Pat Kenny
Third and current presenter of the long-running Late Late Show on RTÉ
Born	29 January 1948 (1948-01-29) (age 59)
Nationality	Irish
Education	Chemical Engineering degree, University College Dublin, Postgraduate Student, Georgia Institute of Technology
Employer	RTÉ
Occupation	Broadcaster
Salary	€899,000 a year (2004)

Pat Kenny (born January 29, 1948) is the current presenter of Ireland's The Late Late Show, the world's longest running chat show^[1], which is broadcast on Radio Telefís Éireann. 5{3rd presenter of the Late Late Show on RTÉ Image supplied by the Press Officer of the Late Late Show (Radio Telifís Éireann) for use on wikipedia, along with some background info for an article FearÉIREANN 01:23 27 Jun 2003 (UTC) to clarify - is that for... For the American late-night talk show presented by Tom Snyder, Craig Kilborn and Craig Ferguson, see The Late Late Show (CBS). ... Radio Telefís Éireann[1] (RTÉ; IPA: ,  ) is the Public Service Broadcaster of the Republic of Ireland. ... is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ireland. ... In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is the profession in which one works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products, and deals with the design and operation of plants and equipment to perform such work. ... University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin - more commonly University College Dublin (UCD) - is Irelands largest university, with over 20,000 students. ... The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly known as Georgia Tech, is a public, coeducational research university, part of the University System of Georgia, and located in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, with satellite campuses in Savannah, Georgia, Metz, France and Singapore. ... Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ; Irish for Radio and Television of Ireland) is the national publicly-funded broadcaster of Ireland. ... is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Radio Telefís Éireann[1] (RTÉ; IPA: ,  ) is the Public Service Broadcaster of the Republic of Ireland. ...

Early career

Pat Kenny was educated at O'Connell's school and then obtained a chemical engineering degree from University College Dublin in 1969, Subsequently he was a postgraduate student at Georgia Institute of Technology and then a lecturer in Bolton Street College of Technology in Dublin. He began his broadcasting career in parallel to his academic "day-job" by working as a continuity announcer on RTÉ radio in the mid 1970s. He subsequently became a radio disc jockey. In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is the profession in which one works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products, and deals with the design and operation of plants and equipment to perform such work. ... A degree is any of a wide range of status levels conferred by institutions of higher education, such as universities, normally as the result of successfully completing a program of study. ... University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin - more commonly University College Dublin (UCD) - is Irelands largest university, with over 20,000 students. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly known as Georgia Tech, is a public, coeducational research university, part of the University System of Georgia, and located in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, with satellite campuses in Savannah, Georgia, Metz, France and Singapore. ... The Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) was established officially in 1992 under the Dublin Institute of Technology Act but had been previously set up in 1978 on an ad-hoc basis. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ; Irish for Radio and Television of Ireland) is the national publicly-funded broadcaster of Ireland. ...

In 1981, Kenny won a Jacob's Award for his "unusual versatility" in presenting three diverse radio shows: Saturday View on RTÉ Radio 1, and, on RTÉ 2fm, The Kenny Report and The Outside Track.^[2] The Jacobs Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. ... RTÉ Radio 1 is the principal radio channel of Irish public-service broadcaster Radio Telefís Éireann and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. ... RTÉ 2fm, or 2FM as it is commonly referred to, is RTÉs second national radio station. ...

Saturday Live and Kenny Live!

Pat Kenny became a television broadcaster on RTÉ's Today Tonight current affairs programme in the mid 1980s. He moved in an unexpected direction for a current affairs presenter when he was co-presenter of the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. Subsequently, he had a guest presenting slot on the weekly chat show Saturday Live. He went on to host the show permanently, the show being renamed Kenny Live!. Eurovision redirects here. ... Saturday Live was a television chat show which was broadcast in Ireland on RTÉ One in the late 1980s. ... Kenny Live was a very popular television chat show which was broadcast in Ireland on RTÉ One between 1988 and 1999. ...

Rivalry ensued between the Saturday-broadcast Kenny Live! and the Friday-broadcast Late Late Show. Saturday Live, latterly Kenny Live!, which had been conceived as a means of preserving the prime weekend slot on a Saturday night to prevent a loss of viewers with corresponding loss of advertising revenue. Kenny Live was a very popular television chat show which was broadcast in Ireland on RTÉ One between 1988 and 1999. ... For the American late-night talk show presented by Tom Snyder, Craig Kilborn and Craig Ferguson, see The Late Late Show (CBS). ...

The Late Late Show

Gay Byrne retired from presenting The Late Late Show in 1999. Kenny became the new host, but not without begrudgery.^[3] This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Styles of Byrne and Kenny

Kenny's career as a broadcaster has been extensive, having been a continuity announcer, radio disc jockey, television current affairs presenter and anchor, and chat show host. His early radio career mirrored that of Byrne's, but Kenny's repertoire is much broader than that of Byrne^{[citation needed]}, as witnessed by Byrne always being in entertainment and never in current affairs. Byrne described himself as an entertainer first. ^[4] Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Initially Kenny was perceived, by a critic, as being unsuited to the field of light entertainment as this description of Kenny Live! stated: "The fact is that Pat Kenny, who has a kind of reserved dignity as a broadcaster, is unsuited to the type of showbiz knockabout which Gay Byrne is so at home with." ^[5]:

Kenny describes his style[2]:

"Do you want bland television where everything you hear reinforces your own view, or do you want to be challenged? I favour the latter. I like to challenge people. You might get angry and pick up the phone to Joe Duffy, or you might complain to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission; that's great. It means you're involved in the argument in some way."

Due to his long association with the show, Byrne in his autobiography ^[6] seemed to almost have proprietorial rights, having been both producer and presenter of the show. Kenny was the subject of much media criticism for his takeover from Byrne.

In autumn 2003 The Late Late Show had a competitor in the Friday evening time slot, on the arrival of a competing television chat show by controversial broadcaster Eamon Dunphy on the rival channel TV3. However, Dunphy's show failed to achieve expected viewership figures and was scrapped in December 2003 after a short run. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Eamon in the guise of popular radio host. ... TV3 Ireland is the sole commercial terrestrial television channel in the Republic of Ireland. ...

Earnings

Kenny was the highest-paid presenter on RTÉ in 2004 ^[7]. His earnings of €899,000 a year were almost twice the earnings of his nearest rival Gerry Ryan. In the previous year of 2003 Kenny was paid €635,000 by RTÉ. ^[8] Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ; Irish for Radio and Television of Ireland) is the national publicly-funded broadcaster of Ireland. ... Gerry Ryan (born 4 June 1956) is a veteran Irish radio presenter, for RTÉ 2fm. ...

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

Kenny is lampooned regularly, including being satirised by acts of Dustin the Turkey and Après Match while they are guests on The Late Late Show itself. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Dustin Dustin the Turkey, more commonly simply Dustin, is a popular Irish television puppet, star of RTÉs The Den since the 1980s. ... Après Match is an Irish comedy show. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

On 24 November 2006, a man^[9] from the studio audience interrupted that evening's edition of The Late Late Show. He came onto the set and confronted Kenny.[3]. In February 2007 this individual, at a court appearance, was judged as unfit to plead.[4]

Kenny, as of December 2006, is in dispute with a neighbour Mr Charlton 72 in a property boundary dispute and the case is being dealt with in the High Court. ^[10]

References

The Sunday Independent is a broadsheet Sunday newspaper published in the Republic of Ireland by Independent News and Media plc. ... is the 239th day of the year (240th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that Irish Times Trust be merged into this article or section. ... Kenny Live was a very popular television chat show which was broadcast in Ireland on RTÉ One between 1988 and 1999. ... is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ...

External links

• Video of the 24 November incident