Irish Showbiz
Beloved RTE newsreader Eileen Dunne announces retirement date as she opens up on 'dark' side of job
The newsreader has worked at RTE for 40 years and is a long-time presenter of the Nine O'Clock news
Marita MoloneyReporter
Mikie O'Loughlin
One of Ireland's best-known broadcasters Eileen Dunne has announced she plans to retire next year.
The beloved newsreader has worked at RTE for 40 years and is a long-time presenter of the Nine O'Clock news.
Dunne will hang up her mic in April next year when she turns 65.
Speaking about her role, the mother-of-one also opened up on the "dark" parts of her job and discussed her plans.
"I think I am ready. I have been there for over 40 years and I feel like I have done my time," she told RSVP Magazine.
"I almost left when I was 60, because I could. I wouldn't have had the full package but I could have left.
"I am glad I didn't though because I'm glad I worked through the pandemic. The pandemic taught me that I would be okay if I wasn't working because I can structure my day."
The Dublin native said she enjoys the routine of her role and the friends she has made after four decades working at Montrose.
She said: "It can be dark at times but we keep each other going.
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"I will miss the routine too but the way I am working at the moment is leading me into retirement. I do a week on and then one or two days the next week.
"I can have four or five days off at a time. When a big story breaks, no doubt I will wish I was in the middle of it, I am even like that when I am off."
Eileen Dunne at RTE studios, Dublin (Image: Gareth Chaney Collins)
She added: "Mary Kennedy and I started on radio on the same day and we have been friends ever since.
"We followed very similar paths, she was a teacher first, we both went to UCD and we both taught for a year in France. I would still be friends with Anne Doyle and I would see a lot of Emer O'Kelly."
Given her long tenure at RTE, numerous colleagues have passed through the halls and its hard to say goodbye to friends, Dunne said.
"There are very few of us, I am like the granny in the newsroom," she joked.
"No matter what comes up, I start to tell a story and I look around and nobody remembers it or knows what I am talking about."
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