Drivetime is an Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 news and current affairs radio programme broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1

RTÉ Radio 1

RTÉ Radio 1 is the principal radio channel of Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926...

 on Mondays to Fridays between 16.30 and 19.00. It attracts approximately 229,000 listeners daily.

The programme is presented by the journalist and former RTÉ

Raidió Teilifís Éireann

Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...

 legal affairs editor, Mary Wilson

Mary Wilson (broadcaster)

Mary Wilson is an Irish broadcaster and journalist. She currently presents the RTÉ radio programme Drivetime on RTÉ Radio 1 during weekday evenings. In 2006, she was described as "one of Ireland’s leading journalists".- Career :...

. It includes news summaries, sports news, and traffic and weather reports as well as live interviews and reports. Fergal Keane

Fergal Keane

Fergal Patrick Keane , is an Irish writer and broadcaster. For many years, Keane was the BBC's correspondent in Southern Africa. He is the nephew of Irish author John B. Keane....

 is one of Drivetimes principal reporters. Other writers and journalists who contribute to the programme include Joseph O'Connor

Joseph O'Connor

Joseph Victor O'Connor is an Irish novelist. He is known for his 2002 historical novel Star of the Sea. Before success as an author he was a journalist with the Sunday Tribune newspaper and Esquire magazine...

, Olivia O'Leary

Olivia O'Leary

Olivia O'Leary is an Irish journalist, writer and current affairs presenter.Educated at St Leo's College, Carlow and at University College Dublin, she worked with the Nationalist and Leinster Times in Carlow...

, and Fergus Finlay

Fergus Finlay

Fergus Finlay was for some years the chef de cabinet of the Irish Labour Party, and is the chief executive of the charity Barnardo's in Ireland. He is also a weekly columnist with the Irish Examiner and the author of a number of books....

. Special extended editions of Drivetime are mounted from time to time to cover such major news stories as general election

General election

In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...

s and referenda

Referendum

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

.

External links

• RTÉ News Page
• RTÉ Radio Drivetime Page
• RTÉ Radio Drivetime Sport Page