Ciaran Mullooly to leave role as RTÉ's Midlands Correspondent after 26 years

Ciaran Mullooly, who has been the face of Midlands news on RTÉ for more than a quarter of a century, will be leaving the station with effect from this Sunday (June 27).

In a social media post this morning, the Lanesborough man announced he had decided to take voluntary early retirement after what he said had been a very tough 15 months - both personally and professionally - since the onset of the pandemic.

He has been actively involved in voluntary and community work during his time in RTÉ and said he would now be "moving back to my roots in community development with great optimism for the future of our country... but also with many fond memories of my time reporting 'in the field' for RTÉ News."

Ciaran also intends to "continue my life-long learning with a return to education" and is looking forward to spending more time with his wife Angela and sons Bryan and Eoghan.

"Time for a change," he wrote. "My career in journalism began when the late Eugene McGee gave me a job as a junior reporter in the Longford Leader newspaper way back in 1985.

"Over the course of the last 36 years I have worked with terrific colleagues and great journalists in both local and national media, going into television on the 'Ear To The Ground' show on RTÉ One in 1993 and working as Midlands Correspondent in the newsroom since 1995.

"I have enjoyed many great days during that time, experienced the highs and lows of news coverage, reported on some of the happiest and the saddest occasions and made many great friends.

"Without any doubt, the last 15 months of my career have been among the toughest periods of those 36 years, both personally and professionally.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has brought us all in journalism face-to-face with huge loss and suffering. Many have lost friends and loved ones. Many have encountered serious illness, and the restrictions have taken us away from the part of the job we loved most - the daily face-to-face meetings and social interaction with men and women in all walks of life, especially all my old friends and acquaintances in Longford, Westmeath, Laois, Offaly, Kildare and Roscommon.

"I am sure it will not always be so - but for the most part the weekly routine of the job has changed quite significantly and the memories of the last 15 months will be difficult to erase.

"In April, I made a formal application, and this week I have accepted an offer from RTÉ News to avail of the latest VER (voluntary early redundancy) scheme as I begin a new and exciting chapter of my life. My final day in the job will be this coming Sunday, June 27.

"I am leaving RTÉ News with some regret but also with considerable optimism for the future," he added.

"Many people will know that , throughout my time in journalism, I have also worked extensively as a volunteer in the area of community development and social enterprise - most notably in recent times in my home community of Ballyleague and Lanesborough on the Roscommon-Longford border, where we have developed a unique social enterprise to provide valuable support services for people with disability.

"For 30 years I have worked in the community and voluntary sector, as well as the Lions Club, in areas such as health and wellbeing, rural tourism, sport and recreation.

"To be honest, I have always had the desire to extend my role in these areas and help contribute to other communities using the experience I have built up in a process which I have always enjoyed participating in.

"I am pleased to say that, in the coming weeks and months, my life will focus more and more on a new role in the areas of community development and social enterprise.

"The time is right for me to move on and I look forward to working with rural communities and disadvantaged sectors to help rebuild their own lives and communities after the difficult times of the pandemic. I also intend to continue my life-long learning with a return to education."

Expressing his "sincere appreciation" to everyone who had helped him during his career in journalism, he thanked "the men and women who spoke to me for hundreds and thousands of interviews online, on camera and on radio down all the days" and "my sources who never spoke on camera but were always there to help me."

He paid particular tribute to his "close friends and great colleagues at our Midlands regional studio in Athlone - Anne and Paula, our great colleague behind the lens Jimmy, the RTÉ regional & HQ camera crews and the superb team of satellite engineers in RTÉ News with whom I have been lucky enough to work with over 27 years. I will miss you all greatly.

"To my fellow correspondents in the regions, I say farewell. It has been a great pleasure to have driven the highways and byways alongside you as we covered events of all shapes and sizes down all the days.

"You are the public face of RTÉ - on-air and off it for thousands of people - but the long journeys in the car and the late nights getting home are now over for me, as I return to put my family first in the coming months."

He concluded by thanking his wife and sons "for their immense understanding, love and support in coming to this decision" and said he was "looking forward immensely to spending more time with you all in the coming months and years."