Tommy Marren hails from the parish of Tourlestrane in Co. Sligo and is one of the best-known voices on local radio in Ireland.
He presents Midwest Radio’s flagship current affairs programme Monday to Friday from 9.00 to 11.00am and the programme currently commands the highest listenership of any station in the west of Ireland.
His broadcasting career started in 1989 when he anchored Midwest Radio’s weekend sports programmes and the following year he became station manager of Northwest Radio, which covered the Sligo, North Leitrim and South Donegal region. Tommy spent 12 years at the helm in Northwest Radio and steered the station to the PPI Station of the Year Award in 2004.
From an early age Tommy Marren remembers his interest and fascination for radio and as the years passed this crystallized into a desire to work in the medium. Little did he realize how quickly that dream would come true! After his secondary education in Banada Abbey, he worked for Basta in Tubbercurry as Purchasing Officer for a year before finding his niche in radio. After a two-year stint with AIB Bank Tommy got his first real taste of radio as anchorman on a weekend sports show on Midwest before moving on to manage North West Radio in Sligo for a period of 12-years.
In 2006 he was appointed head of speech programming at Midwest Radio which includes responsibility for the over-seeing of all news, current affairs, sport, arts, religion, agriculture and documentaries broadcast by the station. He is also in charge of the stations on-going marketing campaigns and is responsible for the creation of The S Factor Song Contest and The Edge Sporting Awards – both successful annual events on Midwest Radio.
In January 2010 Tommy’s role was further expanded with news of his appointment as Station Manager. This role will include overall responsibility for all speech and music programming and the implementation of various programme schedules each year.
Apart from radio he has a keen interest in writing and his recent play The Banshee of Crokey Hill – which has raised almost 100,000 euros for various charities – has been performed in Birmingham, Manchester, Chicago and New York. After 18 years of presenting the award winning current affairs programme from 9am-11am Monday-Friday, The Tommy Marren Show is even more popular than ever covering local and regional stories with special emphasis on giving the listener the platform to air their views and opinions.
Sources: Image & Text from Wing & a Prayer Musical and Mid West Radio