Ryan Tubridy will replace Graham Norton on his BBC Radio 2 slot for eight weeks this summer.
The broadcaster will make his debut on July 23rd when he takes over the 10am-1pm Saturday slot. He will continue to present his Monday to Friday show on 2fm.
It is the culmination of negotiations that began in 2010 when he was approached by the BBC about presenting the same slot – then belonging to Jonathan Ross – for 12 weeks last summer.
Ross has since left the station and been replaced by Norton, who has three million listeners – more than three times greater than the Late Late Show's current average audience of 800,000.
Professional commitments, including writing his book, JFK in Ireland, prevented Tubridy from taking the role last year. The BBC role will be the first step into the UK media for a presenter who has never hidden his ambition to work elsewhere should the right opportunity arise.
Mr Tubridy said he was looking forward to his brief stint with the BBC.
“BBC Radio 2 is steeped in pop cultural history and I consider it an honour to look after Graham Norton's studio while he's away on a well-earned break.”
“I will continue as host of
Tubridy on RTE 2 FM, a show I love presenting, so while it will be a busy summer, it'll be a bit of an adventure, so here goes..."
Lewis Carnie, head of programmes with the station said he was "delighted we’ve managed to persuade another of Ireland's biggest stars to work his magic on Radio 2".