Damien O’Reilly, the well-known presenter of Countrywide every weekend on RTÉ Radio 1, has been named as Speech Broadcaster of the Year at last night’s 2015 PPI Radio Awards. The PPI Awards are the highest accolade awarded in Ireland’s radio industry, with awards presented for all areas of radio programming.

The PPI judging committee described O’Reilly as a broadcaster having “the versatility, the depth, the breath, the full package.”

Colour

Damien O’Reilly and the Countrywide team feature the events, people and happenings across the Irish countryside that bring colour and life to communities, towns and villages across the country. The popular Saturday morning show has an average listenership of more than 220,000 per week according to the latest JNLR (Joint National Listenership Research) figures.

O’Reilly, who is a long-time veteran of RTÉ having joined the national broadcaster in 1998, previously worked in Shannonside Northern Sound Radio for five years. He writes a weekly diary for Irish Country Living, which he used this week to delve into the expansion of the sports nutrition sector over the last decade.