Host secures temporary High Court injunction over where he presents show on Cork radio station

A Cork radio presenter has secured a temporary High Court injunction allowing him to present his show.

The order was made in favour of David 'Dave' Macardle who presents the 'Dave Mac's Drive' programme on Cork radio station RedFm against his employer Siteridge Limited, which trades as RedFm.

Ms Justice Eileen Roberts was told on Thursday that the dispute centres over an alleged demand by the station that Mr Macardle cease his current arrangement of presenting the show from Dublin three days a week, and instead host it from its Cork studio on all five week days. Mr Macardle has presented the show for many years, which is broadcast between 4pm and 7pm, Monday to Friday, the court heard.

He claims that as part of his contract of employment it had been agreed that he could present his show from its Cork-based studio for two days a week, and from a Dublin studio three days a week. He claims that this arrangement was in place over the last 21 months, and had been agreed with the station's management.

However, he claims in recent months the station has come under different management. The new management, he claims, have informed him that he must broadcast the programme five days a week from the Cork studio.

He also has claimed that management informed him that if he did not broadcast from the Cork studio, then another unnamed colleague will host the programme in his place.

Should that station allow somebody else to host the show, Mr Macardle, who the court heard is not the subject of any disciplinary hearing or anything of that nature by his employer, fears that his reputation would be damaged if he were prevented from hosting the programme.

He claims that his employer's purported refusal to allow him to host the show from the Dublin studio amounts to a breach of his contract of employment.

Through his lawyers, Mr Macardle sought various undertakings from the station, including that he would be allowed to continue to present the programme from Dublin three times a week. He claims that none were provided, resulting in his lawyers seeking an injunction against RedFm.

On Thursday afternoon, Ms Justice Roberts said that she was prepared to grant the presenter a temporary ex-parte injunction that would allow him to continue to present the show under the usual arrangements.

However, the judge said that as the court had only heard from one side in the dispute, she was putting an order in place to cover scheduled broadcasts of the programme on Thursday, May 25 and Friday, May 26. The judge directed that the dispute return before a vacation sitting of the High Court next Monday.