Morning Ireland bids farewell to Tipperary-born broadcaster Mary Wilson

Broadcasters Mary Wilson and Áine Lawlor signed off on Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio 1 for the final time this morning.

Today marks Tipperary-born Mary Wilson’s official retirement from RTÉ. It will also be Áine Lawlor’s final Morning Ireland in the presenter’s chair; Áine will continue to present The Week in Politics and will feature across RTÉ’s coverage of the forthcoming presidential election.

A reporter, correspondent, editor and presenter, Mary Wilson has spent her career in RTÉ either in front of camera for RTÉ News or behind the microphone on RTÉ Radio 1.

READ NEXT: Tipperary man to embark on wildlife conservation mission in Madagascar

From Drangan in Co. Tipperary, Mary joined the RTÉ newsroom in Dublin in 1990. In 1996 she became the station’s Legal Affairs Correspondent, becoming Editor in 2000, and over the years bagged a slew of awards for her news reports and documentaries.  She was the Millennium Journalist of the Year and won a number of Justice Media Awards. In 2006 Mary became the first presenter of the new Drivetime programme on RTÉ Radio 1.

SEE MORE: Tipperary leads the way with All-Star nominations

In 2020 she returned to Morning Ireland where she had worked as a reporter when she first arrived in the RTÉ. In 2023 she was inducted into the IMRO Radio Awards Hall of Fame.  
 

Now after 36 years with RTÉ, Mary is retiring. 

She says: “I know I am fortunate to be able to retire and I am looking forward to becoming a radio listener as opposed to presenter, to taking my foot off the gas a bit and indulging my many hobbies.  More hillwalking, bagging another Monro (a Scottish term for climbing mountains of 1,000 metres (over 3,000 feet), more cooking, more trips to Kerry and above all more time with family and friends.

"It has been a privilege to present news programmes on RTÉ, to connect with listeners and to work with demanding, intelligent and dedicated colleagues who helped and challenged me every day to do better, to aim higher and to always put the listener first".