Mary Kennedy ( ga, Máire Ní Chinnéide; born 4 October 1954) is an Irish television personality and former newscaster, and writer. She presented the

Eurovision Song Contest 1995 The Eurovision Song Contest 1995 was the 40th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 13 May 1995 at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (RTÉ) and presented by ...

from the Point Theatre in Dublin. She has also presented her own Saturday night chat show called '' Kennedy'', a precursor to ''

Saturday Night with Miriam ''Saturday Night with Miriam'' was a televised talk show first broadcast on RTÉ One in the summer of 2005. The show runs for six weeks as a summer filler, and is overseen by Miriam O'Callaghan, a co-presenter of '' Prime Time''. Format ''Sat ...

''. Kennedy was co-presenter of the magazine programme '' Open House'' with

Marty Whelan Marty may refer to: Names * Marty (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters, also includes stage names * Marty (surname), a list of people Places in the United States * Marty, California, a former settlement * Marty, Min ...

. She has previously presented '' Up for the Match'' and the

People of the Year Awards The People of the Year Awards was an annual award show in Ireland. Organised by the Rehab Group, it was televised by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The Awards provided a unique opportunity for the Irish public to honour outstanding contrib ...

. She was co-presenter of '' Nationwide'' with Anne Cassin until 2019, having been so for a time with Michael Ryan.

Early life

Born in

Clondalkin Clondalkin ( ; ) is a suburban town situated 10 km south-west of Dublin city centre, Ireland, under the administrative jurisdiction of South Dublin. It features an 8th-century round tower that acts as a focal point for the area. Clondal ...

, Dublin, Kennedy was educated at Coláiste Bhríde in Clondalkin and

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. She taught English in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, France, before returning to her ''alma mater'' to teach Irish and English.

Broadcasting

Kennedy's broadcasting career started in 1978 when she applied for a job as

continuity announcer In broadcasting, continuity or presentation (or station break in the U.S. and Canada) is announcements, messages and graphics played by the broadcaster between specific programmes. It typically includes programme schedules, announcement of the ...

at RTÉ. She went on to join the

RTÉ News RTÉ News and Current Affairs ( ga, Nuacht agus Cúrsaí Reatha RTÉ), also known as RTÉ News (''Nuacht RTÉ''), is the national news service provided by Irish public broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Its services include local, nationa ...

team, becoming a

newscaster A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

. She has also presented

, a Saturday night chat show called '' Kennedy'', and was co-presenter with

on the magazine programme '' Open House''. She presented '' Up for the Match'' and the

, until RTÉ replaced her in both jobs with a younger presenter,

Gráinne Seoige Gráinne Seoige (; born 5 November 1973) is an Irish journalist, news anchor and documentary and entertainment television presenter. A noted Irish language supporter, Seoige is the only television personality to have worked with all four Irish ...

. Kennedy began working as Michael Ryan's co-presenter on the RTÉ local affairs show '' Nationwide''. In April 2008, she commented on RTÉ television coverage of the state funeral of former

President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can ...

Patrick Hillery Patrick John Hillery ( ga, Pádraig J. Ó hIrghile; 2 May 1923 – 12 April 2008) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as the sixth president of Ireland from December 1976 to December 1990. He also served as vice-president of the Eur ...

. In May 2011, she fronted RTÉ television coverage of Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Ireland. She also provided commentary at the inauguration of the ninth

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...

. She has read the news 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 ...

. She has been a judge at the Rose of Tralee.

Writing

In 2003, Kennedy published her memoirs, titled ''Paper Tigers''. ''Lines I Love'' was shortlisted for an

Irish Book Award The Irish Book Awards are Irish literary awards given annually to books and authors in various categories. In 2018 An Post took over sponsorship of the awards from Bord Gais Energy. It is the only literary award supported by all-Irish bookstores. ...

. ''Lines for Living'' was published in 2011.

Personal life

Her niece, Clare, was the girlfriend of Garda Ciaran Jones, swept to his death in the

River Liffey The River Liffey (Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the River ...

after he tried to help motorists during torrential rain in October 2011. Her nephew is singer-songwriter,

Dermot Kennedy Dermot Joseph Kennedy (born 13 December 1991) is an Irish singer-songwriter. He is best known for his 2019 single " Outnumbered", his 2020 single "Giants" and his feature on the 2020 Meduza single "Paradise". He is signed to Interscope Records i ...

Awards

Kennedy was voted ''

VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples inc ...

'' magazine's "Most Stylish Woman in Ireland" in 2003. , - , 2003 , , Mary Kennedy , , "Most Stylish Woman in Ireland" (''

'') , , , - , 2011 , , ''Lines I Love'' , ,

, , , -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Mary 1954 births 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Living people Irish television talk show hosts Irish writers People from Clondalkin Rose of Tralee RTÉ newsreaders and journalists RTÉ television presenters Irish women writers Irish women radio presenters Irish women television presenters Irish women journalists