Barry Cowan was one of the leading faces of BBC Northern Ireland news and current affairs during the worst of The Troubles in the 1970s and 1980s.
…Finnerty, John
John was an announcer on both RTÉ TV channels from the mid-1980s. In the early 1990s, he moved across to the newsroom to present TV and radio news bulletins. John was one of the main presenters of the RTÉ One One o’Clock News from 2005 until his retirement in June 2017.
Finucane, Marian
Marian was an RTÉ continuity announcer in the mid-1970s before moving on to present many radio and TV programmes at the station.
Leonard, Aidan
Aidan joined the RTÉ TV continuity announcing staff in 1994, and worked mainly on RTÉ One. This was in addition to presenting his 2FM radio shows. Aidan left the TV job within a year or so.
Dowling, Aoife
Aoife joined RTÉ in the late-1990s, working as a continuity announcer on both television channels, though mainly on RTÉ Network 2. She later went on to present RTÉ weather forecasts – on both channels – from 2002. She left RTÉ in summer 2003.
Cronin, Cath
Cath joined the RTÉ One announcing team in summer 2005. She can also be heard occasionally on RTÉ 2.
O’Reilly, Brendan
Brendan joined RTÉ as a continuity announcer in 1961. Previously the Irish high jump and javelin champion, he went on to present Sports Stadium, RTÉ’s long-running Saturday afternoon sports magazine, from the 1970s to the 1990s.
…Sherwin, Jim
Jim was an RTÉ TV continuity announcer in the early 1970s.
He moved into sports broadcasting, where he had a long and successful career as a presenter, commentator and producer. He was RTÉ’s main commentator at eight Olympic Games.
His rugby commentaries on radio and TV began in 1970 and ended at the Rugby World Cup in Sydney Australia in 2003. He commentated for over 20 years on racquet sports for RTÉ TV including Wimbledon and Roland Garros and was RTÉ’s main commentator on all major non-sporting outside broadcasts, including installation of presidents, live transmissions of visiting celebrities and state funerals.
O’Shea, Neil
Neil is a former RTÉ Radio 1 presenter and announcer. He moved to TV presentation in the early 1990s, where he was an announcer on RTÉ Network 2. He also had occasional shifts on RTÉ One.
Comyn, Michael
Michael was an announcer on RTÉ One and RTÉ Network 2 from 1994 to 1997. He subsequently moved to RTÉ Radio 1 as an announcer. In May 1999, Michael was the first voice to be heard on the newly launched RTÉ Lyric FM; he hosted the breakfast show there until May 2000. For the next three years, Michael presented the Weekend Supplement on Dublin radio station 102.2 Lite FM.
Michael’s voice can be heard on the DART and at Irish rail stations.
In 2016, he returned to the TV airwaves, where he can still be heard introducing the programmes on RTÉ One and RTÉ 2. Michael also presents Leap of Faith on RTÉ Radio 1.
Michael is the manager of Comyn Communications Ltd and has been delivering courses in communications since 1986; he also presents in media skills, presentation skills and runs a popular life audit course.
Cassin, Anne
Anne’s broadcasting career began in 1982 as a researcher and reporter, and later news presenter, on pirate station Radio Nova. She joined RTÉ as a continuity announcer in 1987 and became a newsreader and reporter in 1990. She was the presenter of Capital D, an RTÉ magazine series for Dublin residents. She also presented the monthly Crimecall programme. Currently, she co-presents the thrice-weekly Nationwide programme, alongside Mary Kennedy.
Mae, Geri
Geri joined the RTÉ Network 2 announcing team in late-1997. She moved on to front children’s TV junctions – on Den 2 – in 1998.
Fogarty, Noel
Noel was an announcer on RTÉ One and RTÉ Network 2 from 1988 until the mid-1990s. He also worked as a newsreader on RTÉ 2FM during 1992.
C. 1994, Noel spent a year fronting the in-vision junctions on RTÉ One’s daytime service; these segments included interviews with studio guests on a wide range of topics. He also worked on the RTÉ daytime magazine programme Live at 3, filling in for Derek Davis once a week for one year.
In 1997, Noel moved to the Irish News Network (INN), presenting radio news bulletins. In January 2005, he was appointed evening editor at INN.
Flood, Pamela
Pamela is a former Miss Ireland and was an in-vision announcer on RTÉ Network 2 from the late-1990s. She went on to present a late-night programme strand on RTÉ One in early 2000, appearing in-vision.
Pamela left RTÉ in early 2001 but returned c. 2003 to co-present RTÉ One’s fashion show, Off the Rails.
Hogan, Catherine
Catherine is a former RTÉ Radio 1 announcer. She was also an RTÉ TV announcer (c. 1993 – 1997).
Mansfield, Thelma
Thelma was one of the early RTÉ TV announcers. She was a TV announcer from 1964 until September 1986 when she moved into daytime television presenting, with the popular afternoon show, Live at 3, which ran until May 1997. Thelma subsequently returned to TV presentation, voicing RTÉ One programme promotions until c. 2003.
Harvey, David
David’s broadcasting career began in radio: he was a producer and presenter with Irish stations Radio Nova and Century Radio. Around the mid-1980s, David was a continuity announcer on RTÉ One. He went on to become the presenter of RTÉ One’s Crimeline.
He was CEO of the Irish-based City Channel and was a founder of Star Broadcasting, the company that owns Sunshine 106.8.
De Barra, Máire
A familiar face on RTÉ TV, Máire was a continuity announcer and children’s presenter in the 1970s and 1980s. She left the station in 1990.
Presenting roles included Dilín Ó Deamhas, a 10-minute all-Irish weekly programme aimed at pre-schoolers, which ran from 1983 until 1988.
Máire trained as an actress in the Abbey School of Acting, before joining RTÉ Radio in 1972.
Farrell, Marian
Marian started her broadcasting career at the age of 22, on a pirate radio station in Galway. She later joined RTÉ Radio 2 when it launched in 1979. Marian moved to Toronto, Canada in 1980 where she worked for the Ontario Lung Association.
She came back to Ireland in 1988 and in autumn 1991 returned to RTÉ as a continuity announcer on RTÉ One, with the occasional stint on RTÉ Network 2. She remained with the station until autumn 1999.
…Mezetti, Angie
Angie was an announcer on RTÉ Network 2 from the early 1990s until c. mid-1997. She then moved to the newsroom and became a news presenter, fronting programmes on RTÉ One. Angie now runs Ocarina – a digital media company specialising in the production of high quality DVD, CD and print media content.
Allen, Paul
Paul Allen runs a successful Dublin-based PR and public affairs business – Paul Allen & Associates. He began his broadcasting career working for a number of pirate radio stations during the 1980s, including ARD, Big D, Radio Dublin, Capital and the “super pirates” such as Sunshine Radio.
He joined RTÉ in the late-1980s as a continuity announcer, working initially on RTÉ Network 2, and then RTÉ One. He later moved to the RTÉ newsroom, working in the foreign news division.
Paul attended Rosmini College and the College of Commerce in Rathmines, where he studied marketing and journalism.
…Potter-Cogan, Lucy
Lucy was a familiar face/voice on RTÉ One during the 1990s, where she worked as a continuity announcer. Her voice was also heard occasionally on RTÉ Network 2.
Gordon, Nigel
Nigel was a continuity announcer on RTÉ One from c. 1996 until TBC. He stills works with RTÉ, within the television promotions department.
Slattery, Jon
Jon was one of the original team of announcers on the relaunched RTÉ Network 2 in late-1997. By 2000, Jon moved had moved to RTÉ One and was also by this stage voicing many RTÉ One and RTÉ Network 2 programme promotions.
Jon later provided voiceovers for a number of UK TV networks.
Ford, Jerome
Jerome was a continuity announcer on RTÉ One from 1997 until the early 2000s.
Lowe, Teresa
Teresa joined the announcing staff on RTÉ One in 1984. She also worked on the new RTÉ Network 2 service. She went on to host the popular Sunday night quiz show Where in the World in the early 1990s. Teresa left TV continuity c. 1992. Her younger sister, Mary Lowe, was also a continuity announcer on RTÉ TV.
McInerney, Geraldine
Geraldine was an RTÉ continuity announcer in the early 1970s. She went on to became the first woman to read the news on RTÉ Television in October 1975.
McAndrew, Deirdre
Deirdre joined RTÉ in 1991. She was a regular continuity voice on RTÉ One during the 1990s and early 2000s and was also heard occasionally on RTÉ Network 2. Deirdre is currently deputy head of continuity at the station and is rarely heard on air.
Ní Ghallchóir, Bernadette
Bernadette was a presenter and continuity announcer on Irish television. She hosted the Irish language show Buntús Cainte in the 1960s. She is probably best remembered for hosting the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest from the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. Her involvement with Eurovision continued, when in 1973 she hosted National Song Contest.
Bernadette was one of a team of three continuity announcers at the launch of RTÉ 2 in 1978. Raymond Maxwell and Roisin Harkin accompanied Bernadette on opening night.
Bernadette retired from television in the 1980s.
Ní Mhurchu, Caitríona
Caitríona was an announcer on RTÉ One and later also RTÉ Network 2, from the early 1990s until 1995. Also an actress, Caitríona won a talent contest on The Late Late Show in 1992.
Fawcett, Martin
Martin worked as an announcer on both RTÉ TV channels – although mainly on RTÉ Network 2 – from the late-1980s until c. 1996. He now works within television production at RTÉ.
Kennedy, Mary
Mary was born in 1956 in Clondalkin, Dublin. She was an announcer on RTÉ TV from 1978 until 1992, covering both channels. She moved to the news division, fronting news bulletins on TV and radio from 1992. In 1995 Mary presented the Eurovision Song Contest from Dublin. She went on to become involved in a number of TV productions, including her own Saturday night chat show, Kennedy in 1997. From the late-1990s until 2004, Mary co-hosted the daytime TV programme, Open House. She is now a presenter on the regional magazine programme, Nationwide.
Surgenor, Sarah
Sarah was a continuity announcer on RTÉ One and RTÉ Network 2/RTÉ 2 (September 2001 – June 2006). Other roles include: programme developer and segment producer, Green Inc Film & Television (Belfast/Dublin, March 2006 – June 2008); head of communications and fundraising, St Patrick’s Mental Heath Services (July 2008 – May 2017); marketing and communications consultant, Just Add Firewater (Washington DC, March 2018 – December 2018); director of communications, Georgetown University Medical Center (Washington DC, January 2019 – present).
Macmuiris, Lorcan
Lorcan was an RTÉ One continuity announcer from 2001 until 2002. His was the voice that interrupted Oprah Winfrey to go to a newsflash reporting the tragic events of 11th September 2001. Prior to joining RTÉ One, Lorcan was a presenter on Lyric FM during its first year. He later worked as a new media journalist for UTV’s website u.tv and was also a web administrator and newsreader for the UTV-owned Cork radio station 96FM.
Loring, Richard
Richard joined the RTÉ TV announcing team in October 2002, working on both television channels. He also worked as a transmission director. In November 2005, Richard took up a transmission editor post with Setanta Sports. He moved to Technicolor in July 2006 and a transmission controller post. By April 2008, he had moved on to become a transmission team leader. In July 2012 he moved to Ericsson in London, taking on a projects team coordinator role, where responsibilities included project management, planning and delivering several channel migrations and additional services as well as testing of new delivery platforms simultaneously across domestic, European and LATAM regions.
In July 2013, Richard moved to Sky as an operations manager within the London-based playout division. In May 2017, he returned to Dublin to work for BT as a team manager within service management.
Byrne, Paul
Paul was a continuity announcer on RTÉ One and RTÉ Network 2 from 1997 until TBC.
Bracken, Ursula
Ursula joined RTÉ in 2007, working initially as a continuity announcer on RTÉ One. She later took on weather presenting duties.
Ursula worked as a secondary teacher for nine years before leaving the classroom to pursue a career in TV. She graduated from UCG Galway with a BA in French and English, an H Dip in Education and a Masters Degree in French. She returned to college ten years later to study Communications in NUI Maynooth.
Collins, Peter
Peter is an RTÉ sports presenter and former RTÉ 2FM DJ. He was a continuity announcer on RTÉ One for a year or so, from 1987 and into 1988.
Fitzgerald, Kieran
Kieran was a continuity announcer on RTÉ One during 1987 and 1988.
He is a former producer, reporter, and researcher with RTÉ, having worked on popular television and radio programmes, including The Late Late Show, Prime Time, and Liveline.
He was named News and Current Affairs Journalist of the Year in 1999, and is a former chair of the Dublin Broadcasting Branch of the National Union of Journalists.
He had served as head of communications and research for the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission from 2007. In December 2011, he was appointed to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.
He has a doctorate in governance from the School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast, and is a member of the executive committee of the British and Irish Ombudsman Association.
Connolly, James
James joined the RTÉ Network 2 announcing team in 1998. He also popped up on RTÉ One on a regular basis. James left the announcing role in early 2003.
Woods, Laura
Laura joined RTÉ in March 2000, working as an announcer on both RTÉ TV channels, although primarily on RTÉ Network 2. In autumn 2002, she started into a new presenting role on the newly launched youth strand ID Two on RTÉ Network 2. She later moved into a mainstream presenting role, fronting RTÉ One’s popular lottery game show, Winning Streak.
Stanbridge, Clair
Clair joined RTÉ in 1979. She was a continuity announcer on RTÉ One in the early 1980s.
Buckley, Karina
Karina joined the RTÉ TV announcing team in the late-1990s, working mainly on RTÉ One. She also presents weather forecasts on both RTÉ TV channels.
White, Eoin
Eoin was a continuity announcer on RTÉ 2 in the early 1980s, before moving to RTÉ One. He remained in a TV announcing role until the late-1980s/early 1990s. He was also an actor.
Craddock, Gemma
Gemma joined RTÉ as a TV announcer in 2007. She worked mainly on RTÉ One.
Curran, Helen
(Formerly Helen Leonard; married in July 2005). Helen has a BA in Irish and Information Technology from UCD. During her university studies she also worked behind-the-scenes on various RTÉ shows including Don’t Feed the Gondolas, The Den and Podge and Rodge.
In 1997, she moved into a continuity announcer role on RTÉ Network 2, presenting many of her links in-vision. Her continuity links are now largely confined to RTÉ One.
In June 2003, Helen joined the station’s team of weather presenters.
Rocca, Michelle
Michelle was an RTÉ 2 announcer (1987 – 1988). She also co-presented the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest from Dublin, with Pat Kenny.
Before joining RTÉ in 1987, Michelle had a successful modelling career. She was named Miss Ireland in 1980 and was a finalist in the Miss International 1981 pageant.
Rocca attended University College Dublin, where she studied Greek and Roman Civilization and Italian and French Archaeology. She is fluent in several languages.
Michelle is now a psychology and motivational teacher.
Wilson, Gerry
Gerry is a former RTÉ 2FM DJ. In 1994, he also took on an announcing role for RTÉ One and RTÉ Network 2. He also voiced promotional trails for the TV channels. Gerry gave up the TV announcing post in 1997. In June 2001, Gerry left RTÉ to go full-time with his voiceover business. Over the years, clients have included: Intel, Microsoft, The Times Newspaper UK, Polygram, EMI, Universal Music, Virgin Music, BBC, LiveIreland.Com, The National Lottery, City Jet, The Mirror, Falcon Holidays, Wrangler, Heinz, Aer Lingus, Esat, The Economist, British Midland, Skoda, CMS, Gaiety Theatre and Blockbuster.
Lowe, Mary
Mary joined the RTÉ Network 2 announcing team in the early 1990s. She was also soon covering junctions on RTÉ One. She left her announcing role c. 2003. Mary is the younger sister of Teresa Lowe, who was also an RTÉ TV announcer.
Carey, Nuala
Nuala joined RTÉ in 1999 as a full-time RTÉ weather presenter. She also regularly presents the National Lottery’s Telly Bingo and Lotto draws. Nuala also acts as a relief continuity announcer on RTÉ One and RTÉ 2.