New RTÉ podcast to take listeners inside Dáil race

David McCullagh, Katie Hannon and Fran McNulty have been announced as hosts of RTÉ's new General Election podcast Behind the Ballot.

While coverage of the 2024 election campaign will be available throughout the day on online, radio and TV, Behind the Ballot will offer listeners some fly-on-the-wall analysis as well as delve into the topics being discussed around water coolers and kitchen tables across the country.

The audience will get a chance to catch up on what happened that day, check in on different campaign trails, and hear David, Katie, and Fran share stories of their more memorable moments covering past elections.

Expert guests will also offer insights and analysis on how the parties and independents are getting their messages across, and how those tactics are constantly evolving.

They will also look at topics like political advertising on social media, and how politicians and the media prepare for debates.

Speaking ahead of the first episode, David said Behind the Ballot will be taking a "look under the bonnet to see what’s really going on".

"Every election is a series of separate battles in each constituency - 43 of them this time; each of those battle isn't just between parties, a lot of the time it's within parties; and amid all the jockeying for position and use of the dark arts, there are some great stories."

Katie added that she expects the next few weeks to be "fast-moving and unpredictable".

"As tensions escalate and the political temperature rises, we'll be heading to our podcast studio to compare notes, decode the messaging, get behind the spin and tease out what's really going on. I can't wait!"

For Fran, the podcast is also an opportunity to "loosen the collar, throw off the suit and amongst three friends dissect the noise and intensity of campaigns and talk about it".

"Between the three of us we’ve been covering elections for decades, and this is the first time we’ve had a chance to do something like this, to sit and talk and figure it all out, with the listeners."

With hundreds of candidates running for a seat in the 34th Dáil, this election is unpredictable.

Many familiar faces from the political parties are not running again, some constituency boundaries have changed, and there are an additional 14 seats up for grabs, which will bring the total number of TDs to 174, up from 160.

Behind the Ballot podcast will complement RTÉ’s coverage of GE 2024.

New episodes will be available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and there will also be a bonus weekend episode offering a catch-up on the week’s most dramatic moments.