RTÉ Radio disruption, Digi Mart USA News (Ireland): First David McCullagh, then Claire Byrne, and then Marty Whelan disappeared from the airwaves on Friday morning, turning what began as an odd broadcasting hiccup into a far more serious situation for Irish radio.
The first sign that something was wrong came on RTÉ Radio 1, when McCullagh failed to appear in his usual slot after Morning Ireland at 9 a.m. A brief stretch of dead air was followed by a selection of pop-rock music and a continuity announcer apologizing for the interruption and promising to “try to get things back on track.”
The disruption soon spread. On Newstalk, Claire Byrne told listeners she had to go off air immediately, and her broadcast was replaced by a repeat of the previous day’s show.
Later, Marty Whelan failed to reappear on his Lyric FM show, and station colleague Niall O’Carroll took to the air early to fill in and provide the first information about what was happening.
Broadcasting from Lyric’s Limerick studio, O’Carroll said RTÉ’s Montrose campus in Dublin had been evacuated after a security alert. He delivered the news in calm and reassuring tones, adding some light humor while describing the situation.
Gradually, programming began to return to normal. Byrne came back on air and said the Newstalk building had been evacuated, though she did not immediately address the threats directly.
McCullagh then returned, broadcasting from RTÉ’s mobile studio with his transmission carried to the national network by colleagues in Cork.
McCullagh interviewed Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who urged calm and focus ahead of next week’s EU summit but declined to comment on whether Russia was responsible for the threats. Martin said people in Ireland now had a better understanding of the hybrid warfare experienced by the Baltic nations.
McCullagh also heard from several security experts, who pointed to Russia in light of ongoing bomb threats against European flights and earlier cyberattacks on freezers.
As the broadcast went on, the mood became lighter, with Whelan appearing on air to confirm he was safe. Oliver Callan later took over from McCullagh and noted that the mobile broadcasting unit had only about an hour of power remaining.
Beneath the lighter tone, the day’s events highlighted how quickly everyday institutions, including a national broadcaster such as RTÉ, can be disrupted. The episode left listeners with a clear reminder of how fragile normal routines can be.
