IT WAS LIKE a dagger in our hearts when yesterday the news came that Larry Gogan’s weekday Golden Hour is to be no more.

RTÉ revealed that Nicky Byrne is taking on the mid-morning slot on 2FM, and it became all too clear that Larry, dear dear Larry, was moving to other pastures.

But wait! He’s not leaving us completely, he’s just heading for weekends.

2FM has confirmed today that Gogan has signed a new contract with the station and that he’ll now present a two hour show on Saturdays and Sundays which will incorporate the Just a Minute Quiz and The Golden Hour.

The veteran broadcaster told DailyEdge.ie that he’s excited about his move to weekend radio, where former RTE pal Terry Wogan holds court in the UK.

Gogan is excited about what the future holds for him at 2fm, and said he thinks change is definitely a good thing:

You have to change, you have to move forward, or else you might die off. It’s a slightly different audience but it’s the same Golden Hour.

He won’t be resting on his laurels during the week though.

Gogan confirmed he’ll be hard at work in the office from Wednesday each week, and revealed that he won’t miss his Friday and Saturday nights on the town.

“You can always go out some other nights”, he said.

2FM has described Gogan as “the master of timing and lord of the links” and the future “lynch-pin” of Irish weekend radio.

Head of 2FM Dan Healy said that Gogan is:

The greatest of them all… 2FM may be changing but Larry Gogan is constant.

Other changes in the shake up include the new breakfast team of Bernard O Shea, Keith Walsh and Jennifer Maguire, while Colm Hayes is moving to drivetime pushing Will Leahy to weekends.

Nicky Byrne will be taking on the mid-morning slot and further changes are expected to be announced in the coming days.

 - Additional reporting by Sarah Doran

Larry Gogan’s Golden Hour gets the chop in 2fm schedule shake-up>