Rachael English (born 1969) is an Irish broadcaster and writer. Known for presenting ''

Five Seven Live Five Seven Live was an Irish radio rolling news programme, produced by RTÉ News and was aired each weekday evening on RTÉ Radio 1 between 17:00–19:00, between 1997 and 2006, the final edition being broadcast on 1 September 2006. Programme for ...

'' for six years, English has also presented other radio shows, such as ''

RTÉ News at One ''RTÉ News at One'' is a news and current affairs programme broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1. It airs Monday to Friday for 45 minutes at 1:00pm. The programme is presented by Bryan Dobson. An extended news bulletin takes up the first few minutes of ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Marian Finucane Show ''The Marian Finucane Show'' was an Irish radio programme, presented by Marian Finucane. It aired Saturday - Sunday at 11:00 to 13:00. According to statistics from 2009, it was then the highest-rating weekend radio show in Ireland. When Finucane ...

'' and ''

The Late Debate ''ITV News London'' is a British television news service broadcast on both ITV London and the ITV Hub. It is produced by ITN. History London News Network The programme launched on Monday 4 January 1993 as ''London Tonight'', after Carlton ...

'' as well as a permanent presenter of ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Saturday View Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday ("Saturn's Day") for the planet Saturn, which controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. The day's na ...

''. In 2011, Kim Bielenberg said in the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'' that English would be "a natural replacement for

Sean O'Rourke Sean O'Rourke (born 22 May 1955) is an Irish journalist and broadcaster who works for the Irish public broadcaster, Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). From September 2013 until his retirement in May 2020, he presented the ''Today with Seán O'R ...

if he ever moved on".

Early life

Rachael English was born in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, where her mother, Ruth, was raised. She grew up in Shannon before going on to study Communication Studies at

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its f ...

Broadcasting career

English debuted in 1989 as a presenter on a new radio station,

Clare FM Clare FM is an Irish radio station which broadcasts to County Clare and the surrounding areas. The station has won many Irish radio awards. Clare FM broadcasts on frequencies 95 - 96FM including 95.2, 95.5, 95.9, 96.4 & 96.6. In the past, it al ...

. She briefly worked for the

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

company owned 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 ...

broadcaster

Bill O'Herlihy Bill O'Herlihy (26 September 1938 – 25 May 2015) was an Irish television broadcaster and public relations executive. He was best known for his broadcasts for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), primarily in the sporting arena. Presenter for 10 ...

, then moved to

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 ...

as a newsreader in August 1991. She was brought into the News at One team at Christmas that year, when no other staff were available. From there she stood in for presenters on ''

'', ''

'' and ''

''. In June 2000, she became the presenter of ''

''. In her time on the programme she won the PPI award for her coverage of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

. Her father also featured on the show, providing horse racing

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

tips for her listeners. After six years in the job, she left the programme in August 2006, and it was replaced by Mary Wilson's ''

Drivetime DriveTime Automotive Group Inc. is an American used car retailer and finance company. It is based in Tempe, Arizona, and sells and finances cars to customers around the nation. The company was formerly known as Ugly Duckling and was renamed Driv ...

''. Other work in RTÉ has included election coverage on radio since 2002, the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, the signing of the

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...

and other major news events, including the

. She presented ''The Late Debate'' on RTÉ Radio 1 until 2010, and was a substitute when

Marian Finucane Marian Finucane ( ; 21 May 1950 – 2 January 2020) was an Irish broadcaster with Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). She began working with the national broadcaster in 1974, starting as a continuity announcer. She was the first presenter of ''L ...

was not able to present her weekend radio show, ''

''. In August 2009, it was announced she would present the programme ''

'', as 25-year presenter Rodney Rice retired. She became a permanent presenter of ''Morning Ireland'' in October 2010. In 2022 she was inducted into the

IMRO The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр� ...

hall of fame.

Writing career

She signed a two-book deal with Orion in 2012. As at February 2022 she has written six novels.

Personal life

English is married to financial journalist Eamon Quinn. In October 2008, she was diagnosed with an overactive thyroid (but escaped a potentially more serious diagnosis relating to the lumps found in both of her breasts shortly after the thyroid trouble began). She is on medication for the thyroid problem, possibly for the rest of her life, and has stated that at some point she plans to treat the lump she still has in her throat.

Publications

* ''Going Back'', Orion, 2013 * ''Each and Every One'', Orion, 2014 * ''The American Girl'', Hachette, 2017 * ''The Night of the Party'', Hachette, 2018 * ''The Paper Bracelet'', Hachette, 2020 * ''The Letter Home'', Hachette, 2022

References

External links

Interview
in the ''

RTÉ Guide The ''RTÉ Guide'' is a Television in the Republic of Ireland, television and Radio in the Republic of Ireland, radio listings magazine in Republic of Ireland, Ireland published by RTÉ Commercial Enterprises Ltd, a subsidiary of RTÉ, Raidió T ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:English, Rachael 1969 births Broadcasters from County Clare 20th-century Irish journalists Alumni of Dublin City University Women radio journalists 21st-century Irish journalists RTÉ newsreaders and journalists RTÉ Radio 1 presenters Women television journalists Irish women novelists Living people People from Shannon, County Clare