Eileen Dunne (born 28 April 1958) is a retired Irish journalist, newsreader and presenter with

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), Ireland's national radio and television station, where she presented the main television news programmes '' Six One News'', '' Nine O'Clock News'' and '' One O'Clock News'' including all other news bulletins on both radio and television from 1980 to 2022. She was the co-anchor alongside

Sharon Ní Bheoláin Sharon Ní Bheoláin (, approximately ; born Boland on 15 February 1971) is an Irish journalist, newsreader and presenter with Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), Ireland's national public service radio and television broadcaster, for which she ...

of RTÉ's flagship '' Nine O'Clock News'' and presented afternoon bulletins for RTÉ Radio 1.

Life

Early life

Dunne was born in Dublin. Her father was the RTÉ journalist, presenter and commentator, Mick Dunne, a native of Clonaslee,

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

. She attended secondary school at Manor House School, Raheny. She studied Arts at University College Dublin.

Career

Dunne joined RTÉ in 1980 as a part-time radio announcer. She continued her teaching duties, while working part-time as a radio continuity announcer on RTÉ Radio 1. She began presenting television news bulletins in 1984. In addition to her news work, Dunne also presented the religious affairs programme ''The God Slot'' for RTÉ Radio 1 on Friday nights, having previously presented ''Eileen Dunne's Classic Melodies'' for RTÉ lyric fm until 2010. She was International President of the

Association of European Journalists The Association of European Journalists (founded 1961, San Remo) is an organisation promoting the interests of journalists involved in European affairs. It is an NGO in operational relations with UNESCO and enjoys consultative status in the Counc ...

(2010–2014). Dunne was the spokesperson giving the results of the Irish jury (and televote in 1998) in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

between

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

. Dunne regularly featured on RTÉ coverage of major state occasions. In 2016, she was co-anchor with

Bryan Dobson Bryan David Dobson (born 10 February 1960) is an Irish journalist, newscaster and presenter with RTÉ in Ireland. He currently presents the RTÉ: News at One. He previously presented '' RTÉ News: Six One,'' '' RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock'', most r ...

for the official state commemoration of the centenary of the

1916 Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

. She provided the RTÉ television commentary on the state funerals of

Garret FitzGerald Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987, and ...

(2011) and Albert Reynolds (2014) and the state commemoration of the Battle of the Somme (2016). Dunne also presented the coverage of Pope Francis's visit to Knock Shrine in 2018. She presented news programmes from the UK on the State Visit of President Higgins there in 2014, from Dublin Castle and

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

during

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022 ...

's state visit to Ireland in 2011 and from Ballybunion during the then U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit to Ireland in 1998. She also presented from Rome on the inauguration of Pope Benedict in 2005 and his resignation in 2013 and from Blacksod Bay, Mayo on the day of the R116 Air Crash in 2017. Other major live news specials she presented include the

2000 Concorde crash On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590, a Concorde passenger jet on an international charter flight from Paris to New York, crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground. It was the only fatal Concorde ...

on 25 July of that year, the result of the

2005 papal conclave The 2005 papal conclave was convened to elect a new pope following the death of Pope John Paul II on 2 April 2005. After his death, the cardinals of the Catholic Church who were in Rome met and set a date for the beginning of the conclave to elec ...

on 19 April of that year, the IRA announcement that it was ending its armed campaign in Northern Ireland on 28 July 2005, the Green Party pulling out of government on 23 January 2011, and the arrival of the then U.S. President Trump in Ireland on 5 June 2019. Dunne's final bulletin aired on 18 November 2022, after 42 years working for RTÉ.

Personal life

She is married to the actor

Macdara Ó Fátharta Macdara Ó Fátharta is an Irish actor, most famous for his role as the villainous publican Tadhg Ó Direáin on the long-running Irish language TG4 drama, ''Ros na Rún''. Biography A native of Inis Meáin, Ó Fátharta was born and raised in t ...

since 1993; he plays the part of the villain Tadhg in the Irish language

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known a ...

drama, '' Ros na Rún''. They have one son, Cormac.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, Eileen 1958 births People educated at Manor House School, Raheny Alumni of University College Dublin RTÉ Radio 1 presenters RTÉ newsreaders and journalists Irish women radio presenters Irish women journalists RTÉ lyric fm presenters Living people