The 2023 revelations regarding secret payments to star presenter Ryan Tubridy weren't the first time Ireland's national broadcaster has found itself caught up in scandal.

Shane Ross, author of #1 bestsellers The Bankers and Mary Lou McDonald, winds back the clock to examine RTÉ's history of broadcasting excellence alongside the accusations of corruption, waste and ineptitude it has faced along the way.

Since it arrived on the airwaves in 1961, RTÉ has been buffeted in different directions, eventually slipping into a steady decline which accelerated over the past decade into a catastrophe. Shane Ross rakes over its colourful past while also considering what the future might hold for this once beloved institution.

[A] lively, punchy biography...Ross tells it crisply, bringing it all together and lacing the plot line of her career with interesting anecdotes and occasionally his own acerbic analysis * Irish Times on MARY LOU McDONALD *
Ross has penned an engaging narrative of this chameleon's career so far. A fine achievement considering the party slammed every door it could in his face * Irish Independent on MARY LOU McDONALD *
Extremely well-written...an ideal Christmas present for those interested in current affairs * Sunday Times on MARY LOU McDONALD *

Shane Ross has been a stockbroker, a journalist, a politician and an author. He was Business Editor of the Sunday Independent for over sixteen years, and a member of the Seanad for 29 years before taking a Dáil seat in 2011. In 2016, he became Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, serving in government for over four years.