Marian Finucane ( ; 21 May 1950 – 2 January 2020) was an Irish broadcaster with

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

. Finucane began working with the national broadcaster in 1974, starting as a continuity announcer. She went on to host '' Women Today'' (1979–1983), the first Irish women's affairs radio programme presented and produced by women, as well as its successor, ''The Women's Programme'' (1983–1986); she was the first presenter of ''

Liveline ''Liveline'' is an Republic of Ireland, Irish radio interview and phone-in chat show broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 each weekday afternoon between 13.45 and 15.00. The programme, which has been presented since 1999 by Joe Duffy, and is known for its ...

'' (1985–1999); and she also presented ''

The Marian Finucane Show ''The Marian Finucane Show'' was an Republic of Ireland, Irish radio programme, presented by Marian Finucane. It aired Saturday - Sunday at 11:00 to 13:00. According to statistics from 2009, it was then the highest-rating weekend radio show in Ir ...

'' at weekend lunchtimes on

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 () is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for the station in 2010 w ...

until her death.

Career

Marian Finucane was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and educated at Scoil Chaitríona,

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home to ...

. She studied architecture at Dublin College of Technology in Bolton Street. Finucane practised as an architect until 1974 when she joined

as a

continuity announcer In broadcasting, continuity or presentation (or station break in the U.S. and Canada) is announcements, messages and graphics played by the broadcaster between specific programmes. It typically includes programme schedules, announcement of the ...

, having been recruited by

Eoghan Harris Eoghan Harris (born 13 March 1943) is an Irish journalist, columnist, director, and former politician. He has held posts in various and diverse political parties. He was a leading theoretician in the Marxist-Leninist Workers' Party (previously ...

. In 1976 she became a programme presenter, working mainly on programmes concerned with contemporary social issues, especially those concerning women, in particular ''Women Today''. Finucane in 1979 was the recipient of a Jacobs' Award for ''Women Today''. Her ''

'' radio programme was a combined interview and phone-in chat show on weekday afternoons. In 1980 Finucane won the

Prix Italia The Prix Italia is an international television, radio-broadcasting and web award. It was established in 1948 by RAI – Radiotelevisione Italiana (in 1948, RAI had the denomination RAI – Radio Audizioni Italiane) in Capri and is honoured with th ...

for a documentary on

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

: she interviewed a woman who was about to have an abortion, had travelled with her to England, been with her in the hospital and talked to her afterwards. The Radio Journalist of the Year Award followed in 1988. Her television work included information programming on RTÉ such as ''Consumer Choice'' and the Garda investigation programme '' Crimeline''. On

Gay Byrne Gabriel Mary Byrne (5 August 1934 – 4 November 2019) was an Irish presenter and host of radio and television. His most notable role was as the first host of '' The Late Late Show'' over a 37-year period spanning 1962 until 1999. ''The Late La ...

's retirement in 1999, Finucane took over his mid-morning radio slot to present ''

''. Another broadcaster,

Joe Duffy Joseph Duffy (born 27 January 1956) is an Irish people, Irish radio and TV presenter employed by RTÉ. One of the public service broadcaster's highest-earning stars, he is the current presenter of ''Liveline'', an interview and phone-in chat s ...

, took over ''Liveline''. On 24 June 2005, Finucane presented her final ''Marian Finucane Show'' in the weekday morning timeslot. Later that afternoon she received an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from

NUI Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

. Apart from recognising her media work, this degree was in recognition of her work raising funds, along with Clarke, towards the building of an

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

hospice and orphanage in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. In June 2005 she was replaced in her radio timeslot by

Ryan Tubridy Ryan Tubridy (born 28 May 1973) is an Irish broadcaster. He currently presents the weekday mid-morning programme ''The Ryan Tubridy Show'' on Virgin Radio UK, as well as a weekend programme on Sundays. His broadcasting career with RTÉ spanned ...

; in turn she took over morning slots on Saturday and Sunday.

Personal life and death

Finucane grew up in

in Dublin. Her father Daniel Finucane was a Garda sergeant, and her mother Maura Finucane was a teacher at Francis Xavier School. Her father died when she was 12. Her first marriage ended in separation. She then had two children with her partner, John Clarke. Their daughter developed leukaemia and died, aged eight, in 1990. She and Clarke married in January 2015. Finucane suffered from

heart arrhythmia Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, are irregularities in the cardiac cycle, heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. Essentially, this is anything but normal sinus rhythm. A resting heart rate that is too fast – ab ...

which did not respond to treatment; John Clarke stated after her death that "I believe for two years that she had been very unwell", noting "she wouldn't go to doctors". In one case, Finucane convinced one of her sisters to mimic her symptoms to a doctor in order to obtain a diagnosis. After a long flight from India where she had attended a friend's wedding, Finucane reported feeling very unwell upon arriving at her home in

Kilteel Kilteel () is the name of a village, townland and civil parish located in the barony of South Salt, County Kildare, Ireland. The townland of Kilteel Upper contains the remains of a church with a decorated Romanesque chancel arch, the ruins of ...

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

, and decided to go to bed; she died unexpectedly in her sleep from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

on 2 January 2020, aged 69. Her laboured breathing had been noticed in her final broadcast on 8 December 2019. Her funeral took place on 7 January 2020. In October 2022 a sculpture in her honour was unveiled outside the RTE Radio Centre in Dublin.

References

External links

''The Marian Finucane Show''
at RTÉ.ie
Friends In Ireland Homepage
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finucane, Marian 1950 births 2020 deaths Broadcasters from Dublin (city) People from Ballygall 20th-century Irish people Alumni of Dublin Institute of Technology Alumni of the University of Galway RTÉ Radio 1 presenters RTÉ television presenters Jacob's Award winners Prix Italia winners 21st-century Irish people