Claire Byrne | |
|---|---|
 Byrne in 2015 | |
| Born | (1975-08-11)11 August 1975 (age 50) Mountrath, County Laois, Ireland |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Employer | Newstalk |
| Notable credit(s) | TV3 News The Daily Show Prime Time Claire Byrne Live Today with Claire Byrne ( RTÈ Radio 1) The Claire Byrne Show (Newstalk) |
| Spouse(s) | Richard Johnson (m. 2003; div. 2006) Gerry Scollan (m. 2016) |
| Children | 3 |
Claire Byrne (born 11 August 1975) is an Irish radio andtelevision presenter.
Byrne presentedThe Daily Show from September 2010 to March 2012.[1] In 2013, she became an anchor onRTÉ's flagship current affairs programmePrime Time. From January 2015 until May 2022, she hosted her own self-titled weekly current affairs television programme,Claire Byrne Live. In August 2020, she took over the hosting of theToday with ... programme, presenting it asToday with Claire Byrne onRTÉ Radio 1.[2] In 2025, Byrne announced her intention to leave RTÉ and rejoinNewstalk, withDavid McCullagh due to take over theToday with ... programme.[3] She joined Newstalk in early 2026.
Byrne is the daughter of Tom and Breda Byrne. She grew up on the family farm inCounty Laois, and was educated locally at the Brigidine Convent inMountrath. She later studied Politics, Sociology and Social Science atUniversity College Dublin, but did not complete the course. She subsequently attended theRathmines College of Further Education where she studied journalism.[4]
Byrne is a client of self-styled "agent to the stars"Noel Kelly of NK Management.[5][6]
Byrne began her broadcasting career withEast Coast Radio and worked withBBC Radio in theChannel Islands, before becoming news editor withChannel 103 inJersey. She returned to Ireland shortly afterwards to take up her first television job as a reporter on the fledglingTV3.
Byrne left after just one year to work as London news anchor withChannel 5 and later withITV News, but was lured back to TV3 to present the station's breakfast showIreland AM.[7] In 2004, she replacedGráinne Seoige as the main female presenter of theTV3 News at 5.30.[8]
Byrne joined the independent Irish radio stationNewstalk in 2006, amid a high-profile legal case with her former employer TV3, which went to court to stop the news anchor broadcasting on Newstalk's breakfast slot. She presented the show with Ger Gilroy, withIvan Yates taking over as co-presenter in 2009.[9]
In 2010, Byrne presented her last breakfast show with Newstalk before moving toRTÉ where she co-presented, until March 2012,The Daily Show withDaithí Ó Sé.[10]
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In a major shake up of news broadcasts on RTÉ in early 2013, Byrne joined the current affairs programmePrime Time as an anchor alongsideMiriam O'Callaghan andPat Kenny.[11]
In November 2014, it was announced that she would have her own current affairs show,Claire Byrne Live, which would be broadcast onRTÉ One from January 2015.[12][13]
In August 2020 Byrne took over as presenter of the re-titledToday with Claire Byrne, which had been known asToday with Sarah McInerney for the summer, after the retirement ofSean O'Rourke.[2]
In February 2022, an episode ofClaire Byrne Live aired entitled 'The Rise of Sinn Féin' which featured several guests explaining why they would or would not vote forSinn Féin. The episode was subject to criticism for alleged bias against the party, the credibility of the responses, and questions raised about RTÉ's responsibilities as a public broadcaster.[14][15][16][17][18]
In May 2022, it was announced thatClaire Byrne Live would end, and its final episode would air on 30 May 2022.[19]
In April 2023, Byrne began hostingIreland's Smartest, a quiz show developed by RTÉ.[20]
Byrne was tipped to become host ofThe Late Late Show when fellow NK Management clientRyan Tubridy announced his departure; Bryne, however, ruled herself out in May 2023.[21]
As of late 2025, Byrne was scheduled to leave RTÉ to rejoinNewstalk, starting from early 2026.David McCullagh was named as the new host of theToday with ... programme, scheduled to take over the show from November 2025.[3]
Byrne's show started on Newstalk in February 2026, with theThe Claire Byrne Show replacing Pat Kenny's slot on weekdays from 9:00AM-12:00PM.[citation needed]
Byrne was previously married to radio executive Richard Johnson; the marriage ended in 2006. In 2013, she became engaged to business consultant Gerry Scollan.[22] In 2016, Byrne married Scollan at a ceremony in Dublin attended by close friends and family.[23] She has three children, a boy born in 2013, and two girls, born in 2014 and 2017.[24][25][26]
In January 2015, she said in an interview that due to financial commitments she could not afford to be astay at home mum for her children.[27]
On 23 March 2020, Byrne announced that she had tested positive forCOVID-19.[28][29] She returned to filmingClaire Byrne Live in the RTÉ 1 studio on 6 April 2020.[30] Her garden shed, from which she presented in 2020, became the focus of attention again on 4 April 2022 when Byrne tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time and presented both her radio and television programme from the shed.[31]
Kelly is a successful agent, working with broadcasters such as Claire Byrne, Joe Duffy, Pat Kenny, Ivan Yates, Matt Cooper, Caitríona Perry, Carl Mullan, Cormac O'hEadhra and Ciara Kelly, as well as Tubridy, as part of his agency, NK Management.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)RTÉ's Claire Byrne returned to her shed to present her live television show tonight after contracting Covid-19 for a second time. The presenter is understood to be well despite developing some symptoms over the weekend... She also presented the Today with Claire Byrne radio programme from home this morning. Opening her television show tonight, she said: 'I'm back here again'.
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