'It was a competition of who could be the best moderator' – Pat ...
Broadcaster Pat Kenny took a shot at the hosts of RTÉ’s Prime Time leaders’ debate Sarah McInerney and Miriam O’Callaghan on his Newstalk radio programme.
During a recap of the debate on The Pat Kenny Show on Wednesday morning, Kenny said “it really wasn’t a debate, and it comes down to the format that they had”.
“They had two moderators and I think that was the big competition of the night. Who could ask the best questions, who could be the best moderator, rather than who is going to be the best leader of the country,” Kenny said.
Tánaiste and Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris with presenters Miriam O’Callaghan (right) and Sarah McInerney during the final TV leaders’ debate, at RTE studios in Donnybrook, Dublin, ahead of the General Election on November 29 (Niall Carson/PA)
"Because I watched that from a professional perspective watching how that was done, and I think that probably did inhibit the debate a bit.”
He said the best debate he could host in his own studio is one where “I say nothing and I let them at it. That’s where it becomes, for me, I’m watching like a sentry waiting to jump in if I have to, but otherwise I want the protagonists to have a right go at each other”.
He added: “The moderators were kind of like the fire brigade putting out the fires before the fires could erupt.
Mr Kenny was the host of RTÉ’s debate ahead of the 2011 Presidential election on Frontline when he read out a tweet from a fake account purporting to be the official account for Martin McGuinness’s campaign.
During the debate, Mr McGuinness and independent candidate Seán Gallagher had a heated exchange over a claim that Mr Gallagher had collected a €5,000 cheque from a man for a Fianna Fáil fundraiser event.
Main political leaders react to RTE debate
Later in the show, Kenny read a tweet which said Mr McGuinness would be at a press conference the following day with the man Mr Gallagher allegedly took the cheque from. The tweet had come from a fake ‘@McGuinness4Pres’ account – the official campaign account was ‘@Martin4Prez2011’.
“The man Gallagher took the cheque from will be at a press conference tomorrow,” it read.
Seen as the frontrunner at the time, Mr Gallagher held a lead in the polls when the debate was broadcast just three days out from the election. The reading out of the tweet was widely seen as having derailed his campaign.
In March 2012, a complaint by Mr Gallagher to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) was upheld. He had complained the Frontline debate and the following morning’s episode of Today with Pat Kenny were in breach of the fairness, objectivity and impartiality section of the Broadcasting Act.
The BAI’s findings were accepted by RTÉ.
On an episode of his radio programme following the BAI decision, Mr Kenny said “Seán Gallagher didn’t raise” the issue of the tweet after the debate, and he was unaware the tweet was from a fake account when he went on air the following morning.
