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Tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m from Nenagh in Co Tipperary and you could say music was my first love and it will be my last – that is the title of a John Myles’ song from the 70s. For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by the music business, in particular radio.
I can well remember listening to Larry Gogan every Thursday night back in the 70s. I was bitten by the radio bug and Larry Gogan was a great inspiration to me. This was the era preceding local radio, there was only national radio.
How did you first become involved in radio?
I was approached to go on a pirate radio station way back in the late 80s called Radio Munster. Then I joined Galtee Radio, which was predominantly a country radio station. I first became acquainted with country music on Galtee, I had little or no knowledge before that. From there I went to Tipperary Mid-West Radio and of course I have been with Limerick’s Live 95FM since its inception in 1997. My happiest time on radio has been with Limerick’s Live 95FM. They have afforded me the opportunity to interview many of the leading names in country music.
Who is your favourite person you have interviewed?
Glen Campbell, he was a gentleman and it came about by pure luck really. I persevered and bombarded his publicist, I used to email every week asking for an interview with Glen. For a finish he said: “Larry, for pure perseverance and determination I am going to give you an interview.” That was in 2005 and the stipulation was that it wasn’t to last any longer than 15 minutes, of course it went on a lot longer than that.
Thoughts on country music at the moment?
Nathan Carter is to Irish country music what Garth Brooks is to US country music, he has revitalised it.
As a genre of music, in order to survive, country must evolve and it has to be receptive to other influences. That is why country music is so big again and young people are going out jiving.
The likes of Nathan Carter and Derek Ryan, they have made country music hip. They are young people, they’re dynamic on stage, they have brought a young audience and they are playing a modern type country, but they are not alienating an older audience. If it hadn’t evolved like that and became more modern it wouldn’t have survived.
Biggest problem facing rural Ireland?
Rural Ireland has been decimated by the closure of post offices and Garda stations, I think this is absolutely dreadful. This is a time bomb for politicians of all persuasions. Forty-two percent of the population live in rural Ireland and they can’t be ignored.
This is something that will have to be tackled in a very decisive and radical way. I don’t know if you can restore post offices, but wherever there still are post offices they should fight tooth and nail to retain them, along with the Garda stations.
Communities in these areas should come together and think of a way of redeveloping the areas.
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