Marty Whelan
Encyclopedia
Martin 'Marty' Whelan is a Jacob's Award
Jacob's Awards
The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients were selected by Ireland's national newspaper television...

-winning Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 radio and television personality currently working for Raidió Teilifís Éireann
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...

. Frequently seen and heard on RTÉ radio and television, he has presented a variety of shows. Whelan's early television credits included his own gameshows, Millionaire
Millionaire (TV series)
Millionaire is an Irish game show presented by Marty Whelan. The studio-based show aired on Friday nights as a summer "filler" between 19 May and 1 September 1995.-Format:Millionaire was produced in association with the National Lottery...

and Fame and Fortune, as well as the weekday afternoon show, Open House
Open House (Ireland)
Open House is an Irish afternoon television show broadcast on RTÉ One between 1998 and 2003. The last episode was broadcast in 2004. It was presented by Mary Kennedy and Marty Whelan and focused on lifestyle, cookery and human interest issues. Presenters included Dermot O'Neill, the popular...

.

Whelan was master of ceremonies at The Rose of Tralee
Rose of Tralee (festival)
The Rose of Tralee festival is an international competition which is celebrated among Irish communities all over the world. The festival takes its inspiration from a nineteenth century ballad of the same name about a woman called Mary, who because of her beauty was called The Rose of Tralee. The...

 contest until Ryan Tubridy
Ryan Tubridy
Ryan Tubridy , affectionately known as "Tubs", is an Irish broadcaster and writer, a presenter of live shows on radio and television in Ireland. He has been described as "one of Ireland's most gifted broadcasters"...

 replaced him in 2003, a role which Whelan had held since 1997. His RTÉ 2fm
RTÉ 2fm
RTÉ 2fm, or 2FM as it is more commonly referred to, is Raidió Teilifís Éireann's second national radio station. It broadcasts popular music programming aimed at a young Irish audience.- History :...

 radio show, Marty in the Morning
Marty in the Morning
Marty in the Morning was RTÉ 2fm's breakfast show, presented by Marty Whelan, from 26 September 2005 until it was axed when Colm & Jim-Jim were poached from FM104. The duo now hold the current 2fm breakfast slot with The Colm & Jim-Jim Breakfast Show...

was axed in 2007 and replaced with The Colm & Jim-Jim Breakfast Show
The Colm & Jim-Jim Breakfast Show
The Colm & Jim-Jim Breakfast Show was an Irish breakfast radio show, broadcast weekdays on RTÉ 2fm. The show, hosted by Colm Hayes and Jim-Jim Nugent, began broadcasting in March 2007 when the duo moved from rival station FM104....

. Whelan has since made a return to television, winning the reality series Celebrity Bainisteoir
Celebrity Bainisteoir
Celebrity Bainisteoir is a prime-time reality programme produced for Radio Telefís Éireann, which was produced by Animo Television/Kite Entertainment...

in 2008. Since winning the series, he has made another return to television to guest-host the RTÉ One topical comedy show The Panel. He also acted as guest judge in RTÉ's Charity You're a Star
Charity You're A Star
Charity You're a Star is a talent contest created by Radio Telefís Éireann, where various Irish celebrities sing to raise money for the charity of their choice...

, standing in for Louis Walsh
Louis Walsh
Louis Walsh is an Irish music manager and judge on the British television talent show The X Factor.-Band manager:...

 in one programme.

Marty at Midday saw Whelan receive his own weekday lunchtime show on RTÉ lyric fm
RTÉ lyric fm
RTÉ lyric fm is an Irish classical music radio station, owned by the public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. The station, which is based in Limerick, was launched in 1999 and is available on FM in Ireland, on satellite, on Sky Digital in Ireland and United Kingdom and via the...

, commencing September 2009. He then returned to television again in September 2009 to co-present Winning Streak
Winning Streak
Winning Streak is a weekly Irish game show in which five contestants play a number of games to win cars, holidays, and cash prizes up to €500,000. Broadcast on Saturday nights between September and June on RTÉ One, the game show is among the channel's most popular programmes, often ranking among...

with Kathryn Thomas
Kathryn Thomas
Kathryn Thomas is an Irish television presenter from Carlow. She does be doing the holiday programme on RTÉ. Now she does a Winning Streak every week with Marty Whelan...

. He has been doing this ever since.

Since 2000, Whelan has provided the television commentary for RTÉ's coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...

, although Whelan provided the Irish commentary for the Eurovision Song Contest 1987
Eurovision Song Contest 1987
The Eurovision Song Contest 1987 was the 32nd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 9 May 1987 in Brussels, Belgium after Sandra Kim's win the previous year. The presenter was Viktor Lazlo. Johnny Logan was the winner for Ireland with the song "Hold Me Now"...

.

Early life

Whelan was born in Dublin in 1956. An only child, he was overprotected by his parents but was always surrounded by other children. He later commented on his childhood, "I had cousins, friends constantly to play with -- my memories are all in the company of children." Whelan attended school in Killester
Killester
Killester is a small, largely residential suburb of Dublin and lies on the Northside of the city.-Location and access:Killester is located between Clontarf, Donnycarney, Raheny and Artane, and it falls within the postal districts of Dublin 3 or 5. St. Anne's Park lies just beyond Killester on the...

. He spent five years working with an insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...

 company before he made the break into radio with the pirate radio station Radio Dublin.

1979-1991

In 1979, Whelan joined RTÉ Radio 2
RTÉ 2fm
RTÉ 2fm, or 2FM as it is more commonly referred to, is Raidió Teilifís Éireann's second national radio station. It broadcasts popular music programming aimed at a young Irish audience.- History :...

, now known as RTÉ 2fm. During his first tenure with the station he presented a number of shows such as Drivetime and Marty till Midnight. He also spent three years presenting RTÉ 2fm's Breakfast Show in a role he would return to in 2005.

In the mid-1980s Whelan began developing his television career, becoming the first male presenter of the hit fashion programme Head 2 Toe. Other popular TV shows followed, including the Where in the World?
Where in the World? (TV series)
Where in the World? is an Irish quiz show show presented firstly by Marty Whelan and subsequently by Theresa Lowe that was broadcast for nine series between 1987 and 1996. The show featured two teams of four made up of two families, answering a series of geography-based questions....

quiz programme (1986–1989) and Video File (1983–1989), in which he interviewed major stars of the music world.

In 1989, Whelan left RTÉ radio to join its rival radio station, Century Radio
Century Radio
Century Radio, also marketed as Century 100 and later Century FM, was an early short-lived national commercial radio station in Ireland .-Transmission:...

. When that project failed he was given the cold shoulder by RTÉ.

1991-2004

Whelan returned to the national broadcaster in the mid-1990s when he presented such shows as GFI: Go For It, Off the Record and Millionaire
Millionaire (TV series)
Millionaire is an Irish game show presented by Marty Whelan. The studio-based show aired on Friday nights as a summer "filler" between 19 May and 1 September 1995.-Format:Millionaire was produced in association with the National Lottery...

. He hosted RTÉ One
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...

's summer lottery show Fame and Fortune
Fame and Fortune (television)
Fame & Fortune is an Irish game show broadcast on RTÉ One on Saturday nights from 1996 to 2006. Hosted by popular Irish television and radio personality Marty Whelan , the show aired during the summer months of June, July, and August as a seasonal replacement for Winning Streak...

on Saturday nights for at least ten years. He spent ten years on television as presenter of the John Player Tops.

In 1997, Whelan became master of ceremonies at the annual Rose of Tralee contest but, in the first of a series of losses, he was replaced by Ryan Tubridy
Ryan Tubridy
Ryan Tubridy , affectionately known as "Tubs", is an Irish broadcaster and writer, a presenter of live shows on radio and television in Ireland. He has been described as "one of Ireland's most gifted broadcasters"...

 in 2003. In 2004, RTÉ's flagship afternoon magazine programme Open House was axed, leaving Whelan jobless once again. Whelan had filled the role of co-host alongside Mary Kennedy
Mary Kennedy
Mary Kennedy is an Irish writer, television personality and former newscaster. She presented Eurovision Song Contest 1995 from the Point Theatre in Dublin. She has also presented her own Saturday night chat show called Kennedy, a precursor to Saturday Night with Miriam. Kennedy was co-presenter of...

 since 1998. He was reported to be "shocked" and "very disappointed". He also said he would "personally deliver every copy" of Mary Kennedy's new book Paper Tigers, reasoning, "Sure I have nothing else to be doing with my time".

2004-present

A substitute slot for Gerry Ryan
Gerry Ryan
Gerard "Gerry" Ryan was an Irish presenter of radio and television employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann...

 on his morning radio show
The Gerry Ryan Show
The Gerry Ryan Show was RTÉ 2fm's mid-morning radio show...

 on RTÉ 2fm in the summer of 2005 led to a more permanent return to the station for Whelan. Marty in the Morning, which itself caused controversy when it replaced The Rick & Ruth Breakfast Show
The Rick & Ruth Breakfast Show
The Rick & Ruth Breakfast Show was RTÉ 2fm's breakfast show which began after Ryan Tubridy's The Full Irish ended and ran until 26 September 2005. Presented by Rick O'Shea and Ruth Scott, the show was axed after six months in August 2005 when it was blamed for losing The Gerry Ryan Show 40,000...

, began on 26 September 2005. In January 2007, it was announced that Marty in the Morning would end that March, when Colm & Jim-Jim
Colm & Jim-Jim
-Radio personalities:* Colm Hayes, an Irish radio and television personality* Jim-Jim Nugent, an Irish radio and television personality-Radio shows:* The Colm & Jim-Jim Breakfast Show, a 2fm radio show presented by Hayes and Nugent...

 arrived from FM104
FM104
FM104 is an Independent Local Radio station broadcast across Dublin, Ireland, on the frequency 104.4 MHz. It is operated by Capital Radio Productions Limited , and is a subsidiary of UTV Radio. The station broadcasts under a sound broadcasting contract from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland...

. The presenter was on holiday when he discovered another show had been axed. Whelan returned to the role of filling in for Gerry Ryan whenever Ryan was on holiday from 30 July until 3 September 2007.

Since then Whelan has appeared as himself in feature films, at the co-opening of a Dunnes outlet in Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...

 with retired broadcaster Gay Byrne
Gay Byrne
Gabriel Mary "Gay" Byrne is a veteran Irish presenter of radio and television. His most notable role was first host of The Late Late Show over a 37-year period spanning 1962 until 1999...

 and filling a cameo role (again as himself) on the soap opera, Fair City
Fair City
Fair City is an award-winning Irish television soap opera on RTÉ One. Produced by Radio Telefís Éireann, it was first broadcast on Monday, September 18, 1989...

. He still commentates on RTÉ's television coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...

 each May.

Whelan presented a two-hour Sunday with Marty Whelan show on RTÉ lyric fm
RTÉ lyric fm
RTÉ lyric fm is an Irish classical music radio station, owned by the public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. The station, which is based in Limerick, was launched in 1999 and is available on FM in Ireland, on satellite, on Sky Digital in Ireland and United Kingdom and via the...

 from Sunday, 1 March 2009 at 14:30, taking over from veteran broadcaster Gay Byrne, but only until that September. In July 2009, Whelan provided commentary on the Michael Jackson memorial service
Michael Jackson memorial service
A public memorial service for Michael Jackson was held on July 7, 2009 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California 12 days after his death on June 25...

 for RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...

. Following on from Sunday with Marty Whelan, he received his own weekday lunchtime show on lyric fm, Marty at Midday, commencing September 2009. That same month, he began co-presenting Winning Streak
Winning Streak
Winning Streak is a weekly Irish game show in which five contestants play a number of games to win cars, holidays, and cash prizes up to €500,000. Broadcast on Saturday nights between September and June on RTÉ One, the game show is among the channel's most popular programmes, often ranking among...

on RTÉ One each Saturday night, alongside Kathryn Thomas
Kathryn Thomas
Kathryn Thomas is an Irish television presenter from Carlow. She does be doing the holiday programme on RTÉ. Now she does a Winning Streak every week with Marty Whelan...

.

Personal life

Whelan lives in Portmarnock
Portmarnock
Portmarnock is a small suburban village to the north of Dublin, Ireland. It is in the administrative county of Fingal.-Location:Portmarnock lies on the coast and, owing to its proximity to Dublin city, is a form of dormitory village north-northeast of the city centre...

, County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...

 with his wife, Maria, one of six children. The couple have two children, Jessica (born 1990) and Thomas (born 1993). They met in 1974. They dated for ten years and married on 13 August 1985. At the time they were both living at home, her with her parents, Tom and Kathleen, in Beaumont, Dublin
Beaumont, Dublin
Beaumont is a suburb of Dublin, located on the Northside. It lies within the postal district Dublin 9, sometimes known as D9. The name derives from the French for "beautiful mount".-History:...

 and him with his mother, Lilly, and his father, John, who is deceased. Whelan's wife gave up her job as an air hostess with Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus Group Plc is the flag carrier of Ireland. It operates a fleet of Airbus aircraft serving Europe and North America. It is Ireland's oldest extant airline, and its second largest after low-cost rival Ryanair...

 upon their marriage.

Whelan's interests include badminton, rugby, DIY and football. In his spare time he likes to play indoor football with some of his colleagues at RTÉ, and is also a founding member of the Donaghmede Badminton Club.

Awards

In 1986, Whelan won a Jacob's Award
Jacob's Awards
The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients were selected by Ireland's national newspaper television...

 for Video File.
|-
| 1986 || Marty Whelan || Jacob's Awards
Jacob's Awards
The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients were selected by Ireland's national newspaper television...

 ||
|-

External links

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