Claire Byrne can pinpoint the moment she decided to walk away from her eponymous TV show announcement earlier this year.
My husband said very little about it. But he was saying his one thing next.But we’re here, so we need to get you out on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, and you’ll be back with us on Wednesday. [when the workload of her Monday night TV show would slow down each week]But whatever makes you happy, go and do it.
“I realized that if you do a TV show five nights a week, your family will say, ‘That’s fine.’ But it means something. It changes the dynamics of your life.”
For seven years, the presenter tried to “get it all.” She had a television show every Monday night in addition to a radio show that aired every Monday to Friday from 10am to 12pm. And she has done it all while being the mother of three young children in her home.
When we meet for coffee in Donnybrook, Dublin, she outlines what would have been a typical work week: waking up before 6am Monday to Friday and riding her bike from her home in Wicklow. , arrive at your desk before 7am, 5 days a week. Then she said she spent her family time “winding up like a tightly wound spring” on Sunday and “worried” about the next night’s show production.
It was a rating winner, regularly going viral and garnering a 30% market share. But it came at a price.
“My kids admit I was gone before they woke up each morning. I never accepted that I had to walk out the door at midnight.
“Every time I left the house on Monday she cried. Every time. It broke my heart. She is 5 and starts school next week.”
Claire decided to interview RTÉ Guide last November and revealed her fatigue. “I was letting people know they had to give something,” she said.
She then held two meetings with RTÉ bosses, including John Williams, managing director of news and current affairs at the time.
“The answer that came back was ‘slots are slots’. And I understand the argument. There are three TV slots for news and current affairs. That slot and two people.” prime time slot. And my head isn’t big enough to think that I can only take one of the other slots. ”
Considering the negotiations on the RTÉ side, she is generous. She said, “Just because it didn’t fit the presenters, it wasn’t their talent to change it.”
video of the day
Couldn’t they have worked something out? “You could argue that, but they didn’t — and that’s fine. So that puts me in a situation where I have to make a decision. big phone.
“My guess is that it was not expected at RTÉ. .”
Did she offer an alternative?
“Not much. Couldn’t say claire burn live On a day like this, you should go out at a time like this. It was up to RTÉ to figure it out. I felt like there was no place else and nothing would come back. No one said to me, “Here’s what we can do instead.”
Had RTÉ found a solution, would she have continued? “Yes, to be honest, I probably would have. claire burn live brand. I think it’s a shame. But I cannot influence their decisions. I’m not naive about how TV schedules work. If I thought they were going to move something to save something, but ultimately didn’t, I would be wrong.
“So what I am telling you is that I was prepared for the outcome. Whether they have RTÉ is a problem for them, I don’t know how they feel about it.”
A month after her decision, Williams announced she was leaving the station. Claire says “I don’t know” if it will change the situation.
“If I were RTÉ, I would probably lose and regret it. claire burn live brand. Because I think it was a good show and I think the audience liked it. So the program may come back to life in another place or another way. ”
Earlier this month, tennis champion Serena Williams announced her retirement from the sport, saying, “I never had to choose between tennis and my family.” Williams said: I will play and win ”
I asked Claire if she would have this conversation if she was a man. “I don’t know the answer. All I know is that I wanted to spend time with my kids.
“My mother wasn’t working, so dinner was ready every day, and when I came home from school, she was lighting the fire. I’m working. [outside the home] I want to do it to some extent.
“I don’t know what men did in my position. But do you know this argument that women can have it all? I always flipped it in my head — “You have it all and you are away from it”.
“But now I think it’s more important to have choices. There’s the next generation coming, women in their 30s, so you don’t have to do everything. Do what works for you, what works for you.” please give me.
“Sometimes I think ‘getting it all’ means doing everything that other people want and expect from you. I absolutely love my job and the show I had to go through a period of time to realize that I loved to play, but that regime didn’t make me happy.
It’s fitting to meet her father, Tom, on his 87th birthday. He passed away last June, and when Claire wanted to feel his presence, she went home to the Lee family and sat on her bed to say her final goodbyes, prompting her to rethink her life. What happened was the death of her father.
“Maybe after he died, I felt a little bit more freedom to make decisions. I know he’s worried about me moving away from something. claire burn live. He always worked hard. he never stopped. There was no doubt that I was tired. What are holidays? He taught us all to work hard. It doesn’t hurt to realize that you don’t have to push at 120 mph all the time. You can also hit the brakes. ”
Does she want to return to TV next year? “I think it will probably happen.
“Some people see me as just a ‘current affairs presenter,’ but I do all sorts of things on the radio show, so I think there’s a lot of potential there. ”
I have strong feelings for the next presenter of The Late Late Show Become a woman. Is it something that might pique her interest? She says it’s “kind of rude” to suggest that you want someone else’s job when the other person is still sitting in the chair.
“People think everyone has to achieve their goals. late late But I think it’s better to invent something new yourself than to aim for something that already exists. ”
Today Claire Byrne airs on RTÉ Radio 1 every weekday from 10am to 12pm
