RTÉ NEWSREADER Eileen Dunne has announced that she will retire when she turns 65 next year.
The RTÉ Nine O'Clock News presenter has been on Irish TV screens for over 40 years, but she told RSVP magazine that she is ready to retire.
"I have been there for over 40 years and I feel like I have done my time," she said.
Dunne has a staff contract with the national broadcaster meaning she is a civil servant and will have to retire at the state retirement age.
"I almost left when I was 60, because I could.
"I wouldn’t have had the full package but I could have left.
"I am glad I didn’t though because I’m glad I worked through the pandemic. The pandemic taught me that I would be okay if I wasn’t working because I can structure my day."
Eileen said she almost left when she was 60 because she would have been able to , but said she was happy she didn't and that she worked through the pandemic.
"The pandemic taught me that I would be okay if I wasn’t working because I can structure my day," she said.
She also said she will miss her newsroom colleagues and the routine of work.
"I will miss the routine too but the way I am working at the moment is leading me into retirement. I do a week on and then one or two days the next week. I can have four or five days off at a time. When a big story breaks, no doubt I will wish I was in the middle of it, I am even like that when I am off," Eileen said.
As for her plans for retirement, she said "there's a lot of travelling to be done, a lot of life to live and people to see."
See More: Eileen Dunne, News, RTE
