Pollard: poached journalists for Sky News Ireland from Irish news r
Sky News Ireland announced the full line up for its new evening news service, revealing that it has poached a variety of journalism talent from Irish news rivals.
Presenter Gráinne Seoige will be joined by three correspondents: Ray Kennedy, formerly of RTE, Brian Daly, the current news anchor of TV3’s breakfast programme, and TG4 News/ RTE News’s EibhlÃn Nà Chonghaile, who will cover the West of Ireland from Limerick.
Head of Sky News Nick Pollard said: “We’re pleased to welcome the team to Sky News. All are excellent journalists who will work closely with our two correspondents in Northern Ireland, Gary Honeyford and David Blevins, to deliver a strong news output across the country for the Sky News Ireland service.”
Jerome Hughes and Jonathon Healy, who specialise in multiskilled video journalism, have also joined the team and will be charged with filming and editing stories on location. Hughes joins from TV3, where he was a reporter, and Healy is the former head of news and presenter at FM104.
“The calibre of those recruited for the Irish news service underlines Sky News and Sky Ireland’s commitment to providing a top class service to Irish viewers,” said Mark Deering, director of Sky Ireland.
“Brian and Ray bring a wealth of experience and are established presenters.
EibhlÃn, providing coverage of the south and west regions, has an impressive track record in covering both domestic and international stories. Jerome and Jonathan are real rising stars who will make excellent videojournalists.”
The weekday bulletin, to be broadcast from a studio in Dublin city centre, will launch in late spring. Sky has yet to decide a time slot, but Irish papers have speculated that the company has shelved plans to go head-tohead with state broadcaster RTE’s Nine O’Clock News programme, which attracts sizeable audiences. Its highestrating bulletin last year pulled in 830,000 viewers, ranking it the fourthmost popular programme after the Eurovision.
The Sky News Ireland bulletins will be available to more than two thirds of Irish households on satellite and cable/MMDS, including Sky’s 300,000 Irish subscribers.
By Sarah Boden
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