Rachael English announced as new presenter of RTÉ's News at One

Kenneth Fox

Rachael English has been confirmed as the new presenter of News at One on RTÉ Radio 1 following the retirement of Bryan Dobson, the station has confirmed.

After 14 years as part of the team of Morning Ireland presenters, she will become a permanent presenter on RTÉ Radio 1's flagship lunchtime radio programme, which has over 300,000 listeners each weekday.

Speaking about the move, English said: "One of my first jobs in RTÉ was as a reporter on the News at One. It was also where I first worked as a stand-in presenter.

"I've always hoped that one day I'd get to return, so I'm delighted to be doing so now. It feels like coming home. It's been a privilege to present Morning Ireland, and I'd like to thank the colleagues who have made getting up at 4am bearable. I'm looking forward to working with the fantastic team on the News at One."

RTÉ's managing director of News & Current Affairs Deirdre McCarthy said: "Rachael is a highly respected journalist and outstanding broadcaster. I am delighted that she will now be joining the exceptional team of journalists on our flagship News at One programme.

"She is exceptional at asking the probing questions, the questions the listeners want answers to and holding those in power to account."

English joined RTÉ in 1991 as a 2fm newsreader and later worked as a reporter for Morning Ireland, the News at One, Today With Pat Kenny and RTÉ Television News.

Her first full-time presenting job was on Five Seven Live on RTÉ Radio 1, and she later presented The Late Debate and Saturday View before joining Morning Ireland in 2010.

She has also worked on a number of special series, including The Constituency and The Big Science Debate.

Since 2002, she has been a presenter on RTÉ Radio 1’s General Election results programmes, while also presenting coverage of local, European and presidential election counts, as well as anchoring election coverage from Belfast, London and Washington.

In 2022, English was inducted into the IMRO Awards Radio Hall of Fame, and she is also the author of seven novels, most recently the top-ten bestseller, Whatever Happened to Birdy Troy?.

The native of Shannon, Co Clare will begin presenting the News at One on RTÉ Radio 1 on Monday, July 15th.