Lucy Kennedy ( ga, Lusaí Ní Chinnéide; born 21 April 1976) is an Irish television and radio presenter. Kennedy first came to public attention from co-hosting ''

The Podge and Rodge Show ''The Podge and Rodge Show'' is a talk show, broadcast and produced by RTÉ. For the first three seasons Podge and Rodge were joined by Lucy Kennedy as a co-host but for the first half of the fourth season they were joined by guest hosts includi ...

'' on

RTÉ Two (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 also presented dating show ''The Ex-Files'', the celebrity show '' Livin' with Lucy'', her own chat show '' The Lucy Kennedy Show'' and the reality boxing show ''

Charity Lords of the Ring ''Charity Lords of the Ring'' is an Irish reality television competition, broadcast on RTÉ One. Presented by Lucy Kennedy and ex-boxer Barry McGuigan, the four-part series follows ten personalities compete for their charity of choice, in the ...

''. She is doing full time radio work, The Colm and Lucy breakfast Show on Ireland's Classic Hits Radio. She presented ''The Six O'Clock Show'' on TV3.

Early life

Kennedy grew up in

Sandycove Sandycove () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is southeast of Dún Laoghaire and Glasthule, and northwest of Dalkey. It is a popular seaside resort and is well known for its bathing place, the Forty Foot, which in the past was reserved for ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, the middle child of three girls. Her father is John Kennedy who would later feature alongside his daughter as her pianist on ''The Lucy Kennedy Show''. Lucy attended

Holy Child Killiney Holy Child Killiney is a voluntary fee-paying Catholic secondary school under the direction of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus in Killiney, a suburban village in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. The school was opened in September 1947, ...

secondary school. Kennedy's first career was as a flight attendant with Cityjet, followed by a course in television presenting and production. In 2002, she worked as a contestant researcher for an Irish version of ''

The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host Anne Robinson completed her contract. ...

''. She later worked as production assistant on ''An Tuath Nua'' and production co-ordinator on '' A Scare at Bedtime'' and briefly worked in sales for SPIN 1038.

Television presenter

Kennedy began presenting two series of ''The Ex-Files'' in 2004 and was approached to co-host ''

'' in February 2006. She described the duo as "like the older brothers I never had" but left the show after three series. In 2007, Kennedy made numerous television appearances on other shows such as '' No Frontiers'' and

People in Need Telethon The People in Need Trust was a charity in Ireland. It was deregistered in 2016. Its main fundraiser, the RTÉ People in Need Telethon, was broadcast by RTÉ from 1989 until 2007 and supported by Eircom (formerly Telecom Éireann), raising more ...

, as well as winning the TV Now Award for Female Personality of the Year. The same year she starred in Debbie does Dallas 21. In April – May 2008, Kennedy featured in her own show, '' Livin' with Lucy'', the premise of which she shared a house with celebrities such as

Brian McFadden Brian Nicholas McFadden (born 12 April 1980) is an Irish pop singer and television presenter who rose to fame in 1998 as a member of the Irish boy band Westlife. Following his departure from the group in 2004, McFadden released his debut solo ...

and

Calum Best Calum Milan Best (born February 6, 1981) is a British-American television personality. He is the only child of footballer George Best. Early life Best was born in San Jose, California, the son of parents from the United Kingdom: Angie Best (bo ...

for a weekend. The show aired on

RTÉ2 RTÉ2 is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish free-to-air television channel operated by public service broadcaster RTÉ. It was launched in 1978 as the Republic of Ireland's second television channel. History In the 1970s, the Iri ...

on Monday nights. During the show she was hunted by the paparazzi and the press when she stayed with the British reality-television personality

Jade Goody Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody (5 June 1981 – 22 March 2009) was an English television personality. She came to public prominence in 2002 when she appeared on the third series of the Channel 4 reality show '' Big Brother''. She went on to s ...

. Kennedy encountered controversy whilst staying with

Samantha Mumba Samantha Tamania Anne Cecilia Mumba (born 18 January 1983) is an Irish singer-songwriter, dancer, actress, fashion model and TV presenter. In 2000, at the age of 17, she shot to fame with the release of her debut single " Gotta Tell You", which ...

when Mumba launched a verbal attack on Irish radio presenter

Dave Fanning David Fanning (born 27 February 1956) is an Irish television and radio broadcaster, rock journalist, DJ, film critic and author. Fanning currently hosts weekend midday magazine/chat show '' The Dave Fanning Show'' on the Irish national radio st ...

using expletives. Kennedy presented '' The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show'' when regular host

Ian Dempsey Ian Dempsey (born 16 January 1961) is an Irish presenter of television and breakfast radio. He is the long-running presenter of the breakfast show on Today FM, self-titled '' The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show'', which runs from 6-9 am each weekday. ...

was absent on 18 July 2008. Kennedy was subject to speculation that she would take over the role of host of travel series '' No Frontiers'' from

Kathryn Thomas Kathryn Thomas (born 20 January 1979) is an Irish television presenter. Early life Thomas attended the national school on the Green Road, Carlow and began her secondary school years in St Leo's College, Carlow. In her second year, she transiti ...

but this did not come to pass. Her chat show, ''The Lucy Kennedy Show'', an inhouse RTÉ production, began on 6 January 2009. Her father

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

was her pianist on the show. She co-presented ''Charity Lords of the Ring'' alongside

Barry McGuigan Finbar Patrick McGuigan MBE (born 28 February 1961) is an Irish boxing promoter and former professional boxer. Born in Clones, Ireland, McGuigan was nicknamed ''The Clones Cyclone'' and held the WBA and lineal featherweight titles from 198 ...

in August 2009. After this she took maternity leave. She began filming the third series of ''Livin' with Lucy'' in July 2010. In September 2013, Kennedy began co-hosting ''

Late Lunch Live ''Late Lunch Live'' was an Irish afternoon television show on TV3. It premiered live on 30 September 2013 airing every Monday to Friday from 14:00. By 2014 the show was moved to a new timeslot of 15:30 to 16:30. The program features news and ...

'' alongside weatherman Martin King. Late Lunch Live replaced '' The Morning Show''. In February 2014, she signed a contract with

Virgin Media One Virgin Media One, also called Virgin One, is an Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Ireland (part of Liberty Global), operated through its subsidiary Virgin Media Television. The channel was known until 30 August 20 ...

(formerly TV3). ''Late Lunch Live'' subsequently became '' The Seven O'Clock Show'' in 2015, and now airs as '' The Six O'Clock Show'' due to the return of ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, ...

'' and '' Coronation Street'' to Virgin Media One in 2016. On 30 August 2017, it was announced that Kennedy would host ''

Ireland's Got Talent ''Ireland's Got Talent'' is the Irish version of the international ''Got Talent'' franchise. The series launched on 3 February 2018 on Virgin Media One (formerly known as "TV3") and was hosted by Lucy Kennedy, accompanied by a sister show entit ...

''. She hosted two series of ''Ireland's Got Talent'' until its cancellation in 2019.

Radio presenter

Kennedy had a "recent stint" in

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, whil ...

with Bazil Ashmawy. On 7 May 2010, it was announced she would co-present with Colm Hayes for one month the 9 am – 12 noon slot vacated by the death of

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 ...

. However, she was not given the job permanently stating that she did not have the necessary experience for it. She did ''Weekend Breakfast with Baz & Lucy''. This is a "less visible" role in the organisation that is RTÉ. On 18 April 2018 Lucy co-hosted the first edition of a new breakfast show on Radio Nova 100FM (Ireland) with Colm Hayes, called The Colm and Lucy Breakfast Show. ( Colm Hayes had joined Radio Nova 100FM as its Programming Director in June 2017.) Some months prior to this launch, they had presented a one-off show on Radio Nova 100FM.

Personal life

Kennedy is married to Richard Governey; the couple have three children, two daughters and a son. She models her mother/career-oriented lifestyle on that of Miriam O'Callaghan.

Awards

Kennedy won Favourite Female TV Presenter at the 2009 TV Now Awards. , - , 2009 , , Lucy Kennedy , , Favourite Female TV Presenter , , , -

References

External links

*
Lucy Kennedy's profile at RTÉ.ie

''The Lucy Kennedy Show'' site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Lucy 1976 births Living people People from Sandycove RTÉ 2fm presenters RTÉ television presenters Irish women radio presenters Irish women television presenters Today FM presenters People educated at Holy Child Killiney