Muireann O'Connell: "I never thought I'd get married"

Ireland AM presenter Muireann O'Connell is known for her quick-wit and upbeat personality, traits that have made her popular with audiences. She talks to Janice Butler about the breakfast show celebrating 25 years on air, why she’s a natural worrier and why she’s not rushing down the aisle.

You might think TV presenter Muireann O’Connell would be in her element in front of the photographer's camera for our cover shoot, but she admits to feeling awkward at shoots.

"I find it the most uncomfortable thing in the world to be in front of a camera like that for photos. I absolutely hate it," she says in her characteristically straightforward manner.

"I find it absolutely unnatural; it’s the worst part of the job," she laughs. "I won’t even be able to look back at them. I don’t even like watching myself back on screen, especially not on a three-hour show. I’m like 'I was there the first time around’, adds the Ireland AM co-presenter.

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Ireland AM celebrated 25 years of broadcasting in August. The show first aired on September 20, 1999, and now, original co-host Alan Hughes takes to the sofa with Muireann and Tommy Bowe.

Ireland AM is the only home-produced breakfast show on Irish TV. It originally aired from 7am to 9am. Through the years, the presenters have changed; with the likes of Sinead Desmond, Karen Koster, Claire Byrne and Aidan Cooney getting up at the crack of dawn. The show’s durability is such a rare thing in the telly world nowadays; Muireann says this is because it has always resonated with its audience.

"Life is multi-faceted and the great thing with Ireland AM is it’s with people through everything, from the serious to the sublime. It’s important to have something like that on TV.

"I know I’m working on it now but when I think of Ireland AM, I think of Mark Cagney and Alan and Amanda Byram or Claire Byrne. All the people that have been there before me. These people took on this show when it had never been done in Ireland before and now it’s going 25 years and I think that’s amazing. Not to sound glib, but it’s a genuine privilege to be a part of it now and its history; I remember watching it before going to school," she adds.

She joined it in 2021, after a shake-up at Virgin Media saw her move to mornings from her previous role on the Six O’Clock Show with Martin King. She remarks that she felt instantly at home with her new co-presenters Tommy and Alan.

"We pretty much clicked straight away. I met Tommy the day before we went live and I’d known Alan for a little while. I didn’t know him well, but from day one it just made sense, we clicked. It feels like a family. We argue about things all the time: Tommy and I would totally disagree on stuff and then Alan is like the older brother rolling his eyes at us," she laughs. "We found that groove very quickly."

Was she nervous to join such an established show? "Oh God yes, it’s a beast of a show and it’s going to be around long after me. I just kept thinking ‘How has this happened?’ But I adore it."

Audiences like Muireann’s openness and honesty, regardless of the topic. "I know I can seem brash on the television, but I don’t think I’m as brash in real life," she explains. She admits, however, that she no longer shares her opinions on social media, explaining that it was having a negative impact on her.

"I made a very conscious decision a few years ago about online life. I would have been very outspoken on social media, but it just wasn’t worth it. I couldn’t do my job and do that too, so online is just for fun for me now. I don’t live on there with my opinion or beliefs any more because it just isn’t real and it’s all consuming."

Does she ever regret things she says on air? "I say stuff I regret, all the time," she laughs, "because you’re live and in the moment. I’ll say something in an interview and go ‘Why did I say that, I’m an eejit’ and I’ll be trying to shake it off."

She admits to being an over-thinker but adds that her co-presenters Tommy and Alan have helped her not to dwell on things. "I dwell on everything, and the two lads are brilliant for me for that. Even though they think I haven’t gotten any better, I am way better than I used to be. They say ‘Get over it, move on’ and I’ve tried my best to take that on board. I over-think everything and it’s exhausting," she says.

To de-stress, she watches "cat and dog videos" and exercises. "Exercise works and it’s annoying because you don’t want to do it but afterwards you feel 100 times better. The head is clearer, and things are put in perspective."

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Muireann lives with her fiancé Philip Manzor, who she affectionately calls ‘the housemate’ on her social media as he likes to stay anonymous. The pair got engaged in 2021 but the idea of getting married doesn’t seem to be a top priority for Muireann or indeed, something she ever saw for herself.

"There’s no plans. I’ve never planned a thing in my life," she admits. "I wish I had a better answer for that but no, there’s nothing planned. I never thought I’d get married. I don’t see myself as a bride, I genuinely don’t know why, but it’s just something I never saw for myself. I’m sure we’ll get around to it at some point," she says.

"We’re both the youngest siblings in our families and that’s a disaster; you’ve got two people who never really had to make decisions in their lives," she laughs. "We’re evidence that you need someone who has a bit of decisiveness in the relationship. The youngest in the family is pampered and things are decided for them, so putting two youngest together is a disaster," she adds.

The couple have been house hunting for a number of years, but are caught up in the same rat race as every other first-time buyer in Ireland and struggling to get on the property ladder. "It’s ongoing. We’re just very bad at it. There’s been times where we’ve gone sale agreed but it’s fallen through. But it took us a long time to get on the same page with viewing properties and deciding what we want. There’s a lot of people out there who are going through the exact same thing," she says of their situation.

"It does take a lot out of you because the houses are going for thousands and thousands above the asking price. But we’re in a fortunate position: we don’t have kids and don’t have to move in with our parents to save for a house, which a lot of people are having to do now. There’s people who have it so much worse," she adds.

Her native Limerick has a very special place in her heart, with her mother Marie a minor celebrity herself in the city, thanks to regular appearances on Muireann’s Instagram. "She does get noticed a bit in the shopping centre now, from being on my page and she thinks it’s a bit mad," she laughs. "She’s a nurse in Limerick so half the population know her there anyhow from her job," she says.

Her dad, Brendan, passed away in 2021 after a battle with cancer. Muireann says she wishes she had his carefree approach to life; his passing has made her appreciate the fragility of existence.

"He was a great man for a whistle and move on. Dad and I had a conversation that we’re all going to be dead someday so we may as well have a bit of craic along the way. I try to live by that because you can get too tied up in everything and take everything on. You have to find the craic amongst it all."

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Audiences were introduced to Muireann through the airwaves first, before she made her move to television. Having carved out a radio career in Spin South West, Phantom and then 98FM, Muireann moved to the national airwaves with her lunch time show on Today FM. In 2019, that gig ended suddenly and she moved full-time to her slot on Virgin Media’s Six O’Clock Show and the rest is history, with radio in the rearview mirror. That’s until she was asked to fill in on Q102 back in April for Ryan Tubridy on his mid-morning show.

She admits that it felt totally out of her comfort zone, even though she had worked in radio for 12 years. "It was so weird, it just felt a bit alien for something that I’d done for so long. It was like my phone voice went on and I was like ‘Why am I speaking like this?’ I was so rusty," she says.

Did she enjoy it? "Kind of," she answers after a pause. "I find it quite anxiety inducing. Maybe if I had been sitting there with a couple of people to chat to, it would have been fine, but when it’s just you, speaking into the mic, it felt very weird."

Could she have been enticed back? "No, it didn’t ignite a want to go back to radio. I’m very happy in the TV gig that I have, I absolutely love it."