Broadcaster and actor Seán Rocks, the voice of Arena on RTÉ Radio 1, has died aged 64.
He was on air as recently as last Friday and his sudden death has come as a shock to his loyal listeners, members of the arts community, his friends and colleagues.
Mr Rocks began presenting programmes on RTÉ Lyric FM in 2000, before moving on to produce and present documentaries and arts programming on RTÉ Radio 1, including ‘Soul of Ireland’, an award winner at the New York Festival of Radio.
He also regularly hosted important national literary and arts events, and compered a multitude of events at the National Concert Hall and other major venues nationwide.
He was a popular choice for public interviews amongst the artistic community, and counted authors Salman Rushdie, Edna O’Brien, Roddy Doyle and John Banville and actors Rupert Everett, Martin Sheen and Brendan Gleeson among his guests.
There were also studio interviews with composer Steve Reich, authors Anne Enright and Richard Ford, filmmakers David Putnam and Lenny Abrahamson, playwright Tom Murphy and singer-songwriters Barry Manilow and Damien Dempsey.
Mr Rocks was a familiar voice at State occasions too, and was the MC at notable events at Áras an Uachtaráin over the years and also the State Banquet at Dublin Castle for the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland.
Bhí an-ghrá aige don Ghaeilge agus d’úsáid sé go minic í agus é ag craoladh.
Mr Rocks had a lifelong passion for the arts and in 2014 told the Irish Examiner that “the arts are important because ultimately they give a richness to our culture which feeds into everything else and helps to improve our society”.
Born on 8 June 1961, Seán Rocks was raised in Monaghan town with his two brothers and two sisters.
After leaving school, he trained as a teacher and taught in schools for seven years, before moving on to a career in acting.
Speaking to the Irish Examiner in 2014, Mr Rocks said that he did not “set out to be an actor”, but when he was in college got involved in amateur dramatics doing concerts and plays.
This led to him acting at night, but finding that his voice was getting tired, one of his brothers who is a singer and was training at the College of Music at the time, suggested that the Drama department there might help with voice training.
Mr Rocks said that it was during that time that he learned about voice projection and began reading a wide variety of plays and became “more and more interested in acting”, before deciding to take a career break from teaching to embark on a career on the stage.
In the final year of that career break, he was cast in Pat McCabe’s highly acclaimed show ‘Frank Pig Says Hello’, describing the experience as “my big break as an actor and opened a lot of doors.”
He went on to have a busy career as a professional actor for many years and appeared on stage at The Abbey, Peacock and Gate theatres, as well as in several TV and film projects, including The Bill, Glenroe, Fair City, Dear Sarah and Go Now.
Well-known to listeners all over Ireland and the world, Mr Rocks presented RTÉ Radio 1’s nightly arts and culture magazine, Arena, since its inception in 2009.
He died in Dublin last night following a brief illness. He is survived by his beloved Catherine, his sons Morgan and Christian and his wide circle of family and friends.
‘Widely respected colleague’
RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst expressed his sympathies to Mr Rocks’ family and said that not only is radio the poorer for his passing, “but so too has Ireland lost one of its most passionate advocates for the arts, and one of its most informed and versatile voices.”
RTÉ’s Director of Audio Patricia Monaghan said Mr Rocks’ passion for radio and the arts was infectious and he “was interested in everyone’s point of view and had a great ability to command an audience’s attention. He was never more at home than when he was on stage.”
The Head of RTÉ Radio 1, Tara Campbell, described Mr Rocks’ death as “devastating” and said his colleagues were “shocked”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, she said they had lost a “much loved and a really widely respected” colleague.
“I’m thinking of my fellow researchers, producers, BCOs, the engineers, the entire people who were colleagues who’ve worked with Seán and on Arena. I was speaking to them this morning, they’re beyond shocked and devastated,” she said.
“But I think it’s testimony to the man that each and every one of one of them offered to come in today. I was saying to them we wouldn’t have an expectation that they would come in because it’s all been so sudden and so shocking, but they said no, we want to come in and pay tribute to Seán. We owe him that.”
Ms Campbell said Mr Rocks was a “truly brilliant broadcaster” who was “able to make guests feel welcome”.
“He was able to use humour and just to let the audience in, let the guests in, let people feel relaxed. He knew so much, but he carried it so lightly,” she said.
“And he was as likeable off air on the floor, talking to colleagues, finding out about their lives, as he was on air.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was saddened to hear of the death of Mr Rocks, writing in a post on X, that his “thoughts are with his family, friends and RTÉ colleagues at this time.”
Minister for Culture Patrick O’Donovan described Mr Rocks as a “consummate broadcaster” who was the “voice of the arts in Ireland for many years”.
“He approached his work with the in-depth knowledge of a practitioner but with immense communication skills that shared his knowledge with the audience in a way that was engaging and inclusive,” the minister said.
“He was empathetic and brought the best out of his guests. But most of all he provided the arts in Ireland with a great platform to advertise its breadth and vitality.”
