Anne Cassin & Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh
The long-running magazine show Nationwide’s Anne Cassin was joined in January by her new co-host Bláthnaid Ni Chofaigh. We caught up with them as they look forward to 2020
With Nationwide up and running with its new team in place, we chat to the dynamic duo about what lies ahead
As she begins a new year on Nationwide, Anne Cassin chats to Janice Butler about bidding an emotional farewell to Mary Kennedy and the importance of being a good listener
“Busy, very busy”, replies Anne Cassin when I ask her how her Christmas and New Year were. I get the feeling that when working on a juggernaut like Nationwide, ‘busy’ is the default state. In the last few days, Anne has been to Clonakility, Cork and a bit closer to home, Dublin Airport, lming segments for the long-running magazine show. “I’ve learned a few things along the way. I have a rule in my head: I can go to Galway, Limerick or Cork and get up and back in a day but going any further than that, I’ll stay over. I’m not a slave to the overnights, I prefer to get home. Mary Kennedy was the same, but she was a savage for the driving and she’d bomb up and down the country.”
Speaking of her former Nationwide colleague, who retired at the end of last year, Anne was of course sad to see her go a er nine years working together. Although they had very separate lming schedules, they had become rm friends in that time. “You get used to somebody and I was very sad to see her go, but there was a long lead-in to it. We didn’t come together that o en, a couple of times a year maybe, but you build up a relationship with somebody. She’s a hard act to follow.” Anne gave Mary a tting send-o , interviewing her for a special at-home episode of Nationwide that aired over Christmas. It was emotional for both of them, she admits. “ ere were a couple of moments when we both had a bit of a lump in our throats and some hugs but it all felt natural. “It was really nice, I was really happy with how it turned out. I felt strongly that Nationwide needed to say goodbye to her in the proper way. It was neat to use the at-home formula and I knew what I wanted to say to her. I got some lovely archive footage of her too. I wanted to make a nice programme for her,” she adds. Mary Kennedy, who is currently donning sequins on Dancing with the Stars, has been replaced on the show by Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh ,who hasn’t co-hosted a show since 2012. ey haven’t had the opportunity to work together yet, but Anne thinks she is a good t for the show. “I wish her the very best. ere’s so much to cover in Nationwide; we’re on the air just short of 50 weeks a year, so you’re constantly feeding the beast. But from what I’ve seen, Bláthnaid has found her feet quickly. I just hope she’s a good set of tyres!” she laughs. Would she ever follow her friend Mary to the dance- oor? “No”, she says, horri ed at the idea. “Not for me. I can’t dance and I’d be too uptight. My family has already told me that they’d divorce me; I would be hellish to live with. I think it’s a brave thing to do. I’m shouting for Mary all the way.”
Nationwide is unique in the Irish TV environment: it’s been on air for more than 25 years and its popularity continues. In a world of disposable TV and one-series shows, it’s a rare beast.
e fact that the presenters stay so long is also quite unique and Anne is aware of that. “It’s really unusual,” she agrees. “But Nationwide is bigger than us and I do believe that, but possibly not bigger than Mary Kennedy!” she laughs.
“But Mary never tried to be a star. e show is stronger because it’s stayed close to its audience and never tried to be too cool. We’re not cool TV and that’s OK, we’re comfort TV.”
Did she ever want to be more of a star, working on something with a bit more of a cool factor? “No, I came from news, you see, and news is all about not having a personality, it’s the absolute antithesis. Being a news anchor is fairly rigid but it’s because it’s about the news. I was lucky that I was able to make the transition successfully. When I rst started, people would say I was a bit newscaster-y, so I needed to lose that. But in general, I’m pretty low-key as a person.” What keeps her so interested in the job? “Being curious really helps. What you need for this job is an ability to connect with people and to retain a curiosity about people and life.”
Does she still have that curiosity nine years later? “I would think so and I would hope, now, that I’m a better listener and I would work hard at that and I would try and be empathetic. ere’s a lot of talk recently of empathy with the demise of our colleagues. at’s a really underestimated quality – the ability to be quiet, listen to the person and have empathy. I always had the curiosity but possibly not the con dence to be quiet, I would have been anxious to get to the next question, to show I knew my stu . But I’d be con dent now to let the other person breathe a little bit.”
Two of her children, Ellen and Joe, are adults now, while her third child, Heather, is 14. Anne says it’s easier to be away with the job than it was when they were young. She says she is asked all the time if she’s thinking of retiring, even though she’s far o that life stage. “I don’t plan on retiring any time soon. But I wouldn’t want to stay on too long either, I’d like to do things with Donagh [McGrath, her husband]; see a bit more of the world. I wouldn’t like to work at this pace all the time. You would look forward to stepping back a little bit, but for now I’m busy being just Anne Cassin, getting on with things and trying to listen.”
I would hope, now, that I’m a better listener and I would work hard at that and I would try and be empathetic