PoliticsAnalysis

Who is Evanne Ní Chuilinn? From RTÉ sports broadcaster to Fine Gael Senator

The former RTÉ sports broadcaster is one of Fine Gael’s five nominees for the Seanad

Evanne Ní Chuilinn has played a central role in RTÉ‘s coverage of the biggest sporting occasions
Evanne Ní Chuilinn has played a central role in RTÉ‘s coverage of the biggest sporting occasions
Conor Pope's picture
Conor Pope
Sat Feb 08 2025 - 14:04
Why is RTÉ sports broadcaster Evanne Ní Chuilinn in the news this weekend?

Because she is no longer RTÉ sports broadcaster Evanne Ní Chuilinn and will henceforth be known as Senator Evanne Ní Chuilinn having just resigned from the national broadcaster following her nomination as one of Fine Gael’s five nominees to the upper house of the Oireachtas.

So, who is she?

Well if you have watched any sport on RTÉ over the last two decades you probably have some idea, but let’s let the Tánaiste Simon Harris answer that question in more detail. “She is an accomplished broadcaster, journalist and author, but also a passionate advocate for women in sport, mental health and women’s healthcare.” That is what he said when the news of her nomination to the Seanad emerged on Friday afternoon.

And what else do we know about her?

She studied communications in DCU before doing a journalism postgraduate diploma in the University of Galway or NUIG as it would have been know then.

And after that?

She started her professional career in journalism with TG4. The 43-year-old then joined RTÉ in 2004, first as a researcher before moving on to present sports news bulletins. Within a couple of years she was a regular on the nation’s television screens, first working on OB Sports – with its focus on so-called minority sports – and then as a reporter with the Sunday Game. In 2008 she joined the RTÉ News team as a sports reporter before becoming a sports presenter on the Six-One News.

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That’s a pretty impressive CV, right?

That was only the starting point though. In more recent years, Ní Chuilinn has played a central role in RTÉ‘s coverage of the biggest sporting occasions. She was at the helm for the Women’s World Cup in 2023 and the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics and without a doubt is – or was – one of the most pre-eminent sports broadcasters in the country.

Anything else?

Yes, the Kilkenny native is also the author of The Great Irish Book of Gaelic games – something she knows a thing or two about having played camogie for most of her life as well as the odd turn on the football pitch.

What about her life outside of work?

She is married to Brian Fitzsimons and has three children – two sons Séimí and Teidí and a daughter Peigí. She has spoken openly about the IVF journey she and her husband embarked upon ahead of the birth of her third child and made a highly regarded documentary about adoption which was, in part, about her own personal journey having been adopted at six-months-old. She has also spoken about how her brother Cormac died by suicide aged of 29 in 2013 after years of struggling with depression.

What can we expect from her as a senator?

It is probably too early to say, but she is an excellent communicator and accomplished broadcaster, so Ní Chuilinn is unlikely to be one of the shrinking violets of the upper chamber of the Oireachtas.