Irish broadcasting legend, Pat Kenny has extended his contract with Newstalk into 2026 and also announced ongoing plans for his future with the station.
Pat will continue to host his current Monday to Friday programme into 2026 and will begin hosting regular weekend live programmes, beginning in the Spring of next year. Pat has a number of other ventures planned with Newstalk and Bauer which he will reveal at a later date. Pat will also join the board of Bauer Media Audio Ireland.
Speaking to his audience on Newstalk this morning, Pat Kenny said:
“I want to share a little bit of news with you. I’ve just extended my Newstalk contract into 2026 so this show will continue unchanged into the new year but in the Spring of next year, I’m moving the Pat Kenny Show to the weekends, Saturday and Sunday, where I hope to make a big impact for the station.
So, the reason for saying this is I just want to thank all of you for helping to make this show the biggest show on commercial radio. But for now, the shows goes on”
Pat Kenny joined Newstalk in 2013, more than twelve years later, The Pat Kenny Show is the biggest programme on commercial radio in Ireland with an audience of 216,000.
A pivotal figure in Newstalk’s success since he joined, The Pat Kenny Show quickly became a firm favourite with listeners looking to be informed, engaged and entertained. Notable guests interviewed by Pat on-air at Newstalk include Christine Lagarde, President Bill Clinton, various Taoisigh of the day, Michael Parkinson, Brendan Gleeson, Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Bob Geldof and countless others.
As the News and Current Affairs broadcaster of a generation, Pat Kenny has never shied away from difficult conversations and regularly got out of the studio to undertake high profile in-the-field reports including investigating Traveller accommodation standards, going behind the scenes in Mountjoy and Cork prisons, travelling to Manchester and London in 2015 prior to the 8th Amendment referendum to explore the reality of Irish women still seeking abortions in the UK, campaigning for a playing pitch for the children of Dublin 8 and much more.
A multi-award winner, Pat was inducted into the IMRO Hall of Fame in 2018 and has taken home Gold for IMRO Current Affairs programme of the year on three occasions. This week The Pat Kenny Show received four nominations for the 2025 radio awards.
Speaking today, Newstalk Managing Editor Eric Moylan said
“Pat Kenny has been instrumental in the development and growth of Newstalk and propelled the audience of the station to new heights. We are really looking forward to continuing to deliver amazing radio with Pat that audiences love and tune in to in record numbers”.
Newstalk will announce plans for the station’s schedule in due course.