1. Raymond Michael D'Arcy was born on 1 September 1964 and is an Irish television and radio presenter currently on his second stint at state broadcaster RTE.
31 Facts About Ray D'Arcy
1. 2.
Ray D'Arcy once presented a self-titled weekday morning radio programme on the Denis O'Brien-owned Today FM.
3.
Ray D'Arcy was born into a working-class family of nine with one earner, his father, a non-commissioned officer, in Tipperary in 1964.
4.
Ray D'Arcy's grandmother died at the age of 54 from lung cancer when D'Arcy was 11.
5.
Always into his music and his broadcasting, Ray D'Arcy began discoing in 1979 at the age of 15.
6.
Ray D'Arcy attended Trinity College Dublin, to take a degree in psychology, and graduated in 1985.
7.
Ray D'Arcy has been a presenter for both TV and radio, beginning this career by joining RTE Raidio na Gaeltachta in 1985.
8.
In 1990, Ray D'Arcy replaced Ian Dempsey as the presenter of The Den, RTE's flagship children's television series.
9.
Ray D'Arcy presented the quiz show Blackboard Jungle at the time before presenting youth music quiz 2Phat.
10.
Ray D'Arcy was the presenter of several short-running or once-off broadcasts for RTE, including Ireland's version of the Test The Nation franchise and the Irish Young Scientist Awards.
11.
In 2005, Ray D'Arcy took over as Rose of Tralee presenter.
12.
In 1998, one year after the station's launch, D'Arcy began presenting The Ray D'Arcy Show on Today FM.
13.
Ray D'Arcy credited much of the show's success to the team that served him well over the years: Jenny Kelly, Will Hanafin and Mairead Farrell.
14.
The artist anonymously emailed Ray D'Arcy's radio show, claiming responsibility for the creation of the paintings, but not their hanging.
15.
In July 2014, Ray D'Arcy experienced backlash from mixed martial arts fans by inviting Cathal Pendred onto his show then grilling him on his part in the "violent and disturbing" sport.
16.
Ray D'Arcy resumed his employment as radio presenter with RTE Radio after being approached by them "a number of times" over the years.
17.
The Ray D'Arcy Show continued as a broadcast on RTE Radio One.
18.
Ray D'Arcy's first show back at RTE went out on 2 February 2015 on Radio 1.
19.
Ray D'Arcy's show began airing every weekday from 3 to 4.30pm.
20.
On 6 October 2019 it was revealed that The Ray D'Arcy Show would run from September to December, being replaced by a female-led chat show from January to May.
21.
In December 2015 the BAI upheld three complaints of bias about an interview Ray D'Arcy had with Colm O'Gorman about Amnesty Ireland's campaign to change Ireland's laws on abortion.
22.
In May 2016, the BAI ruled for a second time that Ray D'Arcy's programme lacked objectivity when he interviewed Graham Linehan and his wife, Helen, on her need to have an abortion in the UK following the discovery that a foetus she was carrying had a fatal abnormality.
23.
In December 2016 the BAI upheld two complaints about an interview Ray D'Arcy conducted on 9 June 2016 surrounding the United Nations Human Right's Committee periodic assessment of Ireland's human rights record.
24.
The unanimous opinion of the BAI committee was that the program lacked objectivity and impartiality and went so far to note that this was the third time a complaint was upheld against Ray D'Arcy on this issue and it was a matter of concern to them.
25.
Kenny did become Taoiseach; Ray D'Arcy did not leave the country.
26.
Previously engaged to TV presenter Geri Maye, Ray D'Arcy married Jenny Kelly, his producer and co-presenter, on 24 August 2013.
27.
D'Arcy's father Ray D'Arcy Snr died on 28 December 2017.
28.
Ray D'Arcy won a Jacob's Award in 1993 for his presentation of The Den.
29.
In 2005,2006 and 2007 Ray D'Arcy won the Best Irish Radio DJ award at the Meteor Music Awards, cementing his position as one of Ireland's most popular radio presenters.
30.
Ray D'Arcy always maintains that this should be seen as a group award, and that credit should be shared with Jenny Kelly, Mairead Farrell and producer Will Hanafin, who contributes to presenting the show.
31.
In 2007, The Ray D'Arcy Show won the Best Light Entertainment Programme award at the PPI Irish Radio Awards.