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The Irish Sun

Inside mum-to-be Ireland AM star Siomha Ni Ruairc's rise to fame from defying critics to her ‘really bad' TV debut

SIOMHA Ni Ruarc has been in the showbiz world since she was just 14 and had many TV appearances before joining Ireland AM in 2023. From fronting Virgin Media's Ireland AM and hosting a chart-topping podcast to starting her TV career at just 14, Siomha has always been destined for success. 5 Siomha got hitched to her long-time love Cathal Pendred just last summer Credit: Instagram 5 Siomha and her hubby are expecting their first child together Credit: Instagram 5 Siomha said she will leave Ireland AM 'around Christmas time' for her maternity leave Credit: Instagram And just yesterday the star announced that she and her husband UFC fighter husband Cathal Pendred are Here's everything you need to know about the TV star's rise to fame. HUMBLE BEGINNINGS Siomha was born in Galway to her mum, Damhnait and dad, Dermott. The happy couple had three kids together; Siomha, Aedín and read more Siomha Ni ruairc She was raised in a Gaeilgeoir family, with the Irish language being central to her home. Siomha has admitted in the past that this made some people think her family was a bit different, but she grew very appreciative of it when she left school. However, the family only spent a short while in Galway before they uprooted and moved to Lucan in Dublin. And after she finished secondary school, Siomha went on to study Irish and music at Maynooth University. Most read in News TV After she graduated, she took up a full-time gig with Conradh na Gaeilge. However, Siomha never lost touch with her Connemara roots and has built her career off of promoting the Irish language - to great success. Ireland AM star enjoys honeymoon FIRST TV ROLE Early in 2008, Siomha first earmarked her TV debut as she along with her sister Una Siomha spoke about the experience on her podcast, How To Gael, saying: "But that's not even the worse part. "The worst part is, we were starting to sing and then Una came in on the piano and she started to sing and then she started to sing and play the piano and realised she was in the wrong key. "And they didn't let us go again and that's what they broadcast. We were also wearing neck ties, it was really bad." However, it seemingly never deterred the star from further exploring possible TV opportunities. EARLY CAREER And equipped with her Irish, musical abilities, Siomha soon made the transition into TV hosting. She began her professional career on TG4, where she presented the now defunct, An Ríl Deal. The show which first premiered in 2017, centred around seven Irish celebrities dancing to win €5,000 for their chosen charities. But when the reality TV show was brought back to the channel in 2020, Siomha was their first choice to present. Sadly the show's reboot only lasted for one season in 2020, before also being briefly resurrected in 2024 with Siomha presenting still. Following the success of An Ríl Deal in 2017, TG4 further branched out with their TV shows. MORE OPPORTUNITIES Réalta agus Gaolta premiered in 2017, just a year after Siomha made her debut on An Ríl Deal. The talent show set out with the aim to find Ireland's most talented families. Much like An Ríl Deal, Réalta agus Gaolta didn't last too long after its 2017 debut. However, a glimmering of hope for the show emerged in 2024 as it returned for one additional season with Siomha - but sadly hasn't been picked up for any further seasons... as of yet. BREAK-OUT PROJECT Outside of her presenting work, Siomha never drew the line at just promoting the Irish language as she infused her love for the teanga with pressing societal issues. In 2023, while juggling all her other projects, Siomha produced her own investigative documentary. The beautiful investigative documentary titled 'Síomha: Idir Anam Is Corp' (Síomha: Body and Soul) aired on TG4. The focus of documentary saw Ní Ruairc delve into the root of body issues experienced by women and young girls - all in Irish. The idea for the documentary came to Siomha, after she experienced an ABNORMAL backlash in 2021 after her decision to grow out her body hair. In the programme, Síomha recounted the pressures she felt growing up to look and feel a certain way, and how as she has gotten older, the once big concerns about her appearance and now a thing of the past. PERMANENT PRESENTER Following her debut documentary on TG4, the channel quickly spotted her ability to modernise the language and trusted her to front one of their major Irish TV shows. As TG4 moved with the times, hoping to attract younger viewers with their irish language Love Island, Gra ar an Tra, it was clear they only had one call to make. Siomha presented the first season of the show and IRELAND AM And her career's momentum only continued to ramp up when she stepped into the biggest shoes on morning TV, when she filled in for Muireann O'Connell on Ireland AM. In August 2023, Siomha briefly replaced Muireann while she was on holiday's up for the first time alongside Ray Foley as the pair both filled in for Muireann and Tommy Bowe. Her guest hosting stint went so well, that soon Siomha was instilled as a frequent co-host on the weekend supplement of the show. POPULAR PODCAST And as if all of her on-screen work wasn't impressive enough Siomha and two of her good pals host a chart-topping bilingual Irish podcast. How To Gael is hosted by Siomha, Louise Cantillion and Doireann Ní Ghlacain. The three hosts tackle various topics, with the conversations ranging from their personal lives to pressing matters with their hats transitioning between Gaeilge and English. 5 Siomha and her late sister had their TV debut as teens Credit: Instagram 5 Siomha Ni Ruairc, Grainne Seoige and James Kavanagh host Gra ar an Tra together Credit: Brian McEvoy