RTÉ star Sarah McInerney has said it was ‘unsettling and nerve-wracking’ when Claire Byrne and Ray D’Arcy left the station.
The broadcaster was plunged into turmoil last year when several of its high profile stars announced their departure from RTÉ, with Claire announcing her shock move to rival station, Newstalk.
Sarah said the announcements were ‘an enormous change for the station’ that wouldn’t normally be seen within the organisation.
The Morning Ireland presenter said: ‘It was an enormous change for the station, and this is an organisation that doesn’t usually see change of that nature. I think for everyone in the building, probably including the people who are making the decisions, it was unsettling and nerve-wracking.
‘There were rumours flying around and nobody really knew what was going on, but I suppose that has to happen when you’re trying to implement big change.
‘But the other option is to never change and stay the same. With the schedule, they’ve made a big bet, they know what they’re doing and they’ve got their audience research ready to go,’ she told RSVP Magazine.
When asked if she was ever poached to go to another station, she confirmed she had ‘different conversations with people’ but added that it was ‘nothing serious’.
She revealed that before Claire had announced her departure to Newstalk, she was already in discussions with Morning Ireland for a few months – admitting she is ‘surprised’ at how happy she feels now in her new slot.
‘When that was happening, I had already been in discussions with Morning Ireland for a couple of months. It’s a brilliant show, I’ve really enjoyed presenting it before in between Sean [O’Rourke] and Claire, but there would have been other trade-offs.
‘I wouldn’t have been able to do Prime Time, and that would be a very big decision to walk away from Prime Time. It didn’t come up, but I’m not sure it would have been the right thing either way.
‘I’m very happy with how things have turned out. It’s great, I’m really happy with what I’m doing at the moment – I’ve kind of surprised myself with how happy I am, because it’s hard to get the balance right, and it feels very balanced now.’
