Laois radio star Claire Byrne hits the million mark on Newstalk
Mountrath woman switched from RTÉ to join Newstalk this year
Mountrath radio presenter Claire Byrne is already breaking listenership records less than six months after her switch from RTÉ to Newstalk radio.
Bauer Media Audio Ireland, the owner of Newstalk, has announced that The Claire Byrne Show podcast has become its fastest-ever station podcast to reach 1 million listens less than three months after the show debuted on Newstalk.
The Claire Byrne Show, which kicked off on Newstalk on Tuesday, February 3, and, according to the station, has seen exceptional growth in on-demand listening and across social media.
On air daily from 9 am to 12 noon, Claire has already interviewed a variety of guests, including Katie Taylor, An Taoiseach, Joanne McNally and Colm Meaney.
Claire Byrne has already interviewed An Taoiseach Micheál Martin. Pic: Newstalk
“Reaching one million podcast listens is a milestone I’m very proud of. We aim to help our listeners make sense of the news with a bit more clarity and the odd smile too, I’m really grateful to everyone who has joined us so far. The plan is to build on that success and keep making radio that people want to listen to,” she said.
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Eric Moylan. Managing Editor at Newstalk, commented on Claire hitting the 1 million mark.
“This great achievement is a credit to the entire Claire Byrne show team. Hitting such a significant milestone so quickly shows the incredible connection Claire has with the public. We’re just a couple of months after launch with plenty more to come in the weeks and months ahead," he said.
A statement said the 1 million milestone underlines the strength of Bauer Media Audio Ireland’s digital‑audio strategy and Newstalk’s growing on‑demand footprint, which is an option to listening live.
Today with Claire Byrne had an average of 354,000 listeners on RTÉ Radio 1 according to the final JNLR radio figures published at the end of her time with the public broadcaster.
She announced her departure from RTÉ after 15 years last August to host the Newstalk morning show replacing Pat Kenny who moved to the weekends. Her slot on RTÉ was taken by David McCullagh as part of a major shakeup of radio in Donnybrook which saw Joe Duffy and Ray Darcy leaving the station in 2025.