Today FM star Ian Dempsey and his wife Ger have lifted the lid on his family life with his three adult kids, Shane (33), Evan (29) and Aislinn (27).
The radio legend also opened up about being a godfather to 2fm star Doireann Garrihy and the recent RTÉ controversy.
Ian and Ger still worry about the trio, but they are very proud of them.
Read more: Inside Today FM star Matt Cooper's family life with wife Aileen and their five children
Ian told RSVP Magazine: "Ah, they’re great. Shane is a sound engineer and he has a studio called Collaborative Studios.
"He’s doing a lot of podcasts, including Doireann Garrihy’s one and Síle Seoige’s. Evan is a fantastic songwriter.
"He’s a rock star and he’s working in the bar at the moment.
"Aislinn was working in events, which were cancelled during Covid, but she has now changed to work in early childcare and she loves it."
His wife Ger added: "They’re all in lovely relationships – Shane with Michelle, Evan with April and Aislinn with Dylan. It’s nice because you want them to have “their person” like Ian and I have had."
As parents, they still worry about the trio now they are adults.
Ger said: "I think you always worry. It’s very hard for young people to get on the property ladder as everything is so expensive.
"Also, they’re up against the whole social media thing, which is hard, particularly for girls.
"Thankfully, they all seem grand at the moment, because that saying, 'You’re only ever as happy as your unhappiest child,' is very true."
Ian and Ger are very close to all three of them, and they even travel together.
Ian said: Evan and Aislinn still live at home, which was great during Covid. We brought the kids and their partners to Portugal last year for Ger’s 60th birthday and had a great time.
"They said they’d love to do it again and most of them are coming with us this year and have paid for their own flights. The fact that they wanted to come is a nice compliment."
Ian is RTÉ star Doireann Garrihy’s godfather and she took a few knocks recently around her outside gigs.
He said: "Well, that’s what happens when you’re doing really well and you’re such a little superstar. People start saying, 'Oh, let’s target her,' and they’re doing the same thing with Lottie Ryan."
The Today FM favourite added: "I think it’s unfair. Doireann is a modern woman and she’s just doing what people do these days with online ads. Nobody’s giving out about people doing ads on the radio, TV or in magazines and papers."
Was he surprised at Doireann’s success? " Doireann is great and I saw her talent from an early age, as she used to do great impressions of her teachers.
"It’s pretty odd that I’m on the radio at the same time as her so we’re effectively competing with each other, but we love each other to bits. We have little secret text message exchanges between each other about various things.
"We’re best friends with her mum and dad, Claire and Eugene. We met them on holidays in Gran Canaria when they were on honeymoon, and we’ve been very close ever since."
Ian has had great success on the airwave, but there are more things he would like to do on the career front.
He said: "I’ve been thinking about doing a podcast for a long time, but I don’t want to do one that’s rubbish.
"You have Joanne [McNally] and Vogue [Williams] doing their thing and Lottie [Ryan] and Jennifer [Zamparelli] doing theirs, but the lads haven’t really done it properly.
"I’d love to do a podcast with Eugene [Doireann’s dad], actually. He’s brilliant at what he does and he’s a tough man, a top negotiator and great businessman.
"He’s also a big softy with a heart of gold and he’s always great company."
Read the full interview with Ian and see all the great pictures in this month's issue of RSVP Magazine - on shelves now
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