Former RTÉ star Joe Duffy has confirmed he was approached about running for the Áras shortly after stepping down from hosting Liveline.

Speculation was rife that the popular host might join the Presidential race following his departure from RTÉ in June, 2025.

In July, 2025, Joe was forced to release a statement that he ‘wanted to make it absolutely clear’ that he was ‘not seeking a nomination from any politicians, local or national, for the office of @PresidentIRL.’

But now the star has confirmed to EVOKE that he did receive ‘a few phone calls’ after he finished Liveline, but said he didn’t answer them.

He said: ‘There were a few phone calls when I finished in Liveline, but I didn’t answer them, to be honest.

‘There is no way I’m going to move into a smaller house,’ he said as he jokingly referenced the Áras.

‘I wouldn’t be presumptuous. To stand for the Áras, you need an incredible track record of being a counsellor and being involved in politics and having the backing of a political party.’

But he teased that he would love to see former colleague Pat Kenny running for Presidency – joking that he has one of the ‘most important qualifications’ for the job.

‘You know who I would love to see in the Áras is Pat Kenny. He is just brilliant. He is still going strong, and he has one of the most important qualifications to be President – he has two dogs, which he loves, and he walks them every single day.’

In June, Joe signed off from Liveline for the final time, but life hasn’t slowed down too much for the presenter.

The 70-year-old told us how he was given one important piece of advice when he hung up the mic – and that was to make sure he gets up early every morning and indulges in a nap every now and again.

The Dubliner said: ‘I’ve always painted. I swim every morning, not in the sea. I get up early every morning. I kept that routine up. Someone advised me to do that. They had a good tip; they told me to try and get up before 8am, even if you want to stay in bed.

‘They said to do your swim or whatever you have to do in the morning, but now that you’re retired, you’re allowed to go back for a nap, if you want to. So I’ve stuck to the routine, but I seldom go back up for a nap. I always have something to do.’

The Ballyfermot star has been kept busy for the last few months as he’s released his fourth book, Talk To Joe, Life, Liveline and Me, which has been shortlisted for Dubray Biography of the Year at the 2026 An Post Irish Book Awards.

And despite being no stranger to the world of publishing, he said he was ‘surprised’ Hachette book publishers wanted him to write a book about his illustrious career.

‘The book was a great project, but it was a bit of a surprise because I hadn’t planned to do it until Hachette said it to me. Then once I started digging and going back and listening back, then I started going down a rabbit hole for eight months.

‘Then the hard part was trying to turn stories into a narrative. That was the real challenge. I tried to put in a mix of heavy and light, but I didn’t get to put in half the stories I wanted to put in.

‘I wanted to memorialise some of the great callers we had on Liveline and all people who are below the radar who weren’t on Morning Ireland or on the front of the papers.

‘You’re trying to put them in print and memorialise their stories and experiences,’ he said.

He also writes about those who inspired him throughout his life, including his mother Mabel, who passed away in February 2022 at age 94.

He admitted there wasn’t a day that went by when he didn’t want to pick up the phone to his late mother.

‘You still find yourself saying “I must give Mabel a ring”.’ But he said his mother was his toughest critic and always kept him grounded.

‘My mother was never in awe of celebrity. Her thing to me was, you’re never as good as people say you are, but you’re never as bad either.

‘She liked it, but she would never ring you afterwards. When I read at the Papal Mass in 1979, I remember my mother had been one of one and a half million that walked to the Phoenix Park the previous day. Then I was at the Youth Mass and I did a reading.

‘I remember going up to Mabel on the Sunday, and she didn’t say anything, and so I said to her “Were you watching the Papal Mass? Did you see me? What did you think?” and she said, “You could’ve got your hair cut and where did you get that zip-up jacket you were wearing,” he said, laughing.