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Morning Ireland’s Rachael English reveals move to News at One following Bryan Dobson’s retirement: ‘I won’t miss the 4am alarm clock!’

Love of writing: Rachael English. Photo: Steve Humphreys

Denise Calnan

RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland presenter Rachael English has been announced as the new presenter of the News at One, following the retirement of Bryan Dobson.

After 14 years as a Morning Ireland presenter, Rachael English will become a permanent presenter on the lunchtime news offering.

Revealing her new move at the end of this morning’s Morning Ireland, Ms English said: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity on the News At One. I’m not going far… but I won’t miss the 4am alarm clock.”

Ms English described the last 14 years as having “one of the best jobs in radio”.

She added: “Come middle of July, you can come join me on the News At One.”

Co-presenting this morning, Cian McCormack paid tribute to his colleague.

"Rachel, you’ve always been a pleasure to work with, the past 14 years. We will really miss you here.

"All your insights into politics, everything you’ve done from Drivetime to the election specials, it was always just class, as they’d say in Tipperary.

"I watch you the way you listen to people, you get the best out of people, you mix light and shade well.

"There’s a lot for a guys like me to learn.”

He added: "News At One’s gain is our loss.”

Ms 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. She presented The Late Debate and Saturday View before joining Morning Ireland in 2010.

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

As a reporter and presenter, she has worked on a wide range of national and international stories from the signing of the Good Friday Agreement to the Olympics Games to the 9/11 attacks.

In 2022, Ms English was inducted into the IMRO Awards Radio Hall of Fame. The native of Shannon in Co Clare is also the author of seven novels, most recently the top-ten bestseller, Whatever Happened to Birdy Troy?.

A communications graduate of Dublin City University, she began her career in local radio at Clare FM in Ennis.