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The Irish Sun
12-08-2025
- Climate
- The Irish Sun
‘Leaving the role I loved was a terrible trauma' – Former RTE star lifts lid on real reason she quit station
The TV star told how she experienced a 'steady deterioration in working conditions' JO'S DONE 'Leaving the role I loved was a terrible trauma' – Former RTE star lifts lid on real reason she quit station EX-RTE star Joanna Donnelly has opened up about the "devastating" end to her role at Met Eireann. Meteorologist Joanna Donnelly left her forecasting role in Met Eireann back in April claiming it was a "very, very tough decision". 2 Joanna Donnelly quit her role in Met Eireann in April 2025 Credit: RTE 2 Joanna has admitted she left the station due to 'chronic stress and fatigue' At the time, Joanna confessed that she left the station as she felt it was the "right move" for herself and her family. However, in a recent interview with the Irish Independent, the 54-year-old revealed she took a step back from her role due to "chronic stress and fatigue". The Dublin native told how she had excellent colleagues at Met Eireann. But noted how their were too many restrictions in workplace which even extended to her volunteer work in the community. This included having to ask for permission every time she visited a school to talk to students about science. She said: "It started out that I had to ask for permission if I was to appear in the media in an area unrelated to my job. My initial interpretation was that if there was no conflict of interest with my work as a weather forecaster, then it shouldn't matter." Joanna explained how she experienced a "steady deterioration in working conditions" as the station eroded simple things in which her team took for granted. This included a fixed rotating roster that was "predictable, fair and balanced". After years of built-up stress, Donnelly noticed herself getting hit by a wave of "chronic fatigue". She remarked: "I am a usually fit and healthy person. I run, I swim, I cycle everywhere and I do a daily yoga practice. I don't smoke and I only drink to excess at book club. RTE release new trailer for The Traitors Ireland and reveal date it will hit screens - and it's sooner that you think "I blamed Covid. I blamed post-Covid. I blamed post-viral infections. I blamed menopause. In fact, I mostly blamed menopause." Joanna told how she spent a "fortune" at the doctors who took blood tests to try and "unearth what was wrong". She added: "No one ever suspected it could have been that I was stressed. Why would I have been stressed by a job that I loved, that inspired me and, even better, allowed me to inspire others?" Donnelly said that being employed by Met Eireann was her dream job and that she never imagined she would leave it. 'THIS IS NOT RIGHT' The TV star continued: "Nobody else could imagine me leaving either, and I think that was part of the problem. I kept saying, 'You can't do this. This is not right.' "But they thought 'What is she going to do?' It is very hard to leave. I was traumatised." Joanna went on to say that while it was scary to think about re-entering the job market in her 50s, she knew she had made the correct decision in leaving. And Met Eireann recently made a statement indicating that it was unable to comment on what Donnelly had said about her time there. The department clarified in the Sunday Independent: "Met Eireann, the Irish National Meteorological Service, is a line division of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. "As an employer, the department has a duty to its employees not to disclose any information of a personal nature and accordingly, the department does not comment on any matters related to individual members of staff. "As a Division of a Civil Service Department, all employees of Met Eireann are civil servants."
The Irish Sun
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘I know the feeling', cry fans as Donncha O'Callaghan has Ryan Tubridy in stitches with hilarious fatherhood experience
EX-RTE star Donncha O'Callaghan left Ryan Tubridy in stitches after he shared his honest reaction to fatherhood. The star sat down with Advertisement 2 Donncha O'Callaghan appeared on Ryan Tubridy's podcast 2 Donncha joked about his experience with fatherhood The former Irish The Irish host told Tubridy that even though he is well used to being a hands-on dad, it wasn't always so easy. The 46-year-old confessed: "I remember when we brought Sophie home for the first time and I'll never forget the door closing. Advertisement READ MORE IN DONNCHA "I just looked over at Jenny and was like, 'Oh my God, here we go'." Ryan humorously jumped in and remarked: "Where's the manual?" Donncha hysterically replied: "Exactly, I'm like we got something with the air fryer but we have nothing with Sophie." Tubridy burst into a fit of laughter at the star's honest remark. Advertisement Most read in News TV The ex- To which Donncha added: "And there is only three buttons." RTE star bids emotional goodbye on air Fans were all left laughing at the radio host's comments online. Carmel exclaimed: "Donners is hilarious." Advertisement Simon added: "Great to see you both all smiles." While Noel remarked: "Love this!" And Daithi wrote: "I know the feeling ha!" This comes after Donncha recently revealed that "fatigue" from working on radio caused him to develop Advertisement DON WITH IT The popular presenter was among five leading stars who left the RTE station last summer. The The host had followed in the footsteps of Doireann, Looking back on his time on 2FM, Donncha told : "I started wearing glasses two years into Breakfast because I thought at the age of 46, my eyesight was going a little bit. Advertisement 'TIME TO MOVE ON' "But what I actually realised was that it was just fatigue." The dad-of-four revealed that within two weeks of leaving the radio show, he found that he didn't need to wear glasses anymore. He added: "My eyeballs didn't feel like they were burning as much." The Cork native confessed that he was "grateful" for the opportunity to host on such a beloved radio programme. Advertisement However, he admitted: "It was time to move on and look to something else I'm busy out with the podcast with Tommy Bowe and doing a few kids' books, which is a bit of fun."
