7 minute read
A REAL LADY
A stalwart of Irish television with a celebrated career spanning more than four decades, Mary Kennedy is the perfect ambassador for the island she calls home. Meg Walker catches up with the ever-graceful presenter to talk about her latest TV series and podcast, life as a grandmother and why time with loved ones is precious.
It’s been 47-years since Mary Kennedy began her career at RTÉ. Since 1978, she has presented various television programmes for the Irish national broadcaster and received accolades for her outstanding work, most recently receiving the Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) Lifetime Achievement Award. Following her retirement from RTÉ, six years ago, her career has continued to flourish, with projects that have brought joy and inspiration and introduced her to countless people whose stories have fascinated her.
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I catch Mary in between filming the fourth season of Moving West, a television series produced by Dundara Television and Media in partnership with the Western Development Commission for Irish TV station TG4 that tells the stories of people who’ve made the decision to relocate to the West of Ireland.
This series sees Mary visiting Donegal, Leitrim, Roscommon, Galway and Clare. At the time of our chat, she’s in Sligo, looking out her window at the imposing flat-topped mountain, Benbulben. Every story is special but Mary points to one in particular this season that really struck her – that of Syrian-born refugee Abdul Ahmad, who lives in Carndonagh on the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal, working as a beekeeper. There have been other memorable episodes over the last few years, too. “I love islands,” she says. “We filmed one on Arranmore off the coast of Donegal. It was a couple – she’s American and he’s French; he was working with the French embassy, and she was working with a publishing house in New York. They had two teenage boys who were perfectly happy on Arranmore, and the whole family were totally settled there. I found it invigorating, the fact that they can continue their professional lives but enjoy the tranquility and vibrancy of that island. We did another episode on Inis Mór in the Aran Islands with my sister [Deirdre] who lives there, along with other interesting residents. I just love the courage of people who up sticks and say, ‘This is our forever home.’”
The programme first sparked off the back of the pandemic, when a lot of people were re-evaluating their work-life balance, and relocating to be closer to nature. But since the first season, Moving West has had no shortage of remarkable stories to shine a spotlight on and, the show has evolved from a post-Covid relocation trend to something far more enduring. “A lot of these people simply appreciate the different pace of life. They’re not motivated by money or an urban lifestyle, they see the value of the earth, the sea, the land and being rooted in the West of Ireland, I think that’s very special.”
Kennedy also co-hosts the podcast, Changing Times – The Allenwood Conversations with another beloved Irish Mary, former President of Ireland Mary McAleese. Listening to it, you can hear just how much the two Marys love talking to people. In season two, the pair interviewed one another.
“I told her that I was absolutely petrified to be sharing a microphone with her, with her being such a huge intellect, with a wide range of knowledge and insight into so many different areas of life. And then, when I was interviewing her, she said, ‘The truth of the matter is that I was petrified, because I wouldn’t consider myself a professional broadcaster.’ I think we complement each other, and what we’ve built from doing the podcast together is a deep friendship, where we’re looking out for each other. Mary is very kind and we have each other’s back. We also have great laughs.”
She reflects briefly on her time presenting the long-running RTÉ television series Nationwide, which she worked on for 15-years before stepping away from the show in 2019. “I used to get into the car to go to a new location with a sense of anticipation and excitement. And the same is true of Moving West but also with the podcast. Some of the people we speak to I would have worked with or met in the past, others Mary would have met; the ones I’ve introduced to the podcast, I’d be really excited for her to meet. And we’ve had a wonderful time. The first thing we say to people when they come in is, ‘Now, this is a chat.’ We always have coffee and tea. It’s a conversation. There are no scalpels. That puts people at ease.”
When she’s not filming, Mary is often in Dublin, enjoying her home in Knocklyon, where she downsized to three years ago. “I used to live in a five-bedroom house with a huge wraparound garden, and just after I retired from RTÉ, I realised it was at a stage where it needed work. I wanted a smaller house but to stay in the same area. I moved less than a kilometre up the road. I love my home. I love gardening, cooking, and having people in for something to eat. I still have my friends from the old cul-de-sac and now I’m surrounded by young couples with small babies who are starting their gardens, and they ask me for advice. I’m a big advocate for intergenerational relationships – I think both younger people and older people can learn a lot from each other.”
The relationships she nurtures most, of course, are those closest to her. “I have five grandchildren and a sixth grandchild on the way. I was saying to somebody recently, when my kids were small [she has four grown children – Eva, Tom, Eoin and Lucy] I had time to take piano lessons and be in a book club and do this and that, play tennis but I seem to have less time now. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s because an extra layer has been added to my life with the next generation. I have three grandchildren in Limerick and I love visiting them. I have one granddaughter around the corner from me and another granddaughter in Rathcoole. It’s very precious; that time. I also love visiting my sister in Inis Mór. A lot of people say to me, ‘Would you move west yourself?’ I love the west but the pull of my children and grandchildren is too strong. I’ll always be around them. I find it hard enough with three grandchildren in Limerick.”
Christmas is a time Mary cherishes. “What makes the season special to me is having friends and family around. I grew up in a house where my aunt, uncle and their three children lived next door and we always had Christmas together. My brother, John and I (there are two years in age between us) continued that tradition when we had children. So, one year it’s in my house and the next it’s in John’s, and my other brother, who lives in Skerries, would come over.”
“I love the build-up to Christmas,” she enthuses, “where you’re meeting friends for lunch or coffee or champagne. And all the decorations … it takes me two days to put them all up. I have Santas, teddy bears, snowmen, lights in the garden and a real Christmas tree. I gave some to my children when I was downsizing, so now I love going to their homes and seeing decorations that may be 30-years old. I love making the cake and pudding. It’s very traditional; turkey and ham, my mother’s stuffing and celery in a cheese sauce. I used to present the Christmas Carols programme on RTÉ and that would kick off the festive period for me. My sister Deirdre always comes up to stay and we’d go to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, come back and have a Baileys and cooked ham. I love all of that,” she gushes.
Having celebrated her 70th birthday last October, Mary’s perspectives on life have naturally evolved. Full of life and exuding grace and elegance, Kennedy is as wise and eloquent as she is polished.
“It’s not all a bed of roses,” she asserts. “I have my ups and downs. I continue to see a counsellor. I find that important. I think mental health is just as important as physical health and to go [to therapy] in the good times as well as the bad. This nurtures your whole wellbeing and gives you a sense of perspective. I love people. I like to have fun and I just try to be as positive as possible.”
When I ask if she has any advice to share with her younger self, she’s quick with a response. “When my children were small and I was working, when I’d get home, if they were happy and quiet, I might go off and fill the washing machine, empty the dishwasher or get the clothes ready for the next day. And what I often say to the young couples in my estate is, ‘don’t do that’. If your children are playing with their Lego, sit down with them. I see it now with my grandchildren. Those moments are so precious and they don’t last. The years fly by.”
Travel is something she also makes time for. Last February she and her sister went to India and Mary also led a group on the Camino, something she’s planning to do again in 2026 with the Portuguese route. For her 70th, she took a Mediterranean cruise with family. Her television career has taken her to every corner of Ireland and back again but, Mary insists it never gets old.
“I love west Kerry, the Gaeltacht past Dingle, because that’s where I learned my Irish. There’s a great buzz in Galway. Limerick, the Clare Glens, Kilkee and Donegal. I have a very good friend there in Noel Cunningham and I’d visit the Sliabh Liag and Inishowen. I just love the west coast. I’m in a walking group with Mary McAleese and we’ve gone to the Glens of Antrim and the Giant’s Causeway. There are very few places I’ve yet to explore. What I love most is the welcome you get when you go anywhere [on the island of Ireland]. There are two things that define Irish people: one is hospitality and community, and the other is compassion because anywhere you go in the world, where there are people in need, you’ll find Irish people. I think that’s something we should take great pride in.”
Catch up on Moving West on TG4 Player, tg4.ie. Changing Times – The Allenwood Conversations is available to listen to on major podcast platforms.
