As Deric Hartigan strides into the Virgin Media studios for our interview, a chorus of “Hi Deric!” chirrups from the staff perched at a nearby table eating lunch.
“It’s the Deric effect,” one of them quickly informs Irish Country Living. That effect is a mix of Deric’s warm personality, his ability to connect with viewers at a human level, and of course, his willingness to laugh – even when mishaps happen on live TV.
As one of Ireland’s most successful broadcasters, Deric receives this kind of enthusiastic greeting everywhere he goes (and he literally is everywhere).
Having grown up on a farm in Inchmore, Co Limerick, Deric spent his childhood “making hay, making silage and milking cows”. Now, he is constantly on the go and is well used to waking up every morning at 4am to bring stories to our screens from unique locations up and down the country. One day in Donegal, the following day in Dublin, the next in Wexford. It’s tiring just thinking about it.
“I do more in a week than some people do in a year,” Deric says. He is not wrong; but how does he manage?
“I actually put my toothpaste on my toothbrush the night before,” he says, laughing. “I lay my clothes out, face my car in the right direction, so when I wake up in the morning, it’s just automatic.
“I have to be so organised,” he continues. “I work very closely with my producer and she organises my diary week to week, so I find out on a Thursday what I’m doing the following week. One week, we’ll hit the west, and we’ll go Galway, Mayo, and another, we might go the midwest, then the southwest, northeast, wherever. It all ties in with what’s happening around the country.”
Deric has visited every county in Ireland – his favourite (besides his native Limerick) is Cavan – “it has 365 lakes, one for each day of the year” and the presenter has broadcast from thousands of towns and villages over the past seven years. Bringing stories to life from lesser-known places is what he loves about the job.
“The beautiful thing about what we do is we interview a lot of rural communities that have never had any TV or publicity, which is great. It means a lot to a local area, the fact that we’re coming down and it’s national TV, and that we’re giving their little pride and joy that countrywide coverage,” he smiles.
“I like human interest stories, it’s very much my thing, and I want to go more down that route as well. I like to connect with people. I try to be an active listener in an interview so I’m actually taking in what they say.
“Every community has a story. I’d often suggest to go somewhere and people are like: ‘Deric, why would you go there?’ Because that’s what the story is!” he exclaims. “Every little town has their traditions or their own little festivals that they love to celebrate.”
Deric Hartigan from Ireland AM. \ Philip Doyle
A day in the life
Deric’s face lights up talking about live TV. He finds it energising, describing it as “my rush”.
“I love the fact that there’s three minutes to air. I love the fact that there’s one take.” The immediacy of live broadcasting is very different to social media, he points out, which is very “curated”.
However, there’s no doubt that live TV comes with a considerable amount of stress. “There is a huge pressure because normally it’s just myself and my cameraman,” explains Deric. “We’re against the clock all the time. We don’t work in hours and days. We work in minutes and seconds.”
“We know that the interview is at 8.45am, so we have to get to where we need to go. We have to get the shots, nail down the interview and if there’s a large crowd, I have to stage manage that. There’s a lot of moving parts behind the scenes. We’re paddling quite frantically under the water to make sure it’s pretty smooth sailing when it comes on air.”
After the show finishes at 10am, it’s time for a quick debrief meeting with the team and then naptime.
“By around one o’clock, my battery’s dead,” Deric explains, “so I need to nap. I sleep for one hour from 1pm to 2pm. I’ve been doing that for years now. You’re meeting a lot of people, and it just takes a lot of your energy.”
In the afternoon, Deric uses his down time to meditate, go to the gym or find a swim spot in the nearest lough or coastline. “If I am travelling to Westmeath, I go to Lough Owel after my nap. Or if I go to Clare, I go to Lough Bunny and if I’m near the west coast, I’ll get into the Atlantic.”
After a hectic day of travelling and talking to people, an early bed time of 8pm is in order – just after watching the seven o’clock news.
Listening to Deric’s routine, it’s clear that the Ireland AM reporter exercises a huge amount of discipline. But his job also requires him to be extremely adaptable. He is a weatherman, after all. And this is Ireland.
Deric Hartigan from Ireland AM. \ Philip Doyle
“Two years ago, we were due to be filming something in Cahersiveen Co Kerry,” Deric recalls. “Then the floods in Midleton hit in east Cork. I saw footage going up online and rang the executive producer and we changed tack and went to Cork. We were the first TV there that morning.
“We were in amongst the shops. We were in with the shop owners, and we were telling the story as it was happening, there was still water up to our knees.”
That sums up the essence of broadcasting, Deric explains. It’s about being “fast”, “flexible” and “being able to adapt to a situation, especially if there’s a breaking story”.
He is also keen to point out that Ireland AM is very much “light and shade”.
“We get to cover the heavier stuff as well which is powerful,” Deric says. “I think some days you come out of it and you go, ‘God, actually, we made a difference today’.”
Meeting families affected by climate change, a mother who lost a child at birth or someone living with chronic illness: these are just some of the more impactful interviews that Deric is proud of.
The Ploughing
The Ireland AM presenter gets plenty of interviews at the National Ploughing Championships too and he’s in amongst the crowd again this year.
“I feel like I’m amongst my own people at Ploughing,” Deric says.
“When I go down, it’s a chance really to get to meet the Ireland AM audience. We’re in their kitchen; we’re in their living room. I take time to meet people, to say hello and have a chat, especially after the show.
“There’s always some sort of viral TikTok coming out of the Ploughing these days,” he adds, laughing. “It’s rural Ireland coming together for a few days, it’s great.”
Deric’s father is still actively farming the family beef farm in Limerick. “He’s in his 80s, he’s fit, he’s active, he’s healthy, and he loves getting out. I have four sisters, and one of them is on the farm at home,” Deric says.
“Farming is something I’ve a keen interest in, and I’m very passionate about pushing it on the show,” he goes on.
“We’ve done a lot of farming features, one of my favourites was when we broadcast from Enniscorthy Mart in Co Wexford. We’ve also done features on farm safety, which I feel is a very important topic to cover and I pulled the wellies back on to do a morning milking. We’ve also did a morning on an alpaca farm down in Co Wicklow.
Deric’s genuine interest in agriculture is reflected in the fact that he holds a Green Cert, possibly one of the least-known facts about him.
“I did that in my spare time,” he quips, laughing. “I did it about 10 years ago with Teagasc in Naas, Co Kildare – so I have my herd number.”
Deric Hartigan from Ireland AM. \ Philip Doyle
Career at Virgin Media
This year, Deric is celebrating 20 years working at Virgin Media. He’s come a long way from making teas and coffees, which was his first role there.
“I started making teas and coffees. I was photocopying. Then I got a job as a runner, then I got a job on autocue, then I went to research, then onto Ireland AM. I learnt the trade from the ground up. For me, it was very important to learn everything about television behind the scenes. So now, when I’m on air, I understand all the moving parts and I’m very aware it’s not about me.
“It’s about my cameraman; it’s about my team. It’s about the crew in the gallery. It’s about the producer, the director, the researchers. It’s a team effort.”
It takes a team of 20-plus people to output the three hours of live television every morning for Ireland AM, Deric explains. “That’s 21 hours of live television each week. It’s a huge amount of live Irish content.
“Virgin Media has literally nurtured me the whole way up, because I started from scratch, and it’s taken me time.
“I’m not an overnight success, it’s taken me two decades to get to where I am, but I actually appreciate the fact that I’ve worked really hard to get to here.”
Deric leaves us to head down to Laois for his next story. It’s not supposed to be great weather ahead of this weekend, he remarks.
But it doesn’t seem to matter, it’s clear Deric Hartigan is a weatherman who brings the sunshine with him.
As Deric Hartigan strides into the Virgin Media studios for our interview, a chorus of “Hi Deric!” chirrups from the staff perched at a nearby table eating lunch.
“It’s the Deric effect,” one of them quickly informs Irish Country Living. That effect is a mix of Deric’s warm personality, his ability to connect with viewers at a human level, and of course, his willingness to laugh – even when mishaps happen on live TV.
As one of Ireland’s most successful broadcasters, Deric receives this kind of enthusiastic greeting everywhere he goes (and he literally is everywhere).
Having grown up on a farm in Inchmore, Co Limerick, Deric spent his childhood “making hay, making silage and milking cows”. Now, he is constantly on the go and is well used to waking up every morning at 4am to bring stories to our screens from unique locations up and down the country. One day in Donegal, the following day in Dublin, the next in Wexford. It’s tiring just thinking about it.
“I do more in a week than some people do in a year,” Deric says. He is not wrong; but how does he manage?
“I actually put my toothpaste on my toothbrush the night before,” he says, laughing. “I lay my clothes out, face my car in the right direction, so when I wake up in the morning, it’s just automatic.
“I have to be so organised,” he continues. “I work very closely with my producer and she organises my diary week to week, so I find out on a Thursday what I’m doing the following week. One week, we’ll hit the west, and we’ll go Galway, Mayo, and another, we might go the midwest, then the southwest, northeast, wherever. It all ties in with what’s happening around the country.”
Deric has visited every county in Ireland – his favourite (besides his native Limerick) is Cavan – “it has 365 lakes, one for each day of the year” and the presenter has broadcast from thousands of towns and villages over the past seven years. Bringing stories to life from lesser-known places is what he loves about the job.
“The beautiful thing about what we do is we interview a lot of rural communities that have never had any TV or publicity, which is great. It means a lot to a local area, the fact that we’re coming down and it’s national TV, and that we’re giving their little pride and joy that countrywide coverage,” he smiles.
“I like human interest stories, it’s very much my thing, and I want to go more down that route as well. I like to connect with people. I try to be an active listener in an interview so I’m actually taking in what they say.
“Every community has a story. I’d often suggest to go somewhere and people are like: ‘Deric, why would you go there?’ Because that’s what the story is!” he exclaims. “Every little town has their traditions or their own little festivals that they love to celebrate.”
Deric Hartigan from Ireland AM. \ Philip Doyle
A day in the life
Deric’s face lights up talking about live TV. He finds it energising, describing it as “my rush”.
“I love the fact that there’s three minutes to air. I love the fact that there’s one take.” The immediacy of live broadcasting is very different to social media, he points out, which is very “curated”.
However, there’s no doubt that live TV comes with a considerable amount of stress. “There is a huge pressure because normally it’s just myself and my cameraman,” explains Deric. “We’re against the clock all the time. We don’t work in hours and days. We work in minutes and seconds.”
“We know that the interview is at 8.45am, so we have to get to where we need to go. We have to get the shots, nail down the interview and if there’s a large crowd, I have to stage manage that. There’s a lot of moving parts behind the scenes. We’re paddling quite frantically under the water to make sure it’s pretty smooth sailing when it comes on air.”
After the show finishes at 10am, it’s time for a quick debrief meeting with the team and then naptime.
“By around one o’clock, my battery’s dead,” Deric explains, “so I need to nap. I sleep for one hour from 1pm to 2pm. I’ve been doing that for years now. You’re meeting a lot of people, and it just takes a lot of your energy.”
In the afternoon, Deric uses his down time to meditate, go to the gym or find a swim spot in the nearest lough or coastline. “If I am travelling to Westmeath, I go to Lough Owel after my nap. Or if I go to Clare, I go to Lough Bunny and if I’m near the west coast, I’ll get into the Atlantic.”
After a hectic day of travelling and talking to people, an early bed time of 8pm is in order – just after watching the seven o’clock news.
Listening to Deric’s routine, it’s clear that the Ireland AM reporter exercises a huge amount of discipline. But his job also requires him to be extremely adaptable. He is a weatherman, after all. And this is Ireland.
Deric Hartigan from Ireland AM. \ Philip Doyle
“Two years ago, we were due to be filming something in Cahersiveen Co Kerry,” Deric recalls. “Then the floods in Midleton hit in east Cork. I saw footage going up online and rang the executive producer and we changed tack and went to Cork. We were the first TV there that morning.
“We were in amongst the shops. We were in with the shop owners, and we were telling the story as it was happening, there was still water up to our knees.”
That sums up the essence of broadcasting, Deric explains. It’s about being “fast”, “flexible” and “being able to adapt to a situation, especially if there’s a breaking story”.
He is also keen to point out that Ireland AM is very much “light and shade”.
“We get to cover the heavier stuff as well which is powerful,” Deric says. “I think some days you come out of it and you go, ‘God, actually, we made a difference today’.”
Meeting families affected by climate change, a mother who lost a child at birth or someone living with chronic illness: these are just some of the more impactful interviews that Deric is proud of.
The Ploughing
The Ireland AM presenter gets plenty of interviews at the National Ploughing Championships too and he’s in amongst the crowd again this year.
“I feel like I’m amongst my own people at Ploughing,” Deric says.
“When I go down, it’s a chance really to get to meet the Ireland AM audience. We’re in their kitchen; we’re in their living room. I take time to meet people, to say hello and have a chat, especially after the show.
“There’s always some sort of viral TikTok coming out of the Ploughing these days,” he adds, laughing. “It’s rural Ireland coming together for a few days, it’s great.”
Deric’s father is still actively farming the family beef farm in Limerick. “He’s in his 80s, he’s fit, he’s active, he’s healthy, and he loves getting out. I have four sisters, and one of them is on the farm at home,” Deric says.
“Farming is something I’ve a keen interest in, and I’m very passionate about pushing it on the show,” he goes on.
“We’ve done a lot of farming features, one of my favourites was when we broadcast from Enniscorthy Mart in Co Wexford. We’ve also done features on farm safety, which I feel is a very important topic to cover and I pulled the wellies back on to do a morning milking. We’ve also did a morning on an alpaca farm down in Co Wicklow.
Deric’s genuine interest in agriculture is reflected in the fact that he holds a Green Cert, possibly one of the least-known facts about him.
“I did that in my spare time,” he quips, laughing. “I did it about 10 years ago with Teagasc in Naas, Co Kildare – so I have my herd number.”
Deric Hartigan from Ireland AM. \ Philip Doyle
Career at Virgin Media
This year, Deric is celebrating 20 years working at Virgin Media. He’s come a long way from making teas and coffees, which was his first role there.
“I started making teas and coffees. I was photocopying. Then I got a job as a runner, then I got a job on autocue, then I went to research, then onto Ireland AM. I learnt the trade from the ground up. For me, it was very important to learn everything about television behind the scenes. So now, when I’m on air, I understand all the moving parts and I’m very aware it’s not about me.
“It’s about my cameraman; it’s about my team. It’s about the crew in the gallery. It’s about the producer, the director, the researchers. It’s a team effort.”
It takes a team of 20-plus people to output the three hours of live television every morning for Ireland AM, Deric explains. “That’s 21 hours of live television each week. It’s a huge amount of live Irish content.
“Virgin Media has literally nurtured me the whole way up, because I started from scratch, and it’s taken me time.
“I’m not an overnight success, it’s taken me two decades to get to where I am, but I actually appreciate the fact that I’ve worked really hard to get to here.”
Deric leaves us to head down to Laois for his next story. It’s not supposed to be great weather ahead of this weekend, he remarks.
But it doesn’t seem to matter, it’s clear Deric Hartigan is a weatherman who brings the sunshine with him.
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