Una O'Hagan (born 1962) is an Irish author, journalist and former newsreader 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. 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. For nine years, from 1996 to 2005, she co-presented the station's flagship news programme ''Six One News'' 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 ...
. O'Hagan presented her last news bulletin on Sunday 25 February 2018.
O'Hagan 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 ...
in 1962 and attended Dominican College,
Eccles Street
Eccles Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland.
History
Eccles Street began on 6 March 1769 when Isaac-Ambrose Eccles leased three parcels of land in the area. The street is named after his family, including his grandfather Sir John Eccles, L ...
. She studied journalism at the
Dublin Institute of Technology, graduating in 1982. The following year, 1983, she joined RTÉ, where she worked as a newsreader on
RTÉ Radio 2
(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, whil ...
. In early 1986, she became a member of RTÉ's news reporting staff.
In 1990, in
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
, she met and interviewed
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
, who had been released from captivity on
Robben Island
Robben Island ( af, Robbeneiland) is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrik ...
just two weeks earlier. In 1992, she accompanied Ireland's first woman president,
Mary Robinson, on a state visit to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, having already covered her election as
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 ...
(Uachtaráin na hÉireann) in 1990.
She also reported on the release of Beirut hostage
Brian Keenan in 1990, the negotiations in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
for the new
EU constitution
The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European U ...
in 2003, and she co-presented RTÉ's coverage of the events of
9/11
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 commercial ...
.
As a newscaster, she hosted live programmes on the deaths of former
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Jack Lynch
John Mary Lynch (15 August 1917 – 20 October 1999) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1966 to 1979, Leader of the Opposition from 1973 to 1977, Minister ...
in 1999 and
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 ...
in 2011, the visit of
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
to Ireland in 2011, and the
2012 United States presidential election
The 2012 United States presidential election was the 57th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Biden, were re-el ...
.
She was married to author and former RTÉ broadcaster, the late
Colm Keane
Colm Keane (1951 – 22 January 2022) was an Irish author, broadcaster and journalist. Originally from County Cork, he studied economics at Trinity College in Dublin and Georgetown University in Washington D.C. He joined Raidió Teilifís Éire ...
. They lost their only son (and
only child) Seán to cancer in 2007. They wrote four books together: the No.1 bestseller ''The Little Flower, St. Thérèse of Lisieux: The Irish Connection'', published in September 2018, and the bestselling book ''Animal Crackers: Irish Pet Stories'', published in June 2016. Their most recent co-written books were ''The Village of Bernadette: Lourdes, Stories, Miracles and Cures - The Irish Connection'', published in September 2019, and ''The Book of St. Brigid'', published in September 2021.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohagan, Una
1962 births
20th-century Irish women
21st-century Irish women
Living people
Alumni of Dublin Institute of Technology
Mass media people from Dublin (city)
RTÉ newsreaders and journalists
Irish women radio presenters
Irish women journalists