Eamon Dunphy: “There are so many listeners asking about my out situation. I’ve got to say this…eh..put it to all of you..That Sam Smyth upstairs has been, has lost his show. He happened to be a vigorous pursuer of the case of, involving Denis O’Brien and Michael Lowry and the Moriarty Tribunal. A couple of years ago Frank Connolly, an outstanding investigative journalist, who revealed the garda corruption in Donegal, who revealed the planning corruption aswell, was taken out.  Ironically, with the collusion of Sam Smyth, when Bertie Ahern and our friend McDowell, Michael McDowell, decided to take Frank out, under privilege in the Dail. Now I put it to you Ger that the people who did that kind of thing and have now made my life impossible here – that’s why I’m leaving. Because, not just for me, but for my producer, who’s a young journalist, and for other young journalists in this station, they’re being intimidated and blackguarded.

Now if those people acquire powers, and they do have powers, then it’s very, very dangerous because they buy politicians like they buy dinners in fancy restaurants, and they buy journalists like they buy dinners in fancy restaurants. It’s not gonna happen here. Now do you want them to have the power to have people paraded before an Oireachtas committee?”

Ger Colleran: “Well, certainly not no…”

Dunphy: Well that’s what would happen..

Colleran: “What I’m talking about is…”

Dunphy: “Would you like this guy who hates journalism. Denis O’Brien hates journalism. He despises it. He’s on the record, all over the place…”

Colleran: The last time I checked Denis O’Brien wasn’t a member of the Oireachtas..

Dunphy: “No. But he owns the members of the Oireachtas.”

Colleran: “Well if he does own the Oireachtas, that’s worth investigating.”

Dunphy: “Well, well, he can easily do it.”

Colleran: “But let’s get straight on this…”

Dunphy: “These are the people we’re talking about…”

Colleran: “There’s a refusal in this country to discuss what they discuss every single day of the week in the United States, which is freedom of expression and constitutional rights.”

Dunphy: “We can’t have it in this room.”

Colleran: “We have..and people glaze over when journalists express the notion of freedom of expression. And I’ve often spoken about this. Not out of just self interest, even though, as a citizen, I have self interest in this, freedom of speech belongs to everybody. It doesn’t belong to journalism, or journalists. It doesn’t belong to bankers, businessmen, and it certainly doesn’t belong to media organisation owners.”