Marty Whelan
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| Marty Whelan | |
| Born | Martin Whelan |
|---|---|
| Residence | Dublin |
| Nationality | Irish  |
| Occupation | Radio and Television presenter |
| Employers | RTÉ |
| Salary | € 229,056 a year (2008) [1] |
| Religious beliefs | Catholic |
Martin Whelan (born June 7, 1956) is an Irish radio and television personality.
[edit] About
Marty Whelan was born in Dublin in 1956. He spent five years working in an insurance company before he made the break into radio in 1979 on RTÉ's Radio 2, now RTÉ 2fm. He presented a number of shows such as Drivetime and Marty At Midnight. Whelan also spent three years presenting 2fm's Breakfast Show. In the mid-80s 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 quiz programme (1986–1989) and Video File (1983–1989), in which he interviewed major stars of the music world. In 1986, Whelan won a Jacob's Award for Video File.
In 1989 Whelan left RTÉ radio to join its rival radio station, Century Radio. When that project failed he was given the cold shoulder by RTÉ. He returned to the national broadcaster in the mid-90s presenting such shows as GFI: Go For It, Off the Record and Millionaire. He has hosted RTÉ One's summer lottery show Fame and Fortune on Saturday nights for the past eight years.
In 1997, he became the master of ceremonies at the prestigious annual Rose of Tralee Festival, only to be replaced by Ryan Tubridy in 2003 . The following year (1998) Whelan was paired up with RTÉ's Mary Kennedy as presenter of Open House, RTÉ's flagship afternoon magazine programme. That show ran until 2004; however, a return with Kennedy in a different format may be in the pipeline. Since then Whelan has appeared as himself in feature films as well as a cameo role on the soap opera, Fair City.
Whelan's television CV also includes ten years as presenter of the John Player Tops. He also hosts RTÉ's coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest every May.
In the Summer of 2005 he filled in for Gerry Ryan on RTÉ 2fm. This marked his return to radio. On the September 26 2005 he started to present the RTÉ 2fm breakfast show again, amid some controversy after ending Rick and Ruth's short-lived show. In January 2007, it was announced that his breakfast show is to end in March. Whelan then returned to the role filling in for Gerry Ryan whenever Ryan was on holiday.
[edit] References
| Preceded by Derek Davis |
Host of The Rose of Tralee 1997 – 2002 |
Succeeded by Ryan Tubridy |
