Phil Cawley took a job as a van driver delivering prescription drugs to Irish prisons to make ends meet
In an exclusive interview, the popular broadcaster says that in the latter stages his salary at Today FM dropped from €80,000 to €10,000 after he was cut back to one weekend show.
Phil, who left the station in late 2021, also tells how he felt “bullied” by people who no longer work at Today FM and says his final year at the station was “a miserable one.”
As he gets set to host a new online dating show, Phil, who now also works with both South East Radio and Ireland’s Classic Hits station, tells the Sunday World: “I had a terrific career in Today FM, but towards the end of my 23 years things changed.
“I was at the receiving end of phone rants and horrible emails, getting blamed for stuff on the show that had nothing to do with me.
“Radio is ruthless and there comes a time when you don’t fit the demographic, and when you’re on a contract you know what that means. I’d be the first man to say that in broadcasting and entertainment when your time comes your time comes.
“It’s like the clown in the circus — if they don’t think the clown is funny anymore they need to get a new clown. And that’s perfectly OK.
“I’m 57 now and I’m out of the demographic for Today FM and that’s fine. But you should be given a professional exit strategy that allows you to go with your dignity intact.
“Nobody sat down with me and said, ‘the time has come, we’re making a change in six months, this is what we’re going to do re your exit strategy and we’ll all remain professional.’
“In my final year my listenership had increased by 15,000 and I knew there was something wrong when nobody rang to say congratulations.
“At the end I had gone from three shows at the weekend to being cut back to one on a Sunday afternoon, which is completely their entitlement.
“My salary in that moment went from 80 grand to 10 grand. I should have left then because I hated every second of my last year and I had lost all dignity.
“Then I got a message from a guy asking, ‘can we do a Zoom call?’ I knew what was coming. He said, ‘we’re not continuing with your contract.’ To treat somebody in that way, no matter who they are, is just wrong. I haven’t listened to Today FM since I walked out the door because it still hurts.”
When he was cut back to one show on Today FM, Cawley landed work with Classic Hits radio and also began working as a driver for a pharmaceutical company delivering drugs to prisons to supplement his income.
He says: “You’d go into prisons and all the prison guards would recognise you by your voice, or maybe they knew me to see, so it was really funny. I just had to work.”
Phil with the late Tony Fenton and Ian Dempsey
Cawley also secured a licence to drive a bus and still works with Bolgers coaches in Wicklow, driving a school bus or tourists on sight-seeing trips around Glendalough.
“I’m grand now as I’ve got two radio gigs as well,” Phil says. “I do the breakfast shows during the week on South East Radio and then I have Classic Hits on Sundays from 10am-2pm.”
This week it was also announced that Cawley is set to host a new online dating show, Hitched, for GenX and millennials on the katch.ie dating site from September 10.
“It’s an industry game changer as it’s going to make it so easy to find love and new friends for the over 35s in Ireland,” Phil says.
The nightly show is designed for singles aged 35-55 and will blend interviews, music, and interactive segments in a podcast-style format.
“Many GenX singles are disillusioned with traditional dating apps. My show will make it easy for them to find love, right on air,” Phil adds.
