Veteran Galway broadcaster Teresa Mannion will hang up her microphone this summer, and already there is speculation on her next move.
After 40 years working for RTÉ, most famously as regional news reporter for the west of Ireland since 2007, Mannion is set to retire in six weeks.
In response, Ladbrokes is already offering odds on the Galway-based, Dublin-native entering politics, as have several high profile broadcasters and journalists before her. The bookies have Mannion at 10-to-1 to run in the next presidential election, in 2032, despite fellow Galwegian, Catherine Connolly, being ensconced in the Áras barely a wet week.
Speaking exclusively to the Advertiser, the 64-year-old poured cold water on rumours that she is planning to leverage her national name and face recognition to tee-up a tilt at the country’s top job in six years.
“Ah stop will ya? I am absolutely not planning that,” she said, in a hurried interview before going on air on Wednesday morning. “I have got a few emails from people over the past few days though...” she added, cryptically.
In recent years, former RTÉ presenter Cynthia Ní Mhurchú was elected to the European Parliament for Fianna Fáil, while ex-RTÉ Midlands Correspondent Ciaran Mullooly became an MEP for Independent Ireland.
The high-profile RTÉ economics editor, George Lee, was elected to Dáil Eireann for Fine Gael in 2009, but resigned nine months later.
While not a traditional RTÉ employee, businessman Seán Gallagher became a household name as a panellist on the channel’s Dragons’ Den show. He ran as an independent candidate in both the 2011 and 2018 presidential elections.
Nicola McGeady of Ladbrokes commented: “Mannion will be forever in our memory after giving the country the unforgettable ‘Don’t make unnecessary journeys’ warning in Salthill, in 2015. We’re certain she’d have a good chance if she ran in the next presidential election.”
Mannion’s urgent warnings while reporting on Storm Desmond in 2015 made her a household name after clips of the windswept reporter, buffeted by high winds and rain on the Prom, went viral in Ireland, and internationally. Her piece to camera was memorably shared online and commented on by rappers 50 Cent and Snoop Dog, and the subsequent fame led to her becoming a contestant on the first edition of Dancing with the Stars.
Mannion announced her intention to retire earlier this month in an interview with the RTÉ Guide, and her final news feature will be on the Western Rail Corridor, scheduled to open for necessary journeys in 2031, coincidentally just in time for the next presidential election.
Mannion lives in Galway with her husband, newspaper editor Dave O’Connell, and they have two adult sons.
