Derek James Mooney was born on 4 March 1967 and is an Irish radio and television presenter, as well as a radio producer.
21 Facts About Derek Mooney
1.
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Derek Mooney is the current executive producer across RTE Radio 1's nature and wildlife programming.
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Derek Mooney is one of Ireland's best-known television personalities and one of the country's most prolific broadcasters in the area of natural history.
4.
Derek Mooney idolised the late Gay Byrne as a child.
5.
Derek Mooney was one of the presenters of RTE children's television shows Echo Island from its inception in 1994 up until he left the programme in February 1996.
6.
Derek Mooney has presented Habitats, The Nature Line, Nature Trails, all for RTE Radio 1.
7.
Originally called Derek Mooney Goes Wild on One, it focused on nature and wildlife, aired at weekends on RTE Radio 1, but in October 2006 it became simply Derek Mooney, and the format changed to general chat and discussion and was given a regular weekday slot initially for two hours, then reduced to ninety minutes in 2007.
8.
In 2008, Derek Mooney hosted the Lotto's first Millionaire Raffle draw during a break in the Rose of Tralee.
9.
Derek Mooney was the second host of the game show, The Big Money Game, taking over in 2009.
10.
Derek Mooney did so until 2011, then he was replaced by Brian Ormond and Sinead Kennedy in 2012.
11.
Derek Mooney dressed up as a leprechaun to beat a world record set by American talk show host Jay Leno.
12.
Derek Mooney hosted Mooney Tunes for RTE over Christmas 2011, an obvious pun on the similarity between the presenter's name and the word "Looney" as used in Looney Tunes, the Warner Bros.
13.
Derek Mooney announced the points given by Ireland to other nations in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009,2010 and 2011, just as he had previously done in 2000.
14.
Derek Mooney has become directly associated with this role in Irish life.
15.
Derek Mooney has expressed regret at not having had an opportunity to present The Late Late Show.
16.
Derek Mooney is often seen around Europe announcing the points for Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest, and is recognised by Graham Norton on the BBC.
17.
Derek Mooney has nephews and nieces but would prefer not to have children of his own despite saying in 2010 "I might marry a woman yet".
18.
Derek Mooney is a close friend of Alan Hughes and was best man at his wedding to Karl Broderick.
19.
Derek Mooney has constant incurable tinnitus in his left ear, stemming from when he had a wet shave where "some kind of electronic device for massaging your face afterwards" was used on him.
20.
Derek Mooney stated in 2010 that he sleeps for four hours.
21.
Derek Mooney began pumping the man's chest and eventually brought him back to life.