UTV Ireland has announced the appointment of Mary Regan as Political Editor. She joins UTV Ireland from the Irish Examiner, where she spent eight years reporting on the front line of Irish and international politics.
The appointment of Mary follows other appointments by UTV Ireland over the past couple of months such as Chris Donoghue as News Anchor, Paul Colgan as Economics Editor and Mick McCaffrey as News Editor.
Mary Curtis, Head of Channel at UTV Ireland, said: ‘Mary is an award winning journalist with a reputation for robust, independent reporting and incisive analysis. From the outset, our goal for UTV Ireland has been to create a strong and competitive news service and we have recruited some of the best journalists and reporters in the Irish broadcasting industry. With just under two months until launch, all the pieces are coming together. We have just taken ownership of our state-of-the-art headquarters and studios and our full news team is preparing for launch. Mary will be a great addition to the team and I am delighted to welcome her to UTV Ireland.’
Born in Galway, Mary began her professional career as a reporter for RTÉ – moving into politics as a weekly columnist for Village Magazine. She joined the Irish Examiner in 2006, where she reported on a number of historic events, including the bank guarantee, the IMF bailout, the collapse of the Cowen Government and the 2011 Presidential Election. Mary has also covered events at the European Parliament and European Council meetings, as well as writing about human rights and other political issues from Cuba, Ethiopia and Uganda.
Marcus Lehnen, UTV Ireland’s Head of News, said: ‘Mary is a renowned and respected political journalist and commentator. Her expertise and understanding of the Irish and international political landscape will be a huge asset to UTV Ireland’s news offering. With the vast majority of our news team now in place, we are undergoing training and simulation exercises, with extremely positive results. We have been working behind the scenes to create a unique offering for our news programmes, and the wide-ranging experience that each of our journalists brings, will enable us to do that. I am delighted to welcome Mary to the team.’
In the past year, Mary has been credited for her reporting on the withdrawal of discretionary medical cards from people with serious illnesses, and whistleblower allegations surrounding Garda misconduct. She was awarded Young Journalist of the Year, at the GSK Media Awards, for her investigation into the extent and availability of ‘legal highs’ – a story which ultimately culminated in the introduction of new European laws. In 2012, Mary was also invited to Washington DC, by the US State Department, to take part in the highly prestigious International Visitor Leadership Programme, for emerging young leaders.
UTV Ireland will broadcast an early-evening news programme, ‘Ireland Live’, which will deliver breaking news from across the country. ‘Ireland Live at 10’, broadcasting weekdays from 10pm to 11pm, will provide the latest in breaking news and current affairs – as well as expert commentary and topical debate on domestic and international issues.
UTV Ireland, Ireland’s newest television channel, will launch on January 1st 2015. For further information, go to www.utv.ie.
