Gráinne Seoige
Encyclopedia
Gráinne Seoige (ˈɡɾˠaːnʲə ˈʃoːɟə, born 5 November 1973 in An Spidéal, County Galway
) is an Irish
television presenter, Gaeilgeoir, and "fashion icon",
Gráinne Seoige is one of the few television presenters who has worked for all terrestrial channels in the Republic of Ireland
at some point. She has worked as a news anchor on TG4
, TV3 and Sky News Ireland
. Seoige has since joined RTÉ
where she co-presented afternoon chat show Seoige
for three years alongside her sister Síle
. Other high-profile roles for the broadcaster have included presenting The All Ireland Talent Show
, co-presenting Up for the Match
and hosting television coverage of the People of the Year Awards
. Seoige was 'Features Editor' on ITV's breakfast show Daybreak
from 2010-11.
Seoige is the only news anchor to have presented the inaugural news bulletins on two Irish terrestrial stations, TV3 and TG4, and she is the first television personality to have worked with all four Republic of Ireland television stations; TG4, TV3, RTÉ One and RTÉ Two.
Her name is pronounced "Grawn-ya Show-ig-eh".
, Sociology and Political Science from University College Galway before completing a Higher Diploma in Applied Communications for Television and Radio, also at University College Galway (now known as National University of Ireland, Galway
).
, 31 October 1996, with the launch of Teilifís na Gaeilge (now TG4
) anchoring the 10pm news bulletin with Gillian Ní Cheallaigh. She stayed there until 1998, when she moved to the then recently launched TV3 and presented TV3's 5:30pm News
(also known as First Edition
) and 6:30pm News
with Alan Cantwell
. Seoige also hosted News Tonight, as well as producing, writing and presenting news updates throughout the day. She was also the presenter of Ireland AM
, Ireland's only breakfast programme.
and presented news there after unexpectedly resigning from TV3 by faxing her employer from Thailand
on 15 January 2004, though her contract required her to serve an extra two months. In February 2006, she began presenting overnight bulletins on Sky News (which is often called the "graveyard shift" because of the low amount of viewers it gets). From the end of the week beginning 6 February, she presented Sky News Today
from 9am to 12pm, filling in for the regular presenters (including Martin Stanford
who presented Live at Five for a while during Jeremy Thompson's
break from work), Anna Botting
and Anna Jones
.
the following night to discuss her move.
As well as presenting the People of the Year Awards in 2008, she co-presented RTÉ's Up for the Match
specials in September of the same year, alongside Des Cahill
. In September 2010, she returned to her role as host of the annual People of the Year Awards
, and the 2010 editions of Up for the Match.
She presented the daily magazine show Seoige
with her younger sister Síle
. However, after only one season together, RTÉ dropped the show leaving both sisters "very shocked". Seoiges axing was blamed on "financial necessity" by RTÉ. The last episode was broadcast on 24 April 2009, the Friday after the Tuesday on which the axing had been both announced and revealed to the sisters. The Irish Independent
s Roddy O'Connor predicted the imminent demise of both sisters after the axe was wielded.
In 2009 Seoige began presenting The All Ireland Talent Show
on Sunday evenings. Her new role was announced by RTÉ on 6 November 2008.
She presented Put 'Em Under Pressure
in 2011.
She has a clause in her contract allowing her to work elsewhere when she is not presenting for RTÉ.
for British breakfast programme GMTV
alongside Dan Lobb
. The following month Gráinne returned to GMTV to present the sports news while regular host Lobb was away. Presenter John Stapleton
was heard to mispronounce her name as "Granya Soudja".
Her popularity led to suggestions she would co-present GMTV with Adrian Chiles
.
's new morning programme Daybreak
from September 2010,. where she was also an occasional stand-in presenter for Christine Bleakley
. She appeared on the show's opening day, interviewing people about green issues
in the gardens of Prince Charles
' Clarence House
. She has also reported from Delhi
on preparation and welfare issues in the build-up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games
.
Regarding her image, Seoige admitted that "the ice queen thing" as she referred to it had not crossed the Irish Sea
and that the show's male anchor Adrian Chiles was having some difficulty pronouncing her surname.
On 29 July 2011 it was understood that Seoige had left Daybreak.
and founded production company Touchline Media Ireland. She has a teenage son named Conall (from a previous relationship) whom she protects from the media spotlight.
On 1 June 2010, it was announced that Seoige and Cullinane had separated after an 11-year relationship. She made her f public comments on the split several months later, calling it "a really tough time".
Despite physical similarities she is not related to TG4 presenter Róisín Ní Thomáin.
TV3 was reported to have paid her a wage of €40,000, whilst Sky News offered her a wage of €70,000.
, hurling
and English Premier League soccer.
In 2010, she was nominated for the Oireachtas Media Award.
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
) is an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
television presenter, Gaeilgeoir, and "fashion icon",
Gráinne Seoige is one of the few television presenters who has worked for all terrestrial channels in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
at some point. She has worked as a news anchor on TG4
TG4
TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
, TV3 and Sky News Ireland
Sky News Ireland
Sky News Ireland was a television news channel which broadcast in the Republic of Ireland. Sky News International is now available throughout Ireland...
. Seoige has since joined RTÉ
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
where she co-presented afternoon chat show Seoige
Seoige
Seoige was an Irish television chat show. The show, hosted by sisters Gráinne and Sile Seoige, was broadcast live on weekdays at 16:30 on RTÉ One, with a hiatus in the summer months. Episodes were repeated at 08:20 the following weekday morning on the same channel.The programme was originally...
for three years alongside her sister Síle
Síle Seoige
Síle Seoige is an Irish television presenter and Gaeilgeoir. She is fluent in both Irish and English, and has worked for Raidió Teilifís Éireann and the Irish language station TG4...
. Other high-profile roles for the broadcaster have included presenting The All Ireland Talent Show
The All Ireland Talent Show
The All Ireland Talent Show was an RTÉ television series billed as Ireland's biggest-ever talent contest. It was first announced in November 2008 and the first series commenced broadcasting on 4 January 2009, completing on 15 March 2009. Modelled on Britain's Got Talent, it is produced by Tyrone...
, co-presenting Up for the Match
Up for the Match
Up for the Match is an Irish Gaelic games-themed variety show currently hosted by Des Cahill and Gráinne Seoige. The show is broadcast live in two editions each year on RTÉ One on the eve of the respective All-Ireland hurling and football finals...
and hosting television coverage of the People of the Year Awards
People of the Year Awards
The People Of The Year Awards is an annual show in Ireland organised by the Rehab Group, televised by RTÉ television and hosted by Gráinne Seoige....
. Seoige was 'Features Editor' on ITV's breakfast show Daybreak
Daybreak (ITV)
Daybreak is the weekday breakfast television programme on the British commercial ITV network that broadcasts on weekday mornings from 06:00 to 08:30 and is currently presented by Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley from Monday to Thursday with Dan Lobb and Kate Garraway on Fridays...
from 2010-11.
Seoige is the only news anchor to have presented the inaugural news bulletins on two Irish terrestrial stations, TV3 and TG4, and she is the first television personality to have worked with all four Republic of Ireland television stations; TG4, TV3, RTÉ One and RTÉ Two.
Her name is pronounced "Grawn-ya Show-ig-eh".
Education
Educated at Mercy Convent in her native Spiddal, Gráinne graduated with honours in EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Sociology and Political Science from University College Galway before completing a Higher Diploma in Applied Communications for Television and Radio, also at University College Galway (now known as National University of Ireland, Galway
National University of Ireland, Galway
The National University of Ireland, Galway is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland...
).
TG4/TV3
Seoige began her career on HalloweenHalloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
, 31 October 1996, with the launch of Teilifís na Gaeilge (now TG4
TG4
TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
) anchoring the 10pm news bulletin with Gillian Ní Cheallaigh. She stayed there until 1998, when she moved to the then recently launched TV3 and presented TV3's 5:30pm News
TV3 News at 5.30
TV3 News at 5.30 is the flagship evening news programme on the Irish television network TV3. It is produced by the TV3 News division.The TV3 News at 5.30, presented by main newscasters Alan Cantwell and Colette Fitzpatrick, is a thirty minute news programme covering Irish national and international...
(also known as First Edition
First Edition (TV series)
First Edition was the early evening news programme on the Irish television network TV3. It was produced by the TV3 News division.First Edition, presented by main newscasters Alan Cantwell and Colette Fitzpatrick, was a thirty minute news programme covering Irish national and international news...
) and 6:30pm News
TV3 News @ 6
TV3 News @ 6 was the flagship evening news programme on the Irish television network TV3. It was produced by the TV3 News division.The TV3 News @ 6, presented by main newscasters Alan Cantwell and Gráinne Seoige, was a sixty minute news programme covering Irish national and international news...
with Alan Cantwell
Alan Cantwell
Alan Cantwell Jr., M.D., , is a retired dermatologist. Between the late 1960s and mid-1980s, Cantwell was author or co-author of around 30 case reports describing bacteria found in cases of scleroderma, panniculitis, and dermatological malignancies.More recently, he has written conspiracy theory...
. Seoige also hosted News Tonight, as well as producing, writing and presenting news updates throughout the day. She was also the presenter of Ireland AM
Ireland AM
Ireland AM is Ireland's only breakfast television programme. The show is broadcast live every weekday morning by TV3 and 3e.- Early years :...
, Ireland's only breakfast programme.
Sky News
Seoige moved to Sky News IrelandSky News Ireland
Sky News Ireland was a television news channel which broadcast in the Republic of Ireland. Sky News International is now available throughout Ireland...
and presented news there after unexpectedly resigning from TV3 by faxing her employer from Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
on 15 January 2004, though her contract required her to serve an extra two months. In February 2006, she began presenting overnight bulletins on Sky News (which is often called the "graveyard shift" because of the low amount of viewers it gets). From the end of the week beginning 6 February, she presented Sky News Today
Sky News Today
Sky News Today is a programme on Sky News which currently runs between 10:00am and 1:00pm and is presented by Dermot Murnaghan and Colin Brazier -Overview:...
from 9am to 12pm, filling in for the regular presenters (including Martin Stanford
Martin Stanford
Martin Stanford is a news anchor at Sky News who currently presents SkyNews.Com. Stanford had his own interactive show on the channel, Sky News with Martin Stanford from July 2006 to February 2007...
who presented Live at Five for a while during Jeremy Thompson's
Jeremy Thompson
Jeremy Gordon Thompson is a presenter on Sky News, regularly presenting Live at Five weeknights at 5pm.-Broadcasting career:Thompson was educated at King's School Worcester and was a contemporary of Chris Tarrant. Thompson is frequently Sky News' leading anchor on major stories, often presenting...
break from work), Anna Botting
Anna Botting
Anna Elizabeth Botting is a British news anchor with Sky News, a broadcasting network based in the United Kingdom. She currently presents Sky News at Ten, Sky News at Eleven and Sky Midnight News from Monday to Thursday...
and Anna Jones
Anna Jones
Anna Jones is a Business presenter for Sky News.After four years as the editor of China Economic Review, Anna joined the BBC in 1992. She spent three years as a senior producer in the BBC's business department, both producing and presenting the Business Breakfast programme from 6am - 7am. Anna then...
.
RTÉ
In 2006, Seoige moved back to Ireland full time and became a presenter with RTÉ. RTÉ announced her arrival on 5 May 2006 and she appeared on Tubridy TonightTubridy Tonight
Tubridy Tonight is an Irish chat show hosted by Ryan Tubridy that aired for five series on RTÉ One between 2004 and 2009. The programme featured guest interviews , audience participation and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...
the following night to discuss her move.
As well as presenting the People of the Year Awards in 2008, she co-presented RTÉ's Up for the Match
Up for the Match
Up for the Match is an Irish Gaelic games-themed variety show currently hosted by Des Cahill and Gráinne Seoige. The show is broadcast live in two editions each year on RTÉ One on the eve of the respective All-Ireland hurling and football finals...
specials in September of the same year, alongside Des Cahill
Des Cahill
Desmond 'Des' Cahill is an Irish sports presenter and commentator with national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. He presents a daily radio programme called Drivetime Sport on RTÉ Radio 1, while on television he has presented The Sunday Game, The Road to Croker, Play It Again, Des, and Up for...
. In September 2010, she returned to her role as host of the annual People of the Year Awards
People of the Year Awards
The People Of The Year Awards is an annual show in Ireland organised by the Rehab Group, televised by RTÉ television and hosted by Gráinne Seoige....
, and the 2010 editions of Up for the Match.
She presented the daily magazine show Seoige
Seoige
Seoige was an Irish television chat show. The show, hosted by sisters Gráinne and Sile Seoige, was broadcast live on weekdays at 16:30 on RTÉ One, with a hiatus in the summer months. Episodes were repeated at 08:20 the following weekday morning on the same channel.The programme was originally...
with her younger sister Síle
Síle Seoige
Síle Seoige is an Irish television presenter and Gaeilgeoir. She is fluent in both Irish and English, and has worked for Raidió Teilifís Éireann and the Irish language station TG4...
. However, after only one season together, RTÉ dropped the show leaving both sisters "very shocked". Seoiges axing was blamed on "financial necessity" by RTÉ. The last episode was broadcast on 24 April 2009, the Friday after the Tuesday on which the axing had been both announced and revealed to the sisters. The Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
s Roddy O'Connor predicted the imminent demise of both sisters after the axe was wielded.
In 2009 Seoige began presenting The All Ireland Talent Show
The All Ireland Talent Show
The All Ireland Talent Show was an RTÉ television series billed as Ireland's biggest-ever talent contest. It was first announced in November 2008 and the first series commenced broadcasting on 4 January 2009, completing on 15 March 2009. Modelled on Britain's Got Talent, it is produced by Tyrone...
on Sunday evenings. Her new role was announced by RTÉ on 6 November 2008.
She presented Put 'Em Under Pressure
Put 'Em Under Pressure (TV series)
Put 'Em Under Pressure is an Irish panel game with a sporting theme hosted by Gráinne Seoige which started on RTÉ One on 25 September 2011. The show's name is taken from "Put 'Em Under Pressure", the official song to the Republic of Ireland national football team's 1990 World Cup campaign.It...
in 2011.
She has a clause in her contract allowing her to work elsewhere when she is not presenting for RTÉ.
GMTV
In March 2010 Seoige reported on the Cheltenham FestivalCheltenham Festival
The Cheltenham Festival is one of the most prestigious meetings in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, and has race prize money second only to the Grand National...
for British breakfast programme GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
alongside Dan Lobb
Dan Lobb
Daniel "Dan" Jonathon Lobb is a British retired tennis player, currently working as a presenter, and is the sports editor for ITV's Daybreak.-Tennis:...
. The following month Gráinne returned to GMTV to present the sports news while regular host Lobb was away. Presenter John Stapleton
John Stapleton
John Martin Stapleton is an English journalist and presenter. He is currently working as a freelancer with various media outlets.-Television career:...
was heard to mispronounce her name as "Granya Soudja".
Her popularity led to suggestions she would co-present GMTV with Adrian Chiles
Adrian Chiles
Adrian Chiles is a British television and radio presenter, currently working for ITV Sport presenting football coverage....
.
Daybreak
On 20 July 2010, Seoige was confirmed as Features Editor on ITV BreakfastITV Breakfast
ITV Breakfast Limited is the national ITV breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom...
's new morning programme Daybreak
Daybreak (ITV)
Daybreak is the weekday breakfast television programme on the British commercial ITV network that broadcasts on weekday mornings from 06:00 to 08:30 and is currently presented by Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley from Monday to Thursday with Dan Lobb and Kate Garraway on Fridays...
from September 2010,. where she was also an occasional stand-in presenter for Christine Bleakley
Christine Bleakley
Christine Louise Bleakley is a television presenter from Northern Ireland. She joined Daybreak on ITV as co-presenter with Adrian Chiles in September 2010...
. She appeared on the show's opening day, interviewing people about green issues
Green politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
in the gardens of Prince Charles
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
' Clarence House
Clarence House
Clarence House is a royal home in London, situated on The Mall, in the City of Westminster. It is attached to St. James's Palace and shares the palace's garden. For nearly 50 years, from 1953 to 2002, it was home to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, but is since then the official residence of The...
. She has also reported from Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
on preparation and welfare issues in the build-up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events, making it the largest Commonwealth Games till date...
.
Regarding her image, Seoige admitted that "the ice queen thing" as she referred to it had not crossed the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
and that the show's male anchor Adrian Chiles was having some difficulty pronouncing her surname.
On 29 July 2011 it was understood that Seoige had left Daybreak.
Personal life
In 2002, Seoige married former colleague and long term partner Stephen Cullinane who worked as sports editor at TV3 NewsTV3 News
TV3 News is the television and internet news service from TV3 in Ireland. Its flagship bulletin is at 17:30, hosted by Alan Cantwell, Colette Fitzpatrick and Elaine Crowley. TV3 News produces bulletins broadcast live on TV3 each day and online at tv3.ie/news...
and founded production company Touchline Media Ireland. She has a teenage son named Conall (from a previous relationship) whom she protects from the media spotlight.
On 1 June 2010, it was announced that Seoige and Cullinane had separated after an 11-year relationship. She made her f public comments on the split several months later, calling it "a really tough time".
Despite physical similarities she is not related to TG4 presenter Róisín Ní Thomáin.
TV3 was reported to have paid her a wage of €40,000, whilst Sky News offered her a wage of €70,000.
Interests
Gráinne is the Patron of the National Breast Cancer Research Institute (NBCRI) and in her spare time she follows Gaelic footballGaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
, hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
and English Premier League soccer.
Awards
In 2004, Seoige was a winner at the VIP Style Awards.In 2010, she was nominated for the Oireachtas Media Award.
External links
- Official UK website
- Yahoo! Group Fan club
- About Gráinne Seoige Seoige and O'Shea, RTE