Ciara Whelan is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

television presenter who is best known for fronting

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso *Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala *Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by EPTV ...

's prime-time travel series ''

The Holiday Show The Holiday Show is an Irish travel show that first aired on TV3 in Ireland on 4 January 2013. The show sees presenters Ciara Whelan and Jon Slattery travelling to various locations throughout Ireland exploring the depths of Ireland's hidden ho ...

''.

Background

She grew up in Kilkenny, attending St. John of God Girl's Primary School and later moving to Dublin where she was educated at St. Joseph of Cluny Secondary School,

Killiney Killiney () is an affluent seaside resort and suburb in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It lies south of neighbouring Dalkey, east of Ballybrack and Sallynoggin and north of Shankill. The place grew around the 11th century Killiney Churc ...

. She is the eldest of five with three sisters and one brother. With a keen interest in the media from a young age, she went on to study at the

Dublin Institute of Technology Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological Un ...

(D.I.T.) where she received her BSc. in Communications: Film and Broadcasting with French. And so with degree under arm, her career in the media began among the teacups of the

green room In show business, the green room is the space in a theatre or similar venue that functions as a waiting room and lounge for performers before, during, and after a performance or show when they are not engaged on stage. Green rooms typically have ...

as a runner. She soon worked her way up the ladder, starting as a Content Editor for

Raidió Teilifís Éireann Raidi (; ; also written Ragdi; born August, 1938) is a Tibetan politician of the People's Republic of China. He served as a vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2003 to 2008, and the highest ranking Tibeta ...

(RTÉ) and then as a freelance Film & TV Producer. In 2006, she began presenting with Channel 6, fronting their live-interactive quiz show, ''Quiz 6''. ''Quiz 6'' was broadcast live every day for three hours from

Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...

, just outside

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. On returning home to Dublin, she began filming ''Game On'', for Channel 6 and then ''Movies on the Box'' and ''Better Health'' for

City Channel City Channel was an Irish television network that began broadcasting in October 2005, which focused primarily on local and regional television. It operated three stations: City Channel Dublin, City Channel Galway, and Channel South. The channel ...

. Followed by ''Prodrift'', the motor sports series that was broadcast on

Setanta Sports Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...

, TV3,

Motors TV Motorsport.tv was a pan-European digital television channel dedicated to motorsport. It ceased broadcasting in late September 2018 to concentrate on web-streaming only. Launched in 2000 as Motors TV, it broadcast an extensive range of nationa ...

Men & Motors Men & Motors was a men's lifestyle television channel in the UK. It was the last remaining station operated by the former Granada Sky Broadcasting joint venture, set up by Granada Television (now part of ITV plc) and satellite broadcaster Briti ...

and

SKY Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

. In 2007, she travelled back and forth to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

to present the corporate property series ''Riffa Views TV'' for the property development ‘Riffa Views’ in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. 2008 was to involve even more travel as she began shooting ''

'' for TV3, visiting countries such as

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. The travel series began on TV3 on 30 January 2009 and was broadcast every Friday evening at 8.00pm. A second series of ''The Holiday Show'' was broadcast the following year, with her reporting from over 18 destinations worldwide including "specials" on both

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

External links

Me and My Money - ''Irish Independent'

Property Plus - ''Irish Independent'

Style Message from the Street - ''Irish Independent'

Irish Property Buye

TV3 - ''The Holiday Show'' Homepag

TV3 - ''The Holiday Show'' Previe

The Holiday Show Off-Screen Romance - The Hera

Trilogy Media Homepage - Production Company responsible for ''The Holiday Show'

Irish Film & Television Network - ''The Holiday Show'' (presented with her husband John

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whelan, Ciara 1980 births Living people Alumni of Dublin Institute of Technology People from County Dublin People from County Kilkenny RTÉ people Virgin Media Television (Ireland) presenters