Who is Tommy Meskill, RTÉ’s new co-presenter of the Six One news? RTÉ viewers will know him as its London correspondent since the summer of 2024, and before that as the political reporter and “occasional newscaster” who popped up to anchor bulletins when others were on their holidays, often covering unenviable Christmas shifts.
But, in proof that all news is local, to Munster-based media he is the “Clare man” who has now been elevated to join the experienced and unflappable Sharon Tobin on RTÉ’s flagship television bulletin. They will form a likable pair.
His first appearance on an RTÉ press release was in 2016, when Montrose announced that “21-year-old Tommy Meskill from Co Clare” would become the newest addition to the presenting team of News2Day, the television news programme for younger people that has served as a pipeline of new faces for RTÉ.
“He was brilliant at that, as he is brilliant at everything else,” the man he has now succeeded on Six One, David McCullagh, told me recently.
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He also had a fan on the Irish Times letter pages. “Sir, – It appears that news presenter Tommy Meskill is running a one-man show in Montrose for RTÉ. Has he had any time off since Christmas Eve? Has he had his Christmas dinner yet?” the writer wondered in December 2023.
“He is doing an excellent job and keeping us up to date on what’s happening in the wider world.”
RTÉ bosses obviously agree, pulling Meskill back from London for the more high-profile role, which only became available after McCullagh was tapped to become the presenter of the Today programme on Radio 1 following Claire Byrne’s defection to Newstalk.
In his early 30s, Meskill is one of the youngest to be promoted to this gig, but even as a student, he was ambitious, telling The Irish Times in 2015 that his generation had “higher expectations” of themselves and did not want to be told to follow a set path.
[ RTÉ shuffles presenter roles with Sarah McInerney moving to Morning IrelandOpens in new window ]
“Many 20-year-olds are capable of taking on senior positions. It’s reverse ageism to suggest we aren’t capable. People in their 20s don’t have as much experience, but we’re open to the idea of young people being at the top of society and politics,” he said then.
His appointment is one of several missing pieces on RTÉ’s presenter line-up that have now fallen into place following an expression-of-interest process – a step recommended to RTÉ by the Government’s expert advisory committee last year.
To no one’s surprise, Justin McCarthy has been confirmed as a permanent member of Radio 1’s Morning Ireland roster, with the presenter having appeared on the show regularly in recent months. McCarthy’s previous role presenting the Sunday programme This Week will now be taken on permanently by Paul Cunningham.
[ RTÉ’s Morning Ireland needs a refreshOpens in new window ]
One element of doubt – where Sarah McInerney would fit into the new Radio 1 schedule – has also been resolved with the announcement that she will also join the Morning Ireland line-up, alongside Gavin Jennings, Audrey Carville and McCarthy. The new presenters succeed Áine Lawlor, who stepped back from the programme, and Mary Wilson, who retired from RTÉ.
After a five-year stint, McInerney and Cormac Ó hEadhra were unexpectedly stood down as co-presenters of Radio 1’s drivetime show as part of the big radio shake-up devised by RTÉ director of audio Patricia Monahan in October. At the time there was no official indication of the new radio role McInerney would take up next, leaving question marks over how RTÉ planned to best utilise her flair for a dogged, well-prepared interview.
The obvious answer was Morning Ireland, but with that show broadcast at the opposite time of the day to McInerney’s other job, on RTÉ One’s Prime Time, it was unclear if her schedule could work to accommodate making an impact on both. RTÉ has now said she will continue to present Prime Time on a Tuesday night, while McInerney has said she “can’t wait to get started” on the morning show.
The latest appointments create internal vacancies for Meskill’s London correspondent and Cunningham’s political correspondent jobs. Meanwhile, a decision on who will permanently host Arena, the Radio 1 arts programme presented by Seán Rocks until his death in July, will likely be made in 2026. Rick O’Shea has been anchoring the show in the meantime.
Despite the financial pressures and uncertainties faced by both RTÉ and the wider Irish media sector, the attention generated by the national broadcaster’s presenter and programme rejigs and reshuffles is an indicator of its enduring centrality to Irish society.
This rings truer on the day of The Late Late Toy Show – traditionally the most-watched programme on Irish television every year, by some distance – than on any other day of the year, but it remains the case on toy-free days too.
