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02nd Mar 2022

RTÉ broadcaster Eileen Dunne announces retirement

Kat O'Connor

She said she will be retiring when she turns 65 next April.

RTÉ broadcaster Eileen Dunne has confirmed she will be retiring next year.

The presenter said it is time for her to bid farewell to the station after 40 years.

Dunne opened up about the decision during an interview with RSVP.

She said she feels like she has “done her time”.

“I think I am ready. I have been there for over 40 years and I feel like I have done my time,” she shared.

She continued, “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 journalist added, “The pandemic taught me that I would be okay if I wasn’t working because I can structure my day.”

Speaking about the harrowing topics covered in the daily news coverage, Eileen said that her colleagues support one another.

“It can be dark at times but we keep each other going,” she said.

Dunne joked that she is “like the granny in the newsroom”.

“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.

Dunne added, “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.