| An Irish Eye and an ear to the ground
 Radio presenter
Henry Wymbs’s Irish Eye radio programme has become essential listening
across the south of England. PETER FOLEY caught up with the man to find
the secret of his success.
Sligo-man Henry Wymbs is a whole lot more than just a radio disc jockey
— he has become a broadcasting institution.
The 58-year-old Cliffoney native provides a weekly infusion of music,
culture and chat surrounding the Emerald Isle on his Irish Eye programme
broadcast simultaneously on BBC Radio Oxford and BBC Radio Berkshire for
three hours every Sunday.
His deliberate choice of the word programme — and not show —
immediately illustrates he has his feet firmly on the ground with no aspirations
to join the showbiz set.
But he will readily lend a hand if asked to support any Irish function
and broadcasts details of which bands are appearing and the social gatherings
taking place in the week ahead.
These listings also illustrate that the programme is heard well beyond
its official transmission area of Oxfordshire and Berkshire — with
mentions of dances as far afield as Southampton and Corby.
But Henry did not start life as one of 10 children in picturesque North
Sligo with thoughts of a career behind the microphone in mind.
He was more interested in Gaelic football and, like youngsters from every
county, would have loved the chance to walk out at Croke Park on the day
of an All-Ireland final.
He had two seasons as a half-forward on the Sligo minor team and even
made it to the senior panel.
And Henry continued playing for the local Eire Og club when he migrated
across the water in search of work to Oxford in 1968.
But having made the Hertfordshire senior panel he was forced to hang up
his boots when troubled by a succession of knee injuries.
Surgery was needed and it was at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Hospital that
Henry employed his roguish charm on an attractive young nurse called Sally.
The couple married in 1972 and have two grown-up sons — Duncan and
Stephen. The Wymbs dynasty has even expanded to include two grandchildren.
The Irish Eye programme first hit the airwaves with a two-hour Sunday
evening slot on BBC Radio Berkshire in 1995 presented by Kieran McGeary
— who has since returned to his native Waterford.
Henry and Westmeath dynamo Anne Morris acted as contributors and helped
compile the playlist.
When Kieran moved back to Ireland there was a need for a replacement voice
in front of the microphone it was then the Sligo man stepped in.
Henry says: “The first thing to master was how to operate all the
equipment in the studio and that required a very swift learning curve.
“But I also gained some related experience as a mobile disc jockey
— almost exclusively at charity functions or doing a favour for
local landlords when a band let them down on the eve of a gig.
“That was very valuable because it provided you with a visible audience
reaction to playing certain records and you could then assess how well
the same track would be received by a radio audience.”
He describes Anne — who repeatedly knocked on doors and petitioned
the BBC to get an Irish programme on the airwaves in the first place —
as his right arm.
Henry says: “She has a tremendous rapport with the listeners who
look upon her as their very special friend.
“And when they call up with a request or dedication there will always
be that friendly, welcoming voice on the other end of the phone.
“Anne was the driving force behind getting the programme started
and it will always be her baby.”
The audience was immediately doubled when it became simultaneously broadcast
on neighbouring station BBC Radio Oxford not long after the programme
first went on air.
And, after five years in its two-hour Sunday evening slot, it was switched
to the afternoon with a two o’clock start and an extra 60 minutes
added to its transmission time.
It has since attracted a very loyal audience — one couple even make
a regular Sunday trip from their home to the top of a hillside in the
Cotswolds to come within range of the transmitter so they can hear the
programme.
Such devotion from the listeners could place Henry amongst the ranks of
broadcasting icons — but he is swift to dismiss any such notion.
“I hope somebody could get them fixed up with a computer so they
could listen on-line at home in more comfort,” he says.
With the programme now available on the internet the size of the audience
has expanded even further with a growing number of listeners overseas.
 Henry
says: “There isn’t a mechanism in place to indicate how many
people are tuning in via their computer — but from the e-mails sent
to the studio we do know that there are regular listeners in Mexico, the
USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and throughout Europe.
“It’s nice that they can send a dedication to their family
and friends sat by the laptop in another part of the globe and that we
have the technology to link the two of them together.
“But we do get some requests that are impossible to cope with.
º“If we are told the name of the singer and the song then it
is possible to trace the record but if someone asks us to play a track
they heard on the programme about three months ago and only provide the
vaguest of clues — it was sung by a girl with love in the title
— then they are likely to be disappointed.”
Henry’s interviewing style is friendly but probing.
He is at pains to make people feel relaxed and comfortable whilst surrounded
by turntables, CD players and computer screens.
Henry is totally in control of the on-air discussion as he operates a
console full of multi-coloured faders and buttons that resembles the cockpit
of a jet liner.
Foremost in his mind is his duty as a broadcaster and he has an instinct
for the kind of questions his listeners would want to hear answered.
So anyone entering the studio simply intent on plugging a book or a record
will not be allowed to dictate the conversation.
Henry recalls: “Val Doonican was probably the best ever interviewee
from the showbiz world.
“He was totally professional, sharp, witty, highly intelligent and
actually listened to and responded to the questions directed at him.”
The music played during the programme reinforces its identity and inevitably
includes traditional Irish standards, folk songs and plenty of Country
and Western.
And the format also allows Henry to indulge in another of his passions
— the heyday of the Irish showband scene.
He also collects memorabilia from the era and harbours an ambition to
write a book on this uniquely Irish musical genre.
This is reflected in his own musical taste with Johnny McEvoy, Brendan
Shine and Big Tom amongst his all-time favourite performers.
Susan McCann is listed as his favourite female singer.
But he retains an open mind to what the listeners want to hear and this
is reflected in his wide-ranging record collection that has now topped
more than 5,000 titles.
“We get more requests for Daniel O’Donnell and Foster and
Allen than any other performers but are also asked to play CDs by Irish
performers based on this side of the water like Tom Healy,” he adds.
“It is also great to see a young fellow like Jimmy Buckley continuing
the showband tradition.
“And it is the music that extends the appeal of the programme beyond
the first and second generation Irish listener.
“We have a lot of English listeners that have no connection with
Ireland who tune in because we are playing records by their favourite
singers.”
His continuing love affair with Gaelic football and hurling will not have
escaped the notice of his listeners or the readers of The Irish Post where
his knowledge and insight into the GAA heroes of yesteryear has prompted
several articles.
Henry recalls with affection his conversations with Wexford hurling legend
Padge Kehoe, Billy Rackard and Kerry’s Mick O’Connell whom
he regards as Gaelic football’s first ever superstar.
He says: “Mick was to the Gaelic code what George Best was to soccer
— a genius with the ball.”
The Irish Eye slot has been the only fixture on the BBC Radio Oxford and
Radio Berkshire Sunday programme schedules for the past six years —
presenters and formats have been repeatedly changed for other times of
the day.
And while Henry with the loyal support from his trusted assistant Anne
retains his enthusiasm and stamina for the role it looks destined to continue
for many years to come.
The exceptionally high audience figures dictate that it remains that way.
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