Main Players Involved in 'Mission' Programme

Irish Independent
May 5, 2012

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/main-players-involved-in-mission-programme-3101005.html

ED Mulhall had been tipped as a potential candidate for director general of RTE, making his resignation from the broadcaster all that more significant.

When he retired as head of news and current affairs last month, it was a dark day for staff at Montrose.

For over two decades at the helm, Mr Mulhall was considered to be the major force behind investigative programming.

The 56-year-old Kildare man joined RTE as a current affairs radio producer in the late 1970s.

In 1985 he was promoted to assistant head of features and current affairs in radio, and later moved to television. In 1988 he was appointed programme editor for news.

In 1994 he became managing editor and then director of news in 1997.

Mr Mulhall took a severance package from RTE and he felt, according to the broadcaster, he was doing the best thing for the organisation.

Ken O'Shea

Ken O'Shea had been editor of current affairs for three-and-a-half years when he formally stood down from the position on April 3.

He has been transferred to a new role, understood to be under the commissioning editor of RTE 2.

Mr O'Shea (40) joined RTE's current affairs section in 1997 and began work as a 'Prime Time' reporter.

Later he became a producer and executive producer, working mainly on 'Prime Time'. He was appointed editor of current affairs for television in October, 2008.

Mr O'Shea has been attributed with bringing more of a 'tabloid' element to the station's approach to programming.

In November last year, Mr O'Shea stood aside from his position for the duration of the BAI investigation.

Brian Pairceir

The 'Prime Time' executive producer has been working on the programme's 'Investigates' series for more than six years.

A son of Sean Pairceir, the one-time head of the Revenue Commissioners, he comes from Dundrum in South Dublin.

Mr Pairceir, like his colleagues, is known for high-end work.

After the Fr Reynolds scandal broke, RTE announced that he would not be involved in any on-air programming for the duration of the BAI probe.

Mark Lappin

Mark Lappin, the producer on 'Mission to Prey', later left the station to work for CNN in London. As he was out of the country, he responded to Anna Carragher's investigation in writing.

The BAI report noted that the standards of the production team, including Mr Lappin, "fell short of what should be expected", as interviews with significant sources were not documented.