Aengus breaks with the news after 30 years
HE spent his career breaking the news, but yesterday veteran RTÉ newscaster Aengus Mac Grianna finally broke with the news, after 30 years with the broadcaster.
Mr Mac Grianna had his final news bulletin on the St Patrick’s Day edition of RTÉ’s News: Six One.
‘It’s been a privilege to sit in this chair down through the years and be welcomed in your homes,’ Mac Grianna said on his last news cast.
‘Thank you for that and your kindness. I’ve had a wonderful time.’
On Twitter, he said: ‘Last day newscasting @rtenews after 30 years! I’ve had a blast. Get all yizer parades on de 6–1 tonight! Go raibh maith agaibh agus beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig! Grá mór Aengus x x.’
Having grown up in Raheny, Dublin, Aengus joined the national broadcaster in 1987 as a runner before working on the radio news two years later.
He then moved to television to become a newsreader, where he spent the remainder of his time at the station.
He famously went viral on the internet after a clip of him touching up his make-up and fixing his tie aired during a bulletin back in 2013.
While smartening himself up, he realised that he was already live on air, and – startled – said: ‘What?!’
In 2014, he married his partner Terry Gill and walked down the aisle accompanied by his friend and fellow newscaster, Anne Doyle.
He announced last November that he would leave RTÉ to explore other career possibilities, according to the broadcaster.
‘I have spent 30 wonderful years in RTÉ. I have enjoyed going into work every day,’ he said.
‘I am looking forward to the next chapter of my life.’