Rigsy (born 6 December 1978), real name David O'Reilly, is a presenter from

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, currently living in East

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. He attended

St Patrick's Grammar School, Downpatrick Saint Patrick's Grammar School is a Catholic grammar school located in Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is currently owned by the De La Salle Brothers. It has an enrolment of around 725 students, with girls admitted at 6th form le ...

is a graduate of

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

Broadcast career

Rigsy has presented '' Across The Line'' on

BBC Radio Ulster BBC Radio Ulster ( ga, BBC Raidió Uladh) is a Northern Irish radio station owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland, a division of the BBC. It was established on New Year's Day 1975, replacing what had been an opt-out of BBC Radio 4. It is ...

since 2002 and over 30 episodes of ''ATL TV'' on BBC Two Northern Ireland. Rigsy currently presents ''Across The Line'' with fellow broadcaster and journalist Stuart Bailie, having previously presented the show solo and alongside Donna Legge.

Awards

In 2008, Across the Line (with Rigsy presenting solo) won gold at the PPI Awards (the Irish equivalent of the Radio Academy Awards). Rigsy and his producer Paul McClean picked up the award, as well as another gold in the documentary category for ''A Beautiful Day'', a programme Rigsy had voiced and McClean produced. In 2009 and 2016 ''Across the Line'' won gold again.

TV work

Rigsy has interviewed many well known and respected acts and musicians, including

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band's early music was a blend of Southern rock and gar ...

, Pete Doherty,

Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician and radio presenter. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp, he became a figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Following P ...

, Ian Brown,

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Fr ...

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (musician), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, ...

Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simone Butler (bass), and Darrin Mooney (drums) ...

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...

The Killers The Killers are an American rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingd ...

The Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat genre t ...

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (keyb ...

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...

and

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...

while primarily promoting new Northern Irish acts such as

General Fiasco General Fiasco are an indie rock group from Bellaghy, Northern Ireland. Since their formation in 2006, they have toured with Little Comets, Fighting With Wire, The Wombats, One Night Only, The Pigeon Detectives, The Enemy, Jet and Kids in ...

Two Door Cinema Club Two Door Cinema Club are a band from Bangor, County Down, Bangor, Northern Ireland. The band formed in 2007 and is composed of three members: Alex Trimble (vocals, rhythm guitar, beats, synths), Sam Halliday (lead guitar, backing vocals), and Ke ...

SOAK Soak may refer to: * Steeping * Bathing * Soakage (source of water), a source of water in Australian deserts * Soak dike Soak may refer to: * Steeping * Bathing * Soakage (source of water), a source of water in Australian deserts * Soak dike, d ...

and

And So I Watch You From Afar or AND may refer to: Logic, grammar, and computing * Conjunction (grammar), connecting two words, phrases, or clauses * Logical conjunction in mathematical logic, notated as "∧", "⋅", "&", or simple juxtaposition * Bitwise AND, a boolea ...

. He has also presented the BBC's coverage of

Tennents ViTal Belfast Vital (formerly Tennent's Vital) is an annual music festival in Northern Ireland. It was first held near Botanic Gardens in 2002 then later moved to Ormeau Park in 2007, both of these venues were in Belfast. The festival had taken a not ...

in 2006 and 2007, 'ATL Rockschool' in 2006, 2007 and 2008, 'ATL At the Festivals' in 2008, 'Do You Remember the First Time?' in 2009, 'Snow Patrol at Ward Park' in 2010 and coverage of 'One Big Weekend' in 2013. He has also presented and contributed to various other non-music TV programmes, including coverage of

Balmoral Show The Balmoral Show is Northern Ireland's largest agri-food event. It takes place during May in Balmoral Park, Lisburn. Sponsored by Ulster Bank, it typically includes showjumping competitions, motorcycle displays, bands, shopping, tasting, a child ...

and The Twelfth.

Music journalism and other related work

Rigsy has worked on many projects outside of the BBC, hosting the Choice Music Prize (Ireland's answer to the

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

) in Dublin twice (in 2007 and 2008) before judging the same award in 2009 and 2012. In early 2007 he was nominated in the media personality category at the Northern Ireland Fate Awards. As a print journalist, Rigsy worked alongside

Colin Murray Colin Murray (born Luke Wright on 10 March 1977) is a Northern Irish radio and television presenter. In 2010, he became host of BBC Television's ''Match of the Day 2'' on BBC Two, while still anchoring shows on BBC Radio 5 Live, including '' 5 ...

at ''Blank Magazine'' and ''BBM'' at the end of the 1990s, before contributing to the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' as Northern Ireland correspondent for two years. He currently writes a weekly column for

The Daily Mirror ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

. He has also performed with a Northern Irish band called Roque Junior, taking to the stage at venues such as the

Ulster Hall The Ulster Hall is a concert hall and grade A listed building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated on Bedford Street in Belfast city centre, the hall hosts concerts, classical recitals, craft fairs and political party conferences. History ...

and The Ambassador, Dublin.

DJ work

Rigsy is also a popular DJ primarily promoting and DJing at club night "Sketchy" and various other events at

The Limelight The Limelight was the name of a chain of nightclubs owned and operated by Peter Gatien. It had locations in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, London and Hallandale. Context During the 1980s, club culture had died down because of the AIDS ...

while regularly appearing at other club nights across Northern Ireland. He has also played a number of major music festivals including

Tennents Vital Belfast Vital (formerly Tennent's Vital) is an annual music festival in Northern Ireland. It was first held near Botanic Gardens in 2002 then later moved to Ormeau Park in 2007, both of these venues were in Belfast. The festival had taken a not ...

Belsonic Belsonic is the name of an outdoor music festival owned by Thomas Edwards which has taken place in August at the Custom House Square in Belfast, Northern Ireland since 2008. It is organised by Shine Productions Ltd. The capacity of the event is ...

Oxegen Festival Oxegen was a music festival in Ireland, first held from 2004–2011 as a rock and pop festival and again in 2013 with dance and chart acts only. The event was regularly cited as Ireland's biggest music festival, and, by 2009, it was being ci ...

and

The Electric Picnic Electric Picnic is an annual arts-and-music festival which has been staged since 2004 at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland. It is organised by Pod Concerts and Festival Republic, who purchased the majority shareholding in ...

Personal life

Rigsy lives in East Belfast with his wife, Lisa.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rigsy BBC people British music journalists Living people People from County Down Radio DJs from Northern Ireland 1978 births