Siún Nic Gearailt (; born 14 September 1971) is a newsreader with

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, ...

and

Teilifís na Gaeilge TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...

(

TG4 TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...

) in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. She currently presents ''

Nuacht RTÉ Nuacht RTÉ le TG4 (Irish for ''RTÉ News by TG4'') is the main news service for Irish speakers on RTÉ television. The service is broadcast from the news studios at Baile na hAbhann in the Connemara Gaeltacht, County Galway, Ireland. Nuacht RT ...

'' and '' Nuacht TG4'' and has presented many of RTÉ's English news programmes, including the '' Six One News'', '' Nine O'Clock News'' and the '' News on Two''. She has also read the news and English bulletins on

RTÉ Radio RTÉ Radio is a division and service of Irish public broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), which broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels across Ireland. Founded in January 1926 as 2RN, was the first broadcaster in ...

Early life and education

A native Irish speaker, Nic Gearailt was raised in the

Feothanach Feothanach or an Fheothanach (formerly anglicisation, anglicised as Feohanagh) is a small village and townland in the Corca Dhuibhne Gaeltacht, located north-west of Dingle on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. It is at the foot of ...

Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

region of western

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

. Her family ran a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

named An Cúinne. She lived in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

for some years and speaks fluent German. She worked for the film production company Concorde Anois and was an trainee assistant director on the

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

-produced ''The Unspeakable'' (1996). She made a cameo appearance in the successful Irish sitcom '' CU Burn''. Nic Gearailt studied Irish and German at

University College Galway The University of Galway () is a public university, public research university located in the city of Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Ga ...

(UCG).

Career

Following her graduation from UCG in 1995, Nic Gearailt began her broadcasting career with local 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 ...

where she worked as researcher and reporter. She also worked on a freelance basis for

RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta (; "Radio of the Gaeltacht"), abbreviated RnaG, is an Irish language radio station owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The station is available on FM in Ireland and via satellite and on the inter ...

. With the inception of TnaG in 1996, Nic Gearailt was among the first group of journalists to work for the new Irish language television station. The Kerry native reported extensively throughout the west of Ireland and further afield, covering (the aftermath of) the

Omagh bombing The Omagh bombing was a car bombing on 15 August 1998 in the town of Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It was carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army (Real IRA), a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) splinter group who op ...

, reporting from Frankfurt and Berlin prior to the introduction of the new European currency, the

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

, and on the work of Irish missionary priests and nuns from Nigeria. She co-presented the Inauguration of

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...

as the 8th

President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

from

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...

with fellow broadcaster Tomás Ó Ceallaigh for the station. In 2003 she was asked by RTÉ to present a bilingual current affairs programme - ''Seachtain'' - a weekly on-location broadcast focusing on regional issues. Shortly afterwards she was appointed Anchor of ''Nuacht RTÉ''. She continued to present ''Seachtain'' for a number of years. In 2006 she began to present various other radio and television news bulletins for the national broadcaster and has presented all the main news bulletins including ''Six One'', ''News on Two'' and ''Nine O'Clock'' since then. More recently, she presented a special live tribute to the writer and musician

Maidhc Dainín Ó Sé Maidhc Dainín Ó Sé (2 February 194229 August 2013) was an Irish writer and musician. He wrote exclusively in the Irish language, and is best known for his autobiography, . He was the father of the television presenter Dáithí Ó Sé. Life ...

following his death in 2013. In 2015 Nic Gearailt presented ''Nuacht RTÉ'' from

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

during the British General Election. In the lead-up to the

2016 Irish General Election The 2016 Irish general election to the 32nd Dáil was held on Friday 26 February, following the dissolution of the 31st Dáil by President of Ireland, President Michael D. Higgins on 3 February, at the request of Taoiseach Enda Kenny. The genera ...

, she presented live outside broadcasts from Galway, Kerry and

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 nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 201 ...

's constituency of Mayo for ''Nuacht RTÉ''.

Other work

Nic Gearailt held off the challenge from Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, RTÉ's Mr GAA, to win the inaugural RTÉ Personalities' GAA Prediction League title. Nic Gearailt has also been voted Kerry Woman of the Year by ''RSVP'' readers and was voted as one of the ''

RTÉ Guide The ''RTÉ Guide'' is a television and radio listings magazine in Ireland published by RTÉ Commercial Enterprises Ltd, a subsidiary of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The magazine offers detailed programme listings for RTÉ channels, as w ...

s Top 5 most liked presenters. She acts as MC at charity and cultural events from time to time.

Personal life

Nic Gearailt married her fellow news presenter Ailbhe Ó Monacháin (from

Gaoth Dobhair Gweedore ( , officially known by its Irish language name, ) is a Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) district, and parish, located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. It stretches some from Glasserchoo ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, in

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

) in December 2007.Grá mór saying 'I Do' as Gaeilge
''

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 ...

'', 15 December 2007 They separated in 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nic Gearailt, Siun 1971 births Living people Alumni of the University of Galway Irish women radio presenters Irish women journalists RTÉ newsreaders and journalists RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta RTÉ Radio 1 presenters TG4 newsreaders and journalists 20th-century Irish journalists 21st-century Irish journalists Broadcasters from County Kerry