Eamon Dunphy leaves RTÉ after 40 years
Eamon Dunphy is leaving RTÉ after 40 years working with the broadcaster.
The 72-year-old informed RTÉ bosses before the World Cup that he'd be ending his stint as their longest serving football pundit, which stretched back to the 1978 World Cup.
He'd previously told RTÉ he was quitting after Euro 2016 but they offered him a small raise to stay on, he said.
The footballer-turned-journalist announced the news through the Twitter account of his podcast, The Stand, which he will now be working on full-time.
"Two years ago, I decided not to renew my contract with RTÉ Sport," he said. "At the time, they prevailed upon me to stay and, in fact, offered me a rise, a small one, to do so.
"However, before the World Cup I told them this time, I would be leaving.
(1/2) Two years ago, I decided not to renew my contract with RTÉ Sport. At the time, they prevailed upon me to stay and, in fact, offered me a rise, a small one, to do so. However, before the World Cup I told them this time, I would be leaving.
— Dunphy_Official (@Dunphy_Official) July 25, 2018
"I intend to focus on my podcast The Stand which is flourishing and has had over 2.3 million listens since we started. That’s where my energy will now be devoted.
"In my 40 years with RTÉ, I made many good friends and I wish them the very best for the future."
(2/2) I intend to focus on my podcast The Stand which is flourishing and has had over 2.3 million listens since we started. That’s where my energy will now be devoted.
— Dunphy_Official (@Dunphy_Official) July 25, 2018
In my 40 years with RTÉ, I made many good friends and I wish them the very best for the future.
Declan McBennett, Head of Sport at RTÉ, said: "We would like to thank Eamon for the immense contribution he has made to our sporting coverage across four decades.
"He was there for every key moment throughout that time as we were gripped by the exploits of our international side in particular.
"His insight and analysis informed, enthralled and entertained a nation.
"Eamon has now decided to pursue other avenues and we wish him every success in those ventures."
It marks the end of the final link to the long-serving RTÉ football panel of Dunphy, John Giles and Bill O'Herlihy.
Giles, who Dunphy encouraged to enter punditry, left the station in 2016 after being dropped by RTÉ, while Bill O'Herlihy retired after the 2014 World Cup, a year before his death.
