The Live Mike

The Live Mike was created to fill the vacant Friday night slot on the newly created channel, RTÉ 2, in November 1979. Presented by Mike Murphy, the show usually consisted of a serious discussion, comedy contributions by Dermot Morgan, and a candid camera segment of unsuspecting members of the public,[1][2] including a famous prank played on broadcaster Gay Byrne. The candid camera scenes invariably ended with the host saying "I'm Mike Murphy from RTÉ", which virtually became a catchphrase.

The programme ran for three series and ended in 1982. On the last show, Murphy caused consternation when he told viewers that the show would not be returning. This was Murphy's decision and had not been discussed with any of the senior management at the station. Many thought that this incident would result in the death of Murphy's career. However, he remained with the station for the next twenty years. Murphy said in an interview in 2006 that he had decided to end the show when, after the second season ended in 1981, a number of crew members had left, and that the show was no longer as fun to make as it had previously been.