Gráinne Seoige facts for kids

Gráinne Seoige (born 5 November 1973) is an Irish journalist and TV presenter. She is known for presenting news and entertainment shows. Gráinne is a big supporter of the Irish language.

She is the only TV personality to have worked for all four main Irish TV channels. These are TG4, TV3, RTÉ One, and RTÉ2. She also read the very first news reports on three different channels: TG4, TV3, and Sky News Ireland.

Gráinne was a candidate for the Fianna Fáil political party. She ran in the 2024 Irish general election for the Galway West area. However, she was not elected.

Early Life and Education

Gráinne Seoige was born in Spiddal, a town in County Galway. She is the oldest of four children. Her parents are Philomena and Mairtín Seoige. Gráinne's younger sister, Síle, is also a TV presenter.

Gráinne grew up in Galway. She went to Mercy Convent, Spiddal for school. Later, she studied at University College Galway (UCG). She earned a degree in English, Sociology, and Political Science. After that, she completed another course at UCG. This course was a Higher Diploma in Applied Communications for Television and Radio, taught in Irish.

Broadcasting Career Highlights

Gráinne Seoige has had a long career in television. She has worked for many different channels.

Starting at TG4 and TV3

Gráinne began her TV career on 31 October 1996. This was when Teilifís na Gaeilge (now TG4) first started. She presented the 10pm news bulletin. She worked at TG4 until 1998.

Then, she moved to TV3. She helped launch TV3 as a news anchor. She presented the 5:30pm News and 6:30pm News. She also hosted News Tonight. Gráinne also produced, wrote, and presented news updates. Sometimes, she presented Ireland AM, TV3's breakfast show. She was on air for over seven hours during the 9/11 terror attacks.

Working at Sky News

On 10 May 2004, Gráinne moved to Sky News Ireland. She presented news reports from their main offices. She anchored many programmes between midnight and noon.

Time at RTÉ

In 2006, Gráinne joined RTÉ, Ireland's main national broadcaster.

• From 2006 to 2009, she co-presented a chat show called Seoige. She hosted it with her sister Síle.
• From 2011 to 2016, she co-presented the series Crimecall.
• She also hosted the People of the Year Awards in 2008.
• She co-presented the Up for the Match sports specials in 2008.
• Gráinne presented The All Ireland Talent Show from 2009 to 2011.
• She also hosted the sports quiz show, Put 'Em Under Pressure.

Gráinne also presented documentary series for RTÉ. These included Gráinne Seoige's Modern Life in 2011. She also presented Great Irish Journeys, which looked at Ireland during the Great Famine. Gráinne speaks Irish very well. She often appears on Tell Me a Story on RTÉjr. On this show, she tells stories in Irish.

In 2022, Gráinne took part in Dancing With the Stars. She danced with professional dancer John Nolan. They finished in 8th place in the competition.

Working for ITV and BBC One

In 2010, Gráinne appeared regularly on British channel ITV. She was a presenter on the breakfast show GMTV. She also worked as a features editor on Daybreak. She covered news from Ireland and around the world.

In 2011, she appeared on the BBC One series That's Britain. She covered topics like crowded trains and energy prices.

Personal Life

Gráinne Seoige has one son. He was born when she was 20 years old. In 2002, Gráinne married Stephen Cullinane. He was a former colleague from TV3. They divorced in 2010.

In 2007, NUI Galway honored Gráinne. She received an Alumni Award for her work supporting the Irish language.

Gráinne announced her engagement to Leon Jordaan in 2014. He is a South African businessman and former rugby coach. In 2016, Gráinne moved to Pretoria, South Africa. There, she started a business selling special diamonds. Gráinne and Leon Jordaan got married in December 2019.