So how did I slot in into Wired In? For the most part, I was a frequent contributor to the News Bulletin which opened the show. I had the responsibility of constructing and then delivering it in 10 Minutes. When it came to constructing the bulletins, I searched through most news websites I knew and picked stories that I thought were interesting, relevant and what I thought students wanted to hear about. I also tried to break away from the usual mix that News Bulletins craft but sometimes needed help from Daragh if it was a slow news day or I wasn’t 100% sure what to pick myself. There were five strands: Three National News Stories (i.e. From across the island of Ireland), three International News Stories, three Local News Stories (i.e. From Limerick or about Limerick), a summary of the top Sports Stories and a brief Weather Summary, usually from Met Éireann. I usually gave a paragraph or two of the key points of an article sometimes infused with my own words, which some might say is plagiarism but… When you’re a student doing Student Radio, it’s not like many people notice, unless you also happen to be studying journalism and doing your year of Work Experience there… After the News Bulletin, the show in earnest began with a series of interviews and features prepared beforehand. Mostly, it was the main presenter across the way that did the linking but sometimes, I was asked to prepare the links and even present the whole show… Which was very nerve-wracking the first time!
Daragh was my de-facto Floor Manager most of the time. And he helped me spread my wings and do other things on radio while I had the chance! In the first instance, reports on things in the news, mostly related to sports. An example was GAA General Congress 2022. We discussed five motions that stood out to me, which inspired me to drill deeper into the politics of the GAA and start watching GAA Games live on RTÉ Network 2, eventually. There was a programme dedicated to sports that I became a regular guest on, mostly focusing on GAA Issues, like the 2023 Players’ Pay Allowance, as well as the fixtures that took place the weekend before. I also managed to present (almost) an entire hour of music show by myself to plug a gap on a Friday afternoon before Wired In. As time went by, and the more I got involved, the more confident and relaxed I became behind the microphone, and the more fun I had. Daragh was also a great help for making sure I stayed on point. If you want to look at my scripts and what I tried my best to present on paper, they will be available in a ZIP Folder in References & Supplements.
Daragh and I have become well acquainted outside of college. At the time, he was a student in Mary Immaculate who was on a placement in the Wired studio on my campus during that particular year. He lives in a part of the Banner County of Clare that apparently has a castle and is called Clarecastle, though I still need to see it to believe it. He’s also active in his local GAA club, though he admits he’s not very good at either Hurling or Gaelic Football and would struggle to make the County Team in either code (although surely every little will help the Footballers in the long-term!). He may make appearances on my Blog in the future as either my fine-tooth comb for certain posts I have in mind or in his own right as a guest poster on something I might not know a lot about, but he does. He’s also promised to get me through a Hurling League Game featuring Limerick at some point. Obviously, that went by the wayside this year because of work… Maybe next year! For now, here’s a selfie of me and him in studio:
The ADog Blog 