Copyright evoke
It’s the end of an era for Sarah McInerney, who has hung up her Drivetime mic for the last time after a ‘rollercoaster 24 hours.’ The presenter hosted the show with Cormac Ó hEadhra, but they’re handing over the reins to two new presenters in RTÉ’s radio shake-up. Speaking after she bid adieu, Sarah admitted that she ‘only just held it together at the end’ and thanked everyone for their support over the years. ‘What a rollercoaster 24 hours!! Thank you so much to everyone for your lovely messages,’ Sarah wrote on Instagram. ‘A brilliant night out with the Drivetime team followed by our final show today [Friday] (I only just held it together at the end)’ Sarah added: ‘What a pleasure and an honour to get to work with the best people in the business. One chapter ends, time to turn the page.’ On the radio hours earlier, Sarah spoke directly to her listeners, thanking them for tuning in, and thanking Cormac for being a great co-host. ‘So that is all from us for this evening, and indeed that is all from us on this programme, because the very talented and lovely Colm Ó Mongáín and Katie Hannon will be taking over the reins on Drivetime next week,’ she said. Sarah continued: ‘They’ll be starting at the earlier time of four o’clock and you will be in very safe hands with them. So, I just want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has tuned in over the last six years. 'I am so proud of how we covered those stories [such as Gaza and Ukraine] on this programme, in a very large part thanks - I’m going to try not to get emotional - thanks to a brilliant team led by [producer] Will Hanafin. They all work so hard every day to get the best guests, to give us the best insights and the best analysis that we can find.’ Speaking to Cormanc, Sarah added: ‘It’s not easy to co-present. You need a lot of patience, you need a lot of understanding, a lot of trust, and luckily, I have that in spades. I think you’re a brilliant broadcaster, I think you’re a brilliant colleague, and it has been a pleasure.’ Although nothing has been formally announced yet, speculation is mounting that Sarah could be taking over Morning Ireland. When asked about Sarah's role when the new Drivetime hosts were announced, RTÉ told EVOKE: 'Sarah will continue to be an important part of RTÉ Radio 1 and we will make an announcement in due course.' We'll just have to wait and see...
