One of Ireland's best-known broadcasters Eileen Dunne has announced she plans to retire next year.
The beloved newsreader has worked at RTE for 40 years and is a long-time presenter of the Nine O’Clock news.
Dunne will hang up her mic in April next year when she turns 65.
Speaking about her role, the mother-of-one also opened up on the "dark" parts of her job and discussed her plans.
"I think I am ready. I have been there for over 40 years and I feel like I have done my time," she told RSVP Magazine.
"I almost left when I was 60, because I could. I wouldn’t have had the full package but I could have left.
"I am glad I didn’t though because I’m glad I worked through the pandemic. The pandemic taught me that I would be okay if I wasn’t working because I can structure my day."
She said: "It can be dark at times but we keep each other going.
"I will miss the routine too but the way I am working at the moment is leading me into retirement. I do a week on and then one or two days the next week.
"I can have four or five days off at a time. When a big story breaks, no doubt I will wish I was in the middle of it, I am even like that when I am off."
The Dublin native said she enjoys the routine of her role and the friends she has made after four decades working at Montrose.
She said: "It can be dark at times but we keep each other going.
"I will miss the routine too but the way I am working at the moment is leading me into retirement. I do a week on and then one or two days the next week.
"I can have four or five days off at a time. When a big story breaks, no doubt I will wish I was in the middle of it, I am even like that when I am off."
She added: "Mary Kennedy and I started on radio on the same day and we have been friends ever since.
"There are very few of us, I am like the granny in the newsroom," she joked.
"No matter what comes up, I start to tell a story and I look around and nobody remembers it or knows what I am talking about."
"We followed very similar paths, she was a teacher first, we both went to UCD and we both taught for a year in France. I would still be friends with Anne Doyle and I would see a lot of Emer O’Kelly."
Given her long tenure at RTE, numerous colleagues have passed through the halls and its hard to say goodbye to friends, Dunne said.
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