Andy McKenna / Presenter

Andy McKenna’s path into radio began, like many of the best things in life, with a pizza. He had been a Dundalk FM listener for many years when, in 2018, he won a pizza on The Lunchbox Show. When he came in to collect his voucher, Padraig Quigley gave him a tour of the studios and a conversation got started. The conversation turned to Spotlight Shows, and Andy mentioned that he had always wanted to do something about Madness. With warm encouragement from Padraig he booked a slot and broadcast his first show.

After completing an introduction to radio course at the station, Andy found the territory that felt most naturally his. He had been fortunate enough to be a teenager in the 1980s, the decade of record stores, Top of the Pops, mixtapes, and the extraordinary parade of music that MTV brought into Irish sitting rooms for the first time. That music is not something Andy just likes; it is something he lived, and that lived experience comes through in every single episode.

Saturday Night 80’s airs on the first Saturday of every month at 10pm. The show features songs among others from a classic 1980s film and the Slow Set. Those romantic, slightly embarrassing, absolutely wonderful smoochy songs that used to close every disco in Ireland, when the lights dimmed slightly and the dance floor completely changed its character.

Follow the show on the Saturday Night 80’s Facebook page. His favourite quote: no matter how hard the past is, you can always begin again.