RTE's Eileen Dunne announced she will retire next year as she opened up on the 'dark' side of the job.
The 64-year-old newsreader, who is one of Ireland’s most beloved broadcasters, has worked at RTE for 40 years, and will be leaving when she turns 65.
The mother-of-one will retire in April next year, and said she’s “done my time” after being the face of RTE news for four decades.
“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.
She joined RTE in 1980, and became a full-time newsreader in 1984.
Eileen said she “almost left” when she was 60, but she opted to stay on longer so she could report throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, which she was “glad” to do.
And she was prompted to rethink retirement during the global health crisis, as she said it made her realise she could “structure” her day even if she wasn’t working.
The Dublin-born journalist confessed she would miss her colleagues and close friends at RTE, and said they “keep each other going” during “dark times”.
After decades at Montrose, and serving as the face of the flagship Nine O’Clock news programme, Eileen said she will miss the hustle and bustle of the newsroom.
“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 quipped.
She’s been preparing for retirement in recent months, as she’s drastically cut down her working hours.
Eileen said she’s thought of as the “granny” in the newsroom, and it’s been “hard” to say goodbye to friends during her long stint at RTE.
“There are very few of us, I am like the granny in the newsroom. 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,” she joked.
The veteran broadcaster admitted she will miss the routine of working life, but will enjoy the slower pace retirement will give her.
And when quizzed about her plans following life at the broadcaster, she said she would be travelling and “doing nothing for a while”.
“There’s a lot of travelling to be done, a lot of life to live and people to see,” she shared.
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