TV3 news presenter Gráinne Seoige is to leave the station and join the new Sky News service for Ireland.
Seoige will present the nightly bulletins on Sky News Ireland which will be on the air in the spring. Seoige is one the Republic's most high profile broadcasters and Sky last night said it was "delighted" she would be fronting the bulletins.
Mr Nick Pollard, head of Sky News, said: "Gráinne is a first class journalist and anchor. Her authority and experience presenting nightly news bulletins made her the perfect choice to launch Sky News's new Irish service. We are delighted to have her on board."
Seoige has worked in television for eight years. She started her career with TG4 before moving to TV3. At TV3 she anchors its nightly bulletins as well as writing and presenting updates. She has also presented the station's morning show Ireland AM and the weekly current affairs programme 20/20.
More than two-thirds of all households in Ireland will be able to receive the new Sky News service via cable/MMDS or satellite. It will mean that three companies - TV3, RTÉ and Sky - will be providing Irish television news.
RTÉ currently has far higher ratings for news than TV3 or Sky, but the arrival of the new Sky News service may pose a challenge to this dominance.
Sky News will be able insert Irish bulletins into its daily service. This means that viewers in Ireland will for a time get a different service to viewers in Britain. Viewers of digital television will be able to access the bulletins throughout the day, Sky said. The new service will be based in Dublin city centre.