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Gay Byrne ‘kept wages down’ at RTE as he thought it was ‘immoral’

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Gay Byrne ‘kept wages down’ at RTE as he thought it was ‘immoral’

Former Late Late Show musical director, Frank McNamara, has claimed that the late Gay Byrne was instrumental in keeping wages low at RTE.

He believed it was “immoral” for presenters to earn large sums of money. McNamara worked alongside the broadcasting icon, who sadly passed away from cancer in 2019 at the age of 83, for two decades.




In a candid chat with us, McNamara shared: “He was fantastic. If he had a problem with you, he would tell you. Straight up to your face and that would be the end of it. And if you had a problem with him , it didn’t matter that you were his boss, you’d say it to his face, you’d deal with it together and it is over.

Read more: RTE Late Late Show ex musical director says Kevin Bakhurst’s ‘anti-talent stance’ is ‘deplorable’

Read more: Family pay heartfelt tribute to Gay Byrne on fourth anniversary of his death

“He never held a grudge. Ever. It was out in the open. It was dealt with. He kept the wages down for everybody because he thought it was immoral to earn too much money.”

According to McNamara, Byrne – who earned €201,888 on retainer from RTE wasn’t earning much when he first started out. He added: “Not at the beginning, no. Not for a long time. He wasn’t on huge money and anyone who looked for a raise, the line from management was, ‘Who do you think you are, Gay Byrne? He doesn’t even earn that much’.”

Byrne hosted the Late Late Show from 1962 to 1999 and in his penultimate year as presenter he was paid almost €500,000. This revelation comes after McNamara, who is set to play 46 concerts from July at the INEC in Killarney, weighed in on high profile presenter’s salaries.

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