RTÉ News presenter Eileen Dunne to retire next year

Eileen Dunne has confirmed her retirement 

RTÉ News presenter Eileen Dunne has confirmed she will retire next year.

The Nine O’Clock newsreader, who has been with the national broadcaster for more than four decades, said she believes she has done her time.

"I think I am ready,” she told RSVP magazine.

“I have been there for over 40 years and I feel like I have done my time.” 

The popular newsreader said she almost left when she was 60 because she could, but says she is happy she didn’t and worked through the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic taught me that I would be okay if I wasn’t working because I can structure my day,” she admitted.

The mother-of-one said despite how dark the job can be at times, she will miss her newsroom colleagues and the routine.

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 admitted.

Ms Dunne, who began presenting news bulletins in 1984, started off as a part-time staffer at Montrose while teaching French in her old school - Manor House in Raheny, Dublin.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner in 2015, the presenter said her post-retirement plans will include lots of activities she hasn't had time for as a working woman. 

"I’ll go to the theatre, to movies, I’ll join a choir - things I can’t do when I’m working five nights a week,” she said.