accent! – and loves Cork, but not in “a chauvinistic way”.

“It’s where I’m from and I have a great sense of place and I love walking down the same streets that I have since I was six years old, I love that sense of belonging and history. But equally, if I’m in Sligo, I can appreciate why people are proud of their soccer club, or why people coming home from Australia get a lump in their throat when they see Benbulbin,” he says. “It’s not about feeling better than someone, it’s about a sense of place, of belonging. I find all of that quite emotional.

“I’m a citizen of the planet. That’s what I feel. You take something like refugees. I hear people saying we need to look after our own first. Well, I think, ‘No we don’t.’ It’s the person with the greatest need that we need to rush to first. We are all human beings,” he adds.

With two daughters living abroad in Australia, this way of thinking resonates personally with John, who thinks people could act with more compassion towards each other.

“My daughter was in Australia and got very sick suddenly. She had sudden onset diabetes. The first responders were there, the GP was there, got her into A&E. I rang the ward sister to see if she was OK, and when I hung up the phone, I started bawling crying.

“I thought, ‘Here are these people with their sleeves rolled up, working on my daughter, to keep her going, and here I am, on the other side of the planet,’” he says. “Jesus, I find that awfully moving. And it’s what I would expect – but equally, a Syrian child in need, why is that not more important?”

John is quick to stress that he is “no Holy Joe”, but fascinated by the “human condition”. Luckily, his work has challenged him throughout the years.

“Before, I was working to support my family. Increasingly I find that my own interests are being served by the work I’m doing,” he says.

“I don’t know what that means – maybe when you’re around long enough, people get a handle on the kind of person you are or something. I never set out to look for cushy gigs. I’m not always looking for the big job. It’s the stuff that interests me. Because of that, I’ve been lucky.”

Glór Tire airs on Tuesday nights at 9.30pm on TG4 from 3 January. CL