Family Woman: Mairead Ronan on how lockdown challenged and improved her family dynamic

Ciara McDonnell speaks with the media personality about life in lockdown, and getting back to Ireland's Fittest Family

"We just had to get on with it." Mairead Ronan, broadcaster. Pics: Moya Nolan

Mairead Ronan is on her way to meet her two best friends for a night away and she is effervescent with anticipation. “I am peak excited. I can’t wait. I think I've packed for four nights even though we are only going for one.” 

The Mum-of-three has had quite the year. Between Lockdown One and Lockdown Two, she alternated between presenting her midday show on Today FM and filming the next season of Ireland’s Fittest Family , airing tomorrow night at 6.30pm on RTÉ One. All this, while navigating the challenges that Covid-19 brought to people around the world — it’s been an eye-opening 12 months.

“My experience has been quite mixed,” she says. “I was very stressed out in Lockdown One. I didn't enjoy it at all [and I suppose this is a bit of an obvious one] but there was no childcare, and yet my husband and I were both expected to work at the same level we would normally work at when we do have childcare or a Montessori.” 

Like parents all around the country, Ronan and her husband Louis felt muzzled by their privilege. “You couldn't complain to anyone because it was a pandemic and because you were lucky to both have a job. We just had to get on with it.” 

'Getting on with it' for more than three months proved stressful for the young family, and Ronan gives voice to the frustrations that parents all over Ireland felt during March, April and May of last year. “At each announcement, there seemed to be no mention of childcare — it was all shops and restaurants and 'stay in your county' and 'we're at this level'. 

Mairead Ronan, broadcaster and her youngest daughter Bonnie, 2, photographed in The Baths restaurant Clontarf, Dublin

I was like, 'what about people who have children?' It was like we didn't exist. This period has put a spotlight for me on the fact that childcare in this country at a government level is not a priority for anyone. It's just not.” 

With no childcare and a full work ticket, stress led to feelings of self-doubt for the star. “In Lockdown One I wasn't a good mother, I wasn't a good presenter in Today FM, I wasn't a good wife, I wasn't a good daughter. I kind of felt like I was shit at everything.” 

When the second lockdown was announced in October, her experience was vastly different. “My husband and I had got our groove on, we had a routine with the kids and with work. So this was much easier because childcare and school were going on. Also, remember with this one, we had an end date, so we had something to look forward to.” 

 And look forward she did. The eighth year of Ireland’s Fittest Family has a weight of expectation on its shoulders, aiming to cheer up families across the country and encourage us to move our bums from the couch to the park after a long winter of lock-in.

Filmed over three weeks at Killruddery House and Gardens, a historic house of Ireland set in 800-acre estate in County Wicklow, the production team had quite the task on their hands. “We didn't travel around the country like we normally would, and even though we shot all the episodes in the same place, it won't look like that to the viewers.” 

The families on the show battled through mud and custom-built courses, beside mountains and streams, forests and wilderness. All of course, under extraordinary circumstances. “it was probably the perfect show to be shot during a global pandemic because it's made with families and it's done outdoors. We masked everyone up, even though we were outside. So all cameramen, all crew, all producers. The only time my mask was off was when I was doing links and pieces to camera. As soon as I was finished, it had to go straight back on.” 

Mairead Ronan, broadcaster photographed in The Baths restaurant Clontarf, Dublin

The levels that the production crew went to in order to ensure safety were second to none, says Mairead. And not one person got sick during the filming, which is a testament to the hard work of the production team. “They had these specialist cleaning teams in who had to spray things down in between each family taking part. So on the Hang Tough bar, this guy with a backpack full of sanitiser would come in and it would be sprayed all over the bar before the next family came along.” 

Of course, the filming offered the stars of the show an opportunity for a much-needed reunion. “We had some craic doing it because I have become really good pals with the coaches now,” Mairead says. “There's not a week that goes by that I don't talk to Donncha [O'Callaghan], Derval [O'Rourke] and Anna [Geary]. I'm meeting Anna next Wednesday, I had multiple wines with Derval over Zoom during and before lockdown, because she lives in Cork. Donncha O'Callaghan is fast becoming a Dermot Bannon when it comes to interiors — I don't tend to buy anything for my house without running it by Donncha!” 

We need a bit of positivity, says the presenter. We deserve it. “It's the right time for a television show like this. We've always gone pre-Christmas with Fittest Family — we are on eight years. This year it feels right when people are feeling a little more energised and feeling like they want to make healthy changes to their family life.” 

We’ve all made sacrifices, but it’s the children who have suffered most, and with little or no complaining, she says. “Kids have had a lot of things cancelled this year too. From the rugby to their dancing — I know the GAA has kind of gone on but different contact sports and different club things have been cancelled. Fittest Family will show them in the new year that there are ways around it and you can do fitness in your garden or your local park with your family should another lockdown come.” 

Utterly devoted to her children Dara, Eliza and Bonnie, Mairead Ronan may question some aspects of her life, but never her skills as a mother. Accompanying her to the Weekend cover shoot, two-year-old Bonnie came into the shot with her Mum, holding her soother, which she uses as comfort when extremely tired. Referencing the photo, Mairead says “I’m sure people will come for me over Bonnie and her soother. My thing is, you’ve never seen a 25-year-old with a soother, have you? I had one until I was five and I turned out grand.” 

Mairead Ronan, broadcaster photographed in The Baths restaurant Clontarf, Dublin

Confident in the knowledge that she is doing the best for her children, Ronan is relaxed about what people may think. “it's not that I'm a bad Mom — it's one thing that I actually think I'm good at. I am very lucky with my three children. They are happy, healthy and they are good craic.” 

2020 brought challenges and chaos, but for Ronan and her family, it also brought joy and happiness: "I have a very happy marriage. I realised that I really do love and get on with my husband. Through spending so much time together I realised that I really like hanging out with him." 

We finish our chat as Mairead arrives at the hotel she will be staying in for the night. She is excited to connect with her friends (“I call them my ‘Old Friends’ because we met in secondary school and we are old now") and to spend a night catching up on the months gone by. 

As we hang up, she tells me that even though she might like to change some small things, like pay a little more attention to her fitness regime, overall she is content with her lot. “My attention has been on all the right things this year, and that's been family, close friends, my home, and my health.” 

Ireland’s Fittest Family airs on Sunday, January 3, at 6.30pm on RTÉ One.

Mairead Ronan was photographed at The Baths, Clontarf. thebaths.ie