Rachael English (born 1969) is an Irish broadcaster and writer. Known for presenting ''

Five Seven Live Five Seven Live was an Irish radio rolling news programme, produced by RTÉ News and was aired each weekday evening on RTÉ Radio 1 between 17:00–19:00, between 1997 and 2006, the final edition being broadcast on 1 September 2006. Programme fo ...

'' for six years, English has also presented other radio shows, such as ''

RTÉ News at One ''RTÉ News at One'' is a news and current affairs programme broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1. It airs Monday to Friday for 45 minutes at 1:00pm. The programme was presented by Bryan Dobson until his retirement on 3 May 2024. Rachael English was ann ...

'', '' Today with Pat Kenny'', ''

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 ...

'' and '' The Late Debate'' as well as a permanent presenter of ''

Morning Ireland ''Morning Ireland'' is an Irish breakfast news programme broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1 and is noted as the country's most listened to radio programme. It is broadcast each weekday morning between 7 am and 9 am and alternate items are normal ...

'' and '' Saturday View''. In 2011, Kim Bielenberg said in the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

'' that English would be "a natural replacement for Sean O'Rourke if he ever moved on".

Early life

Rachael English was born in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, where her mother, Ruth, was raised. She grew up in Shannon before going on to study Communication Studies at

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) () is a Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland, university based on the Northside, Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Highe ...

Broadcasting career

English debuted in 1989 as a presenter on a new radio station,

Clare FM Clare FM is an Irish radio station which broadcasts to County Clare and the surrounding areas. The station has won many Irish radio awards. Clare FM broadcasts on frequencies 95 – 96FM including 95.2, 95.5, 95.9, 96.4 & 96.6. In the past, it ...

. She briefly worked for the

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

company owned by

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, ...

broadcaster

Bill O'Herlihy Bill O'Herlihy (26 September 1938 – 25 May 2015) was an Irish television broadcaster and public relations executive. He was best known for his broadcasts for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), primarily in politics and sport. A presenter for ...

, then moved to

RTÉ 2fm RTÉ 2fm, or 2FM as it is more commonly referred to, is an Irish radio station operated by RTÉ. The station specialises in current popular music and chart hits and is the second national radio station in Ireland. History The station commenc ...

as a newsreader in August 1991. She was brought into the News at One team at Christmas that year, when no other staff were available. From there she stood in for presenters on ''

'', ''

'' and '' Today with Pat Kenny''. In June 2000, she became the presenter of ''

''. In her time on the programme she won the PPI award for her coverage of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. Her father also featured on the show, providing horse racing

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

tips for her listeners. After six years in the job, she left the programme in August 2006, and it was replaced by Mary Wilson's ''

Drivetime DriveTime Automotive Group Inc. is an American used car retailer and finance company. It is based in Tempe, Arizona, and sells and finances cars to customers around the nation. The company was formerly known as Ugly Duckling and was renamed Dr ...

''. Other work in RTÉ has included election coverage on radio since 2002, the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, the signing of the

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...

and other major news events, including the

. She presented ''The Late Debate'' on RTÉ Radio 1 until 2010, and was a substitute when

Marian Finucane Marian Finucane ( ; 21 May 1950 – 2 January 2020) was an Irish people, Irish broadcaster with RTÉ. Finucane began working with the national broadcaster in 1974, starting as a continuity announcer. She went on to host ''Women Today'' (1979– ...

was not able to present her weekend radio show, ''

''. In August 2009, it was announced she would present the programme '' Saturday View'', as 25-year presenter Rodney Rice retired. She became a permanent presenter of ''Morning Ireland'' in October 2010. In 2022 she was inducted into the

IMRO The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; ; ), was a secret revolutionary society founded in the Ottoman territories in Europe, that operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1893 in Salonica, it init ...

hall of fame. On 30 May 2024, English was announced as the new presenter of the ''

'' 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 ...

following the retirement of

Bryan Dobson Bryan David Dobson (born 10 February 1960) is an Irish journalist, now retired, a newscaster and presenter who worked for RTÉ. He presented the '' RTÉ News at One'' on RTÉ Radio One, '' RTÉ News: Six One,'' '' RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock'', mo ...

Writing career

She signed a two-book deal with Orion in 2012. As at February 2024 she has written seven novels.

Personal life

English is married to financial journalist Eamon Quinn. In October 2008, she was diagnosed with an overactive thyroid (but escaped a potentially more serious diagnosis relating to the lumps found in both of her breasts shortly after the thyroid trouble began). She is on medication for the thyroid problem, possibly for the rest of her life, and has stated that at some point she plans to treat the lump she still has in her throat.

Publications

* ''Going Back'', Orion, 2013 * ''Each and Every One'', Orion, 2014 * ''The American Girl'', Hachette, 2017 * ''The Night of the Party'', Hachette, 2018 * ''The Paper Bracelet'', Hachette, 2020 * ''The Letter Home'', Hachette, 2022 * ''Whatever Happened to Birdy Troy?'', Hachette, 2024

References

External links

Interview
in the ''

RTÉ Guide The ''RTÉ Guide'' is a television and radio listings magazine in Ireland published by RTÉ Commercial Enterprises Ltd, a subsidiary of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The magazine offers detailed programme listings for RTÉ channels, as w ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:English, Rachael 1969 births Broadcasters from County Clare 20th-century Irish journalists 20th-century Irish women journalists 21st-century Irish women journalists Alumni of Dublin City University Women radio journalists 21st-century Irish journalists RTÉ newsreaders and journalists RTÉ Radio 1 presenters Women television journalists Irish women novelists Living people People from Shannon, County Clare