2FM broadcasts live from Brown Thomas al day with special guests in aid of the St Vincent De Paul Toy Appeal, Dublin, Ireland - 27.11.13. Pictures: Cathal Burke / VIPIRELAND.COM *** Local Caption *** Jennifer Maguire

Veteran broadcaster Larry Gogan's Golden Hour has been axed from RTE 2FM's new lineup.

Station boss Dan Healy has dramatically overhauled 2FM in recent weeks, introducing a slew of new presenters including Jennifer Maguire and Nicky Byrne.

Earlier this afternoon – 24 hours after Nicky Byrne told Ryan Tubridy his new show would encompass Larry’s slot – 2FM announced the veteran DJ had signed a new contract for the station.

In a statement, 2FM said Larry would be moving to the weekend with a two hour show to be broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays.

The show will feature “a mix of the latest hits, the ‘Just a Minute Quiz’ and golden oldies, which will include ‘The Golden Hour’.”

“Larry is set to be the lynch-pin of Irish weekend radio, having been at the heart of Irish radio for decades, and appealing to all ages across the board,” the statement said.

“I'm thrilled to be part of the new 2fm and working with Dan Healy to see where he brings the station. I’m also really excited to be taking the most popular music show in the country ‘The Golden Hour’ to the weekend along with my ‘Just A Minute Quiz’ and the ‘Best of New Music’,” said Larry.

Head of 2fm, Dan Healy said: “The greatest of them all... over the last number of months, Larry and I have been talking about what he would like to do on 2fm and he felt that he could do a significant job for the station at the weekends. 2fm may be changing but Larry Gogan is constant. Weekends are as important as weekdays in radio and the reason I have chosen Larry to be the linchpin he is the best at what he does and always delivers. The greatest privilege for me in my working life is to have the opportunity to work with Larry Gogan.”

But it's Byrne's arrival and subsequent takeover of the 11am-2pm slot that means Gogan's long-standing show is being cancelled and he will take on a new weekend slot.

Will Leahy will also be moving to weekends as Colm Hayes has been given his new drivetime slot.

“The show is going to be speech-based, but fast-paced and we'll aim to bang out 10 tunes in an hour,” explained station chief Dan Healy of Byrne's new role.

“I began talking to Nicky in July because 2FM were working closely with ‘The Hit’ and we were really impressed with him.”

Republic of Telly's Jennifer Maguire, Bernard O'Shea and Keith Walsh are the new faces - and voices - of the coveted breakfast show, replacing outgoing Hector hEochagain.

And Maguire who is also new to radio, said her main focus will be audience enjoyment, not just figures.

“It's not that I don't care about the figures, but I can't focus on that and I don't want to listen to it,” she said.

“I come from the Republic of Telly and they don't even care about ratings. The producers just say, ‘we're going to make the show as good as possible because we've been on for five years, so we'll just keep going'.”

Online Editors