Rann na Feirste's Hugh Carr's 'surreal' opportunity on 2FM’s Drivetime Show

A west Donegal man is now a presenter on 2FM’s Drivetime Show as part of the station’s new daytime line-up. 

Hugh Carr, who is from Rann na Feirste, is enthused with his new position alongside Doireann Garrihy and Taran O’Sullivan.

“To be asked to be on the flagship show of the station was a huge opportunity - it still feels so surreal,” Hugh tells DonegalLive. “Doireann and Taran are so lovely as well, so I am lucky that my first step into 2FM is into something so big, but I get to be around such a nice team as well.”

Hugh knew from a young age that he wanted to have a career in media. He was even involved with the local radio station, Rosses Radio when he was as young as 16 years old.  He went on to study English and Drama at UCD. Since graduating, he has undertaken roles with TG4 and Joe.ie, as both a social media content creator and a journalist. Having been raised in the heart of the Gaeltacht, Hugh also is very passionate about the Irish language. 

“I genuinely think I wouldn’t be in this position today without the Irish language”, he says. “It is ingrained in my career, and it has provided so many opportunities for me.” 

 He co-hosts the podcast ‘Seansálaithe’, a comedy podcast as Gaeilge, alongside James Ó Flatharta and Áine Mhaoir. The group have done gigs at Electric Picnic for the past three years and have toured Ireland with their podcast. 

Hugh recalls one of his favourite moments on the podcast, was getting to interview Daithí Ó’Sé for an episode. 

"We asked him to do an episode with us, and he agreed to come on to do an interview. It was one of the funniest things I have ever done. The man has the most incredible memory, and he was telling some of the stories from the Rose of Tralee. But I don’t think that if the podcast was in English, he would’ve come on”. 

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With Seachtain na Gaeilge in full swing, Hugh is busy participating at Irish language events. He is a part of the stand-up comedy group, Gaelgáirí, who do their shows through Irish. The act will be performing at the Beehive Bar in Belfast on 13 March. 

“It is cool to have Irish … and I do think it is the language of the future. There are so many people interested in it and there’s a huge demand for it.” 

Tickets for the Gaelgáirí gig in the Beehive Bar are £5 and can be found here.