Michael Corcoran Ryanair: Who is behind the Irish airline's witty and humorous social media posts?

The budget airline Ryanair has become known for its humorous social media posts and comebacks to customer complaints online. It has amassed 2.1 million followers on TikTok alone – half a million more than easyJet, Jet2, Tui, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Etihad combined.

In March the airline trolled a passenger on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, who appeared to be complaining about the limited leg room on his flight. Passenger Steve Merry posted a picture of his knees pressed against the seat in front with the caption: “I’m only 5”7 @Ryanair.” The low cost carrier retweeted Mr Merry’s post and picked up on him describing his height in inches rather than feet due to using a double apostrophe. Ryanair then asked: “You going to update your Tinder profile then?” When it was shared the budget airline’s online innuendo garnered almost 60,000 likes and people were quick to comment underneath the sarcastic response. 

In May the airline was praised for its joke about a Eurovision 2023 contestant. Finland's Käärijä took to the stage with his entry, Cha Cha Cha, wearing a green bubble top that covered only his collar and arms. Many travellers try their best to avoid paying for the extra baggage by wearing extra clothing or packing as many items as possible into one carry-on bag. Ryanair, which is known for its less than generous free baggage allowances, shared a picture of Käärijä, saying: "If you have eight pairs of pants up those sleeves we'll cha, cha, cha, cha, charge you #Eurovision".

Users on social media are quick to comment how much they love the airline’s witty and humorous posts - but who is behind the airline’s content? Let’s take a look.

Who has been behind Ryanair’s social media posts?

The man who has been behind the airline’s social media posts is Michael Corcoran. Until recently he was Ryanair’s head of social media.

He announced he was resigning from his role on 31 October, posting on X that it was due to poor management and constant pressure. He said: “Building one of the most successful brands on social media [...] is still not enough. There’s challenging and pushing a team to hit the next level [...] and there’s being a d******d  and making it personal in its delivery.”

He also alleged that HR had protected directors, rather than employees. He wrote: “Even if a director verbally abuses people in public or gets so far in another manager’s face shouting in a professional setting, this tiny, tiny human will always be protected. Why? 20 years of ‘loyalty’ or institutionalised and conditioned by those above them…who knows”.

In response to his resignation, Guillaume Huin, the head of social media at McDonald’s wrote: “You and your team have redefined the industry you were in and opened new horizons for every social team across the world.” Corcoran turned the Irish airline into an online star and some of his greatest hits included roasting customers and the company telling complaining passengers to "bring their own plane" next time they fly.

He had been Ryanair’s Head of Social Media since July 2021. Before that he was the Head of Social Content at Paddy Power Betfair from 2018 to January 2021 where he led the team at a global level. Before his post at Ryanair he had a five month stint as a EURO 2020 Spectator Communications Coordinator for UEFA.