Philip Boucher-Hayes
Encyclopedia
Philip Boucher-Hayes is head of RTÉ
's Radio Investigative Unit
. He is a news reporter, radio presenter and occasionally appears on television. As a news reporter, RTÉ has dispatched Boucher-Hayes to a number of remote locations including Kosovo
, Israel
, Iran
, Iraq
and New York City
. He has reported on numerous domestic issues such as suspicious murders and the quality of water and has also presented Investigation on One on RTÉ Radio One, recently being seen on RTÉ One
presenting Buyer Beware!
. Boucher has also appeared on television shows such as The Panel to discuss his work.
. He was educated in Newtown School, Waterford
and began his journalism career as a freelance contributor to local newspapers before going on to study History and Politics in University College Dublin
(UCD).
's Five Seven Live
and RTÉ 2fm
's The Gerry Ryan Show
before producing The Gay Byrne Show
. In 1997 he defected to Today FM
precursor Radio Ireland for a midday presenting slot, but rejoined the 5-7 Live reporting team on RTÉ Radio 1 in 1998. He was reported in 2006 as being the new presenter of Five Seven Live
.
, Israel, occupied Palestinian territories
and Iran. He has been RTÉ's reporter for numerous historic events, including stints in South East Asia (post Asian tsunami
), New York City (for September 11 attacks) and Northern Iraqi Kurdistan
(during the American-led invasion
which preceded the Iraq War in 2003). In 2006 he broke the Israel
i blockade of Lebanon
, becoming the first reporter to do so, and covered the duration of the July War from Beirut
and Tyre. His coverage of the 14-year-old death of Brian Rossiter
whilst in the custody of gardaí won him the Media Justice Award in 2005. In 2006's "Peak Oil" he was the man behind the series of features on Ireland's looming energy crisis. He has also covered the release from jail of Irish politician Liam Lawlor
. Other issues addressed include the Galway water contamination crisis.
the morning before broadcast, with Boucher-Hayes presenting the evidence in a style that has been suggested as something not unlike a "scene where Hercule Poirot
explains the whole thing to an assembly of slow-witted guests in the drawing room". He covers such topics as the spraying of vegetables, particularly mushrooms, with carcinogen
ic chemicals, and the Irish Department of Agriculture's seemingly relaxed attitude toward the testing of these mushrooms for poisonous chemicals.
and appeared on The Panel on 27 November 2008.
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...
's Radio Investigative Unit
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
. He is a news reporter, radio presenter and occasionally appears on television. As a news reporter, RTÉ has dispatched Boucher-Hayes to a number of remote locations including Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He has reported on numerous domestic issues such as suspicious murders and the quality of water and has also presented Investigation on One on RTÉ Radio One, recently being seen on 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...
presenting Buyer Beware!
Buyer Beware!
Buyer Beware! is an Irish television consumer affairs series. The show, hosted by Philip Boucher-Hayes, is broadcast on Thursdays at 20:30 on RTÉ One. It follows a similar format to BBC's Watchdog. The first episode aired on 6 November 2008...
. Boucher has also appeared on television shows such as The Panel to discuss his work.
Early life
Boucher was born in County KildareCounty Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
. He was educated in Newtown School, Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
and began his journalism career as a freelance contributor to local newspapers before going on to study History and Politics in University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
(UCD).
Early career
Boucher-Hayes joined RTÉ in 1993. He began his career by reporting on RTÉ Radio 1RTÉ 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...
's Five Seven Live
Five Seven Live
Five Seven Live was an Irish radio rolling news programme, produced by RTÉ News and was aired each weekday evening on RTÉ Radio 1 between 17:00–19:00, between 1997 and 2006, the final edition being broadcast on 1 September 2006.-Programme format:...
and 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 :...
's The Gerry Ryan Show
The Gerry Ryan Show
The Gerry Ryan Show was RTÉ 2fm's mid-morning radio show...
before producing The Gay Byrne Show
The Gay Byrne Show
The Gay Byrne Show was an Irish radio programme, which ran from 1973 until 1998. The programme was presented by Gay Byrne, and aired Monday to Friday for two hours each day. It was a favourite of Irish housewives...
. In 1997 he defected to Today FM
Today FM
Radio Ireland Ltd, trading as 100-102 Today FM is an Irish commercial FM radio station which is available nationally. The station, which commenced broadcasting on Saint Patrick's Day in 1997, can be received nationally and carries a mix of music and talk...
precursor Radio Ireland for a midday presenting slot, but rejoined the 5-7 Live reporting team on RTÉ Radio 1 in 1998. He was reported in 2006 as being the new presenter of Five Seven Live
Five Seven Live
Five Seven Live was an Irish radio rolling news programme, produced by RTÉ News and was aired each weekday evening on RTÉ Radio 1 between 17:00–19:00, between 1997 and 2006, the final edition being broadcast on 1 September 2006.-Programme format:...
.
Reporting work
Boucher-Hayes has reported from destinations as diverse as Kosovo, Latin AmericaLatin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, Israel, occupied Palestinian territories
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
and Iran. He has been RTÉ's reporter for numerous historic events, including stints in South East Asia (post Asian tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
), New York City (for September 11 attacks) and Northern Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...
(during the American-led invasion
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
which preceded the Iraq War in 2003). In 2006 he broke the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i blockade of Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, becoming the first reporter to do so, and covered the duration of the July War from Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
and Tyre. His coverage of the 14-year-old death of Brian Rossiter
Death of Brian Rossiter
The death of Brian Rossiter occurred at Cork University Hospital in Cork, Ireland, on 14 September 2002, as a result of head injuries he had sustained several days earlier. Fourteen-year-old Brian Rossiter had been arrested for a public order offence on the night of 10/11 September 2002, falling...
whilst in the custody of gardaí won him the Media Justice Award in 2005. In 2006's "Peak Oil" he was the man behind the series of features on Ireland's looming energy crisis. He has also covered the release from jail of Irish politician Liam Lawlor
Liam Lawlor
Liam Aloysius Lawlor was an Irish politician who resigned from the Fianna Fáil political party following a finding by a Party standards committee that he had failed to co-operate with its investigation into planning irregularities, and subsequently came into conflict with the Mahon Tribunal.-Early...
. Other issues addressed include the Galway water contamination crisis.
Radio work
Boucher-Hayes presents the investigative radio series, Investigation on One on RTÉ Radio One each Monday evening. The show is given its own segment on Today with Pat KennyToday with Pat Kenny
Today with Pat Kenny is a current affairs magazine broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1, presented by Pat Kenny. The programme is broadcast weekdays, at 10:00 and ends at 12:00. As of 2008, the average audience for the show was 291,000....
the morning before broadcast, with Boucher-Hayes presenting the evidence in a style that has been suggested as something not unlike a "scene where Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.Poirot has been portrayed on...
explains the whole thing to an assembly of slow-witted guests in the drawing room". He covers such topics as the spraying of vegetables, particularly mushrooms, with carcinogen
Carcinogen
A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that is an agent directly involved in causing cancer. This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes...
ic chemicals, and the Irish Department of Agriculture's seemingly relaxed attitude toward the testing of these mushrooms for poisonous chemicals.
Television work
Boucher-Hayes presents the consumer affairs programme Buyer Beware!Buyer Beware!
Buyer Beware! is an Irish television consumer affairs series. The show, hosted by Philip Boucher-Hayes, is broadcast on Thursdays at 20:30 on RTÉ One. It follows a similar format to BBC's Watchdog. The first episode aired on 6 November 2008...
and appeared on The Panel on 27 November 2008.