33 Facts About Gareth O'Callaghan

Gareth O'Callaghan was born on 24 March 1961 and is an Irish writer and radio and television presenter.

Gareth O'Callaghan was most recently heard on 4fm, having presented shows on RTE 2fm for much of his career until 2005, and then a show on Galway Bay FM.

Gareth O'Callaghan is currently serving as interim presenter of the station's weekday Night Time Talk show, following the sudden departure of presenter Niall Boylan to contest in the 2024 European Parliament election in Ireland.

When he was eleven years of age in the early 1970s, Gareth O'Callaghan was first abused while staying at a Franciscan Brothers house, St Anthony's, in Clara, County Offaly, along with a group of young people he knew.

When Gareth O'Callaghan's stay at the house ended, the brother arrived at his house on Dublin's Navan Road, bearing gifts for his mother and staying the night, sleeping opposite the boy he had abused.

Gareth O'Callaghan was unable to tell his mother in the months that followed and he set off from Heuston Station with a little brown suitcase.

Gareth O'Callaghan was picked up at the train station in Clara and driven back to St Anthony's.

Gareth O'Callaghan was given a room near where his abuser was sleeping, one with an adjoining door.

Gareth O'Callaghan then took a bus home, informing his mother that the brother had been required to go away.

Gareth O'Callaghan never asked her son about the absent little brown suitcase.

Gareth O'Callaghan began to experience nightmares, which lasted for many years, and consisted of his abuser returning.

The priest was unsympathetic, accused Gareth O'Callaghan of defaming the brother's name and told him to get out.

Gareth O'Callaghan then told his mother when he returned home and received a more sympathetic response, with her insisting he was not to blame for what had happened.

Gareth O'Callaghan started working with small pirates such as Radio Dublin.

Gareth O'Callaghan then was a presenter on "superpirate" Radio Nova in the early 1980s, followed by Sunshine Radio, later Energy 103FM and Q102.

Gareth O'Callaghan spent a few years on UK radio, after his spell with Sunshine Radio in 1983, starting with offshore pirate Radio Caroline.

Gareth O'Callaghan then presented the Gareth O'Callaghan in the Afternoon show which was similar in theme, tone and content to the Steve Wright in the Afternoon show on BBC Radio 1 of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Gareth O'Callaghan left RTE 2fm's afternoon show, having previously presented the breakfast show on the station.

On 27 February 2009 Gareth O'Callaghan launched Ireland's newest commercial independent Quasi-national radio station 4fm where he was the morning show host before moving to the afternoon slot.

In 2010, Gareth O'Callaghan spoke out against cocaine use following the death of Gerry Ryan, a former colleague and friend.

Gareth O'Callaghan acknowledged that he had known of Ryan's cocaine use for 16 years and received criticism and intimidation after speaking about this in public.

In January 2022, it was announced the Gareth O'Callaghan was to return to Ireland's Classic Hits Radio, to present a new Saturday morning programme.

Gareth O'Callaghan has contributed two stories to the New Island Open Door series, entitled Joe's Wedding and Stray Dog.

Gareth O'Callaghan wrote A Day Called Hope: A Journey Beyond Depression about his own personal experience of severe depression.

Gareth O'Callaghan is a regular contributor to many of the national newspapers in Ireland, having written regularly for The Irish Times, the Sunday Independent and the Evening Herald.

Gareth O'Callaghan is currently writing a sequel to A Day Called Hope, and is said to be working on a new novel.

Gareth O'Callaghan met Paula Delaney in March 2015, a fortnight after O'Callaghan's "dear friend" Tony Fenton died.

Gareth O'Callaghan married her in Cork Registry Office in September 2020.

In March 2018, Gareth O'Callaghan announced to listeners of Neil Prendeville's Cork's Red FM show that he had developed Parkinson's disease.

Gareth O'Callaghan retired from radio in August 2018 after being diagnosed with the neurodegenerative illness multiple system atrophy, an incurable and even more rare disease.

Gareth O'Callaghan spent six weeks in hospital after a car crash in Cork in March 2023.

Gareth O'Callaghan is a prominent supporter of suicide and depression-related topics, having had previous personal experience of these throughout his adult life.

Gareth O'Callaghan has written books dealing with such topics, and was a supporter of the Irish suicide charity Console Suicide charity Ireland before its closure, representing them in Dail Eireann debates on at least one occasion.