RTE Today show host Maura Derrane says she had to give up her midweek nights out and tone down her wild side in the early days of her TV career.
The television presenter explained that she enjoyed going out for a few drinks during the week, however, she eventually had to cut it out and "keep a lid" on her wild side.
Maura, who presents Today on RTE alongside Daithi O Se, opened up about her career in the early 2000s.
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“There are horns growing out of my head and I'm always pushing them down and putting sticking plasters over them,” she told The Sunday Times.
The RTE star added: “I love going out, but have to try to keep a lid on it, as the problem is that if I go out, I just don't want to come home.”
On a night out in 2004, Maura explained that everything changed. She was presenting Ireland AM with Mark Cagney at the time and met her boss one night, RSVP reports.
She said: “I went to everything I was invited to at first, but one night, my boss, Andrew Hanlon, was there too.
“He was seriously vibing me at 11.30pm when I was getting into my millionth gin and tonic, and asked me why I was still there when I was on air in the morning? I said I'd be fine but he said I wouldn't and needed to go home.”
However, her boss was right and Maura suffered from her late night the following morning at work.
“I looked like the wreck of the Hesperus," she recalled, “I was like a dead thing and could barely read the Autocue or see who was in front of me.
“And, of course, I had Mr Mark Cagney beside me, who went to bed every night at eight o'clock.
“I was forced to catch myself on and cut out the midweek socialising. It was that or be fired.”
Maura enjoys spending time with the younger women that work on RTE’s Today as she likes their energy.
She admitted: “I sometimes find people my own age a bit boring. I just don't believe that people should get settled, and I can't be that person.
“I refuse to be a bore, although I'm very boring compared to the way I used to be. I had a very exciting life, but as most people know, once you have a child, it changes everything.
She added: “You're not going to be out drinking and going mad every night but still, if I was let loose, I'd love it.”
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