RT has announced today that Rick O'Shea is the new presenter of Arena RT Radio 1's flagship weeknight arts and culture programme. Rick has been presenting the programme on an interim basis since the tragic loss of beloved presenter Se n Rocks last July.
Rick's appointment to the role follows a robust selection process with over 200 submissions considered via RT 's Expression of Interest call-out. We saw a wide variety of talent in the shortlisting process and we look forward to inviting some of those candidates to stand in for Rick when he is on leave.
Rick has long been a strong supporter of Irish arts and culture. He runs The Rick O'Shea Book Club, which has over 40,000 members, and has held interviews with writers, artists, and performers around the country at festivals such as C irt, the International Literature Festival Dublin, the Dalkey Book Festival, and the Dublin Book Festival. He is part of the voting academy for the An Post Irish Book Awards and is the literary curator for the annual UCD Festival. He has also been a judge of various awards, including the Costa Book Awards, the Dalkey Literary Awards, and for the Dublin Fringe Theatre Festival.
Arena has been a core part of RT Radio 1's weekday schedule since its inception in 2009. The programme features discussions and interviews across a broad mix of arts, culture and entertainment topics and themes, including music, dance, opera, literature, film, art and theatre, and arts and culture events taking place across the country. Arena sits at the heart of RT 's Arts and Culture programming, which spans RT 's audio, video and online output, as well as the RT Concert Orchestra.
Welcoming the appointment, Head of RT Radio 1 Tara Campbell said:
The Arena programme is the cornerstone of Arts and Culture content on RT Radio 1. Rick O'Shea has done a stellar job in the presenter's chair over the past number of months following the sudden loss of our dear colleague and friend Se n Rocks. I'm very confident that Rick and the wonderful team on Arena will continue to bring top quality interviews, news, reviews, musical and artistic performances and so much more from the world of arts and culture to listeners in the years to come.'
Arena Presenter Rick O'Shea said:
Normally in this situation someone says how much they're looking forward to a new challenge. Having been stand-in presenter of Arena since our wonderful and much missed colleague Se n Rocks died in July of last year, I can already tell you that presenting the programme is the most wonderful job on radio and that the Arena production team are the best in the business.
Having spent most of my career talking to writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians in many settings, it will be an absolute honour getting to continue to shine a spotlight on work from them, as well as composers, artists, animators, conductors, playwrights, and curators every night on RT 's flagship arts programme.'
Rick O'Shea has been a radio presenter with RT since 2001. He presented The Rick O'Shea Show on 2FM for sixteen years. He also hosted a weekday afternoon jazz programme, The Gold Lounge, on RT Gold.
-ENDS-
Date: Friday 13 March, 2026
Further information:
Maureen Catterson, RT Communications Manager | maureen.catterson@rte.ie
Kate Smyth, RT Communications Lead | kate.smyth@rte.ie
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RT has announced today that Rick O'Shea is the new presenter of Arena RT Radio 1's flagship weeknight arts and culture programme. Rick has been presenting the programme on an interim basis since the tragic loss of beloved presenter Se n Rocks last July. 
