Áine Lawlor (born 1961) is an Irish radio and television broadcaster who has hosted many shows on

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 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 the station in 2010 w ...

. She has worked on various news and current affairs radio and television programmes, including ''News at One'', ''The Week in Politics'', '' Today with Pat Kenny'', ''Today at 5'', ''The Nature of Things'', ''Tuesday File'', ''

Today Tonight ''Today Tonight'' was an Australian current affairs television program produced by the Seven Network. It aired from January 1995 to November 2019 in Adelaide and Perth. Editions in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne were previously produced be ...

'', ''The Marian Finucane Show'' and '' One to One''. On 7 December 2008, Lawlor presented the first Sunday morning broadcast of '' Morning Ireland'', during which she announced news of the Irish pork crisis. She has also narrated ''States of Fear''. Lawlor has been described as one of Ireland's "sharpest, most experienced broadcasters".

Career

Lawlor attended Manor House School,

Raheny Raheny () is a northern suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, halfway from the city centre to Howth. It is centred on a historic settlement, first documented in 570 AD (Mervyn Archdall (Irish antiquary), Mervyn Archdall). The district ...

. She graduated from

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

in 1984 having spent time as President of the Students' Union. She moved to arts administration, before going to

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

as a radio announcer. She went on to be a trainee journalist. In radio, she worked on '' Today with Pat Kenny'', ''Today at 5'' and

RTÉ 2fm RTÉ 2fm, or 2FM as it is more commonly referred to, is an Irish radio station operated by RTÉ. The station specialises in current popular music and chart hits and is the second national radio station in Ireland. History The station commenc ...

News. In television, she has worked on ''The Nature of Things'', ''Tuesday File'' and ''Today Tonight''. She was also a narrator of ''States of Fear'', a programme on abuse in residential institutions.

''Morning Ireland''

For many years, Lawlor co-presented ''Morning Ireland'', Ireland's most listened to radio programme which has been on air since 1984. She has interviewed, amongst others, ESB union boss David Naughton, US Democratic official

Samantha Power Samantha Jane Power (born September 21, 1970) is an Irish-American journalist, diplomat, and government official who served as the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development from 2021 to 2025. She was the 28th Unite ...

, and Harald zur Hausen,

Nobel Laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

and the first doctor to prove that

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix or in any layer of the wall of the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that can invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later sympt ...

was caused by a virus. It was Lawlor's voice that first informed morning radio listeners on the island of Ireland that all international Irish pork products had been recalled in December 2008. This was particularly unusual because her voice (and the ''Morning Ireland'' theme tune) was heard on the airwaves on Sunday, despite the show being scheduled to air on weekday mornings only. The ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

'' described the occurrence as "a kind of a War of the Worlds moment", with nobody able to recall the show being broadcast on a Sunday before, and speculation mounting that the sound of the theme music must signal a major death or nuclear war. When former minister for agriculture Brendan Smith promised free cheese for the masses her interview with him made worldwide headlines. On 14 October 2011, Lawlor announced on air at the end of ''Morning Ireland'': "That's all from me for a while as I'm taking a break for medical treatment. Thanks to all of you who have listened over the past 16 years". ''The Irish Times'' reported that she had been diagnosed with cancer. She returned to Morning Ireland in 2012, but moved to ''News At One'' in the re-shuffle brought about by Pat Kenny's departure from the station the following year.

''One to One''

Lawlor also presents on an intermittent '' One to One'', a current affairs interview programme on

RTÉ One RTÉ One is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by RTÉ. It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís Éireann'' on 31 December 1961, it was renamed ''R ...

. She spent one interview with Libertas Institute leader,

Declan Ganley Declan James Ganley (born 23 July 1968) is an English-born Irish entrepreneur, businessman, and political activist. He was the founder and leader of the Irish branch of the eurosceptic Libertas Party. Primarily a telecommunications entrepreneur ...

, "looking over the top of her glasses at him, utterly determined to put a halt to his gallop, and still he kept on coming". In her interview with academic

, Lawlor "allowed Power to drone on in that earnest and humourless way peculiar to people who think that what they have to say is of grave global import".

Personal life

Lawlor currently lives in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

with her husband Ian Wilson, and her four children. Her husband is also a well known producer in RTÉ 2fm. Her interests include gardening and growing and cooking her own food. She does yoga and Pilates twice a week. Lawlor was presented with the Trinity College Alumni Award in 2008. Lawlor featured in the RTÉ Television production 'Keys to my life' which was broadcast on 19 September 2021.

References

External links

''Morning Ireland'' profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawlor, Aine Living people People educated at Manor House School, Raheny Alumni of Trinity College Dublin RTÉ newsreaders and journalists RTÉ Radio 1 presenters 1965 births People from Rathmines Irish women radio presenters Irish women journalists Broadcasters from County Dublin