Evelyn O'Rourke 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 ...

broadcaster employed by

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

O'Rourke joined RTÉ in 1998 as a researcher on ''

The Gay Byrne Show ''The Gay Byrne Show'' (previously ''The Gay Byrne Hour'' and also known as ''The GB Show'') was an Irish radio programme, which ran from 1973 until 1998. The programme was presented by Gay Byrne, and aired Monday to Friday for two hours each d ...

'' and '' The Arts Show'' on

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for th ...

before moving on to become roving reporter on ''

Today with Pat Kenny Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...

'' on RTÉ Radio 1 and ''

The Gerry Ryan Show ''The Gerry Ryan Show'' (often referred to as ''The Ryan Show'', ''The G. Ryan Show'' or ''GRS'') was RTÉ 2fm's mid-morning radio show. Presented by Gerry Ryan until hours before his sudden death, it was launched in March 1988 and ran from n ...

'' on

RTÉ 2fm (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

. She has served as a presenter on several RTÉ programmes, including ''Drivetime'' ''

Liveline ''Liveline'' is an Irish radio interview and phone-in chat show broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 each weekday afternoon between 13.45 and 15.00. The programme, which is currently presented by Joe Duffy and known for its slogan "Talk to Joe", seeks the ...

'' and ''

Morning Ireland ''Morning Ireland'' is the breakfast news programme broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1 in Ireland and is noted as that country's most listened to radio programme. It is broadcast each weekday morning between 07.00 and 09.00 and alternate items are normall ...

'' on RTÉ Radio 1 as well as an annual ''Countdown to the Leaving Cert'' series on

on which she offered advice to

Leaving Certificate A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certifica ...

students. She also was a regular contributor to the "It Says in the Papers" slot on Morning Ireland. Other television work includes Crimecall, The Daily Show, Seoige and as a judge on TV talent shows ''Glas Vegas'' and ''

The All Ireland Talent Show ''The All Ireland Talent Show'' was a Raidió Teilifís Éireann television series which was billed as Ireland's biggest-ever talent contest. It was first announced in November 2008 and the first series commenced broadcasting on 4 January 2009, ...

''.

Early life and education

O'Rourke was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. She attended Coláiste Iosagáin on Dublin's Southside. Having completed her school studies she attended

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

to study Drama and English from 1990 – 1994. After this she moved to the West of Ireland to work in film and television. In 1998 O'Rourke returned to Dublin, joining RTÉ Radio, working with the veteran broadcaster

Gay Byrne Gabriel Mary "Gay" Byrne (5 August 1934 – 4 November 2019) was an Irish presenter and host of radio and television. His most notable role was first host of '' The Late Late Show'' over a 37-year period spanning 1962 until 1999. ''The Late Lat ...

during his final season on radio. She was then transferred to '' The Arts Show'' with

Mike Murphy Michael James Murphy (born 20 October 1941) is an Irish broadcaster, actor and property developer. He is best known for his long broadcasting career with RTÉ, presenting many TV shows such as ''The Live Mike'', '' Winning Streak'' and '' The Bi ...

, and later to ''

'' where she was employed as a reporter. She then worked in radio as

Ryan Tubridy Ryan Tubridy (born 28 May 1973), nicknamed 'Tubs ' is an Irish broadcaster. He presents ''The Ryan Tubridy Show'' and '' The Late Late Show''. Tubridy previously presented RTÉ 2fm breakfast radio show ''The Full Irish'', which at its end was ...

's first "newspaper lady" on the now-defunct RTÉ 2fm breakfast show ''

The Full Irish ''The Full Irish'' was a radio breakfast show on RTÉ 2fm. It ran for three years from 2002 – 2005 and was on air from 7 – 9 am. Ryan Tubridy presented; Shane O'Donoghue read out the leading news in sport and Avril Hoare read out the news. T ...

''. In September 2002, she began reporting for ''The Gerry Ryan Show''.

Career

Radio

O'Rourke began working for RTÉ in 1998 as a researcher on ''

''. Her next job was on '' The Arts Show'' and she then joined ''

'' as a reporter. She was then promoted to the position of ''

''s roving reporter on RTÉ 2fm.

Presenting roles

She has presented many programmes on radio and TV including 'Liveline', 'Today with Pat Kenny', 'The Gerry Ryan Show' and she presented a tribute show to Gerry Ryan the day after his death in 2010, her first show since having a baby. Head of 2FM John McMahon, hugged his tearful wife Evelyn O’Rourke, a Gerry Ryan Show reporter for eight years, after she signed the condolence book. She presented a special tribute to Ryan on Saturday morning, in her first radio show since returning from maternity leave. The couple regarded Ryan as a friend as well as a colleague. "Both Gerry and John are gadget freaks," said O’Rourke. "We keep saying ‘are’, we keep talking about him in the present tense," her husband responded.

''Operation Transformation''

O'Rourke took on the role of radio reporter and television presenter for the RTÉ cross-media event ''Operation Transformation'' in 2008. She performed the role of "cheerleader" to her companion

Gerry Ryan Gerard Ryan (4 June 1956 – 30 April 2010) was an Irish presenter of radio and television employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). He presented '' The Gerry Ryan Show'' on radio station RTÉ 2fm each weekday morning from 1988 until ...

's "ringmaster". She was also helpful in the choosing of the 2010 participants despite her first pregnancy and childbirth occurring around this time.<

Television work

Amongst her other television appearances are ''

Seoige ''Seoige'' is an Irish television chat show. The show, hosted by sisters Gráinne and Síle Seoige, was broadcast live on weekdays at 16:30 on RTÉ One, with a hiatus in the summer months. Episodes were repeated at 08:20 the following weekday ...

'', '' The Cafe'' and ''

The Lucy Kennedy Show ''The Lucy Kennedy Show'' is an Irish chat show hosted by Lucy Kennedy. Her father, John Kennedy, accompanies her in studio, where he performs the role of pianist. Each episode involves Lucy Kennedy interviewing two guests and dressing up as a ...

''. O'Rourke appeared on '' The Panel'' on 29 January 2009. O'Rourke was a judge on the 10 January edition of

series two Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...

of ''

'' after

Shane Lynch Shane Eamon Mark Stephen Lynch (born 3 July 1976) is an Irish singer, but best known as a member of Boyzone. In recent years, he has taken up auto racing, participated in reality shows such as '' Celebrity Big Brother'' in 2018 and appeared as ...

's flight from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

was cancelled, despite having given birth to her first son just six weeks earlier. She also served as an advisor to

on ''

'. She was also a judge on

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 ...

variety show ''Glas Vegas''

Personal life

O'Rourke is married to John McMahon (born 10 December) and they have two sons, Oisin and Ross. O'Rourke holidays in West Kerry each year with her family and friends. On 2 December 2009 she gave birth to her first son, Oisin Brian McMahon. Her second son, Ross Pascal, was born on 2 February 2011. She returned to RTÉ in November 2011 where she joined the Radio 1 Arts and Culture programme 'Arena' as a reporter. Since her return she has also appeared on a number of programmes ranging from 'Crime Call' as stand in presenter, 'The Today programme' as contributor on RTÉ television, and 'The Colm Hayes Show' on 2fm. She is now the reporter on the popular RTÉ Radio 1 arts and popular culture programme Arena.

External links

Podcasts
of ''Countdown to 606'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Orourke, Evelyn Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Irish radio presenters Irish women radio presenters Irish women television presenters Irish reporters and correspondents People from County Dublin RTÉ 2fm presenters RTÉ television presenters The Gerry Ryan Show