Famous Irish Media Personalities

Irish television and radio presenter, comedian, and actor, Graham Norton, is an eight-time BAFTA TV Award winner. He is best known for his comedy chat show The Graham Norton Show. His innuendo-laden dialogue and flamboyant presentation style have made him a fan favorite. He is openly gay and is the winner of one Gaytime Award.

Once the face of Irish boy band Westlife, Brian McFadden later went solo. Starting his career with live pop-RnB gigs in Dublin clubs, he later mastered soft rock, too. He was a judge on Australia's Got Talent and also participated in shows such as Dancing on Ice and The Jump.

Reality TV star Vogue Williams soared to fame with the show Fade Street. Initially a DJ, Vogue had also worked for Stellar magazine. She later won Bear Grylls: Mission Survive. She also once launched her own fitness bootcamp. Vogue is married to TV personality Spencer Matthews.

Irish radio and TV broadcaster, Terry Wogan, is remembered for his long career with BBC. For over 15 years, his weekday breakfast program, Wake Up to Wogan, drew in millions of listeners. At the peak of his career, he was probably the most listened-to radio broadcaster in Europe.  He was inducted into the Radio Academy Hall of Fame in 2009.

Louis Walsh is an Irish TV personality and music manager. In the 1990s and 2000s, Walsh managed three of Ireland's most prominent pop acts— Westlife, Boyzone, and Johnny Logan. A controversial personality, Louis Walsh has been accused of sexual harassment and making homophobic comments in the past.

Though he initially studied math, Dara Ó Briain later began his entertainment career as an RTE children’s show presenter and later soared to fame as a stand-up comedian. He is known for his signature style of saying “eh” at the end of his jokes. He has also penned columns and books.

Best known for his long stints as a presenter of shows such as GMTV, This Morning, and Sky News Sunrise, Irish journalist Eamonn Holmes has also campaigned for animal welfare and Alzheimer’s awareness. He has also appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and hosted game shows such as The Rich List.

Irish author, director, and broadcaster Conor Woodman is best known for hosting the TV show Around the World in 80 Trades. Starting his career as a financial analyst, he eventually became an investigative journalist. With time, he branched out into film-making as well. Also a fiction writer, he is planning to launch a novel series soon.

Una Healy initially rose to fame as part of the 5-member girl group The Saturdays. The Irish singer is the niece of country music star Declan Nerney. A talented swimmer, she gave up the sport at 13 to switch to music. She has also scored solo hits such as Stay My Love.  

Once part of the popular Irish boy band Westlife, Nicky Byrne was initially a professional football player who was part of the Republic of Ireland junior team and the FA Youth Cup-winning team of Leeds United. He later also participated in shows such as Strictly Come Dancing.

Renowned English comedian Paddy McGuinness initially rose to fame with his appearances on the shows of Peter Kay, whom he knew since school. Known for his Bolton accent, he popularized the character Paddy O'Shea on shows such as Max & Paddy's Road to Nowhere. His wife and three kids are all autistic.

Irish singer Imelda May, who has released chart-topping albums such as Love Tattoo, is also a talented multi-instrumentalist, well-versed in a wide range of instruments such as the guitar, the bodhrán, the tambourine. She also became a published poet with her volume A Lick and a Promise.

Best known as part of the Irish family band The Corrs, singer Sharon Corr is equally talented in instruments such as the violin and the guitar. Born to musician parents, she began playing for orchestras as a child. She opened up about her social anxiety disorder through her solo album.

Veronica Guerin wasn’t just one of the most popular crime journalists of Ireland but also represented her country in both basketball and football. Her articles revolved around Irish drug lords and criminals, and she was eventually murdered by kingpin John Gilligan’s men while driving on the outskirts of Dublin.

Irish presenter Angela Scanlon started her career as a journalist and fashion expert, working for publications such as Grazia and Tatler. She later switched to TV with the documentary Oi Ginger! She later co-hosted The One Show, filling in for Alex Jones, who was on maternity leave.

Popular Irish DJ and presenter Annie Mac made headlines when she quit BBC Radio 1 after a 17-year stint to take care of her children and focus on writing and podcasting. Known for hosting shows such as BBC Switch, she later also curated a music festival and wrote the bestselling book Mother Mother.

Apart from being a qualified barrister, Mary McAleese also taught criminal law at the Trinity College and also worked as a journalist. She later joined Fianna Fáil and soon became Ireland’s second female president. She has also written several books, including an autobiography. She is known as a prominent LGBT activist.

One of Ireland’s best-known TV and radio presenters, Ryan Tubridy soared to fame with the radio show The Full Irish and then with The Ryan Tubridy Show. His talk shows revolve around Irish culture and politics. He has also penned several books, such as The Irish Are Coming and JFK in Ireland.

Irish TV presenter Donal Skehan is not just popular for his food and cooking shows such as Follow Donal, but is also a well-known YouTuber. Known for his award-winning cookbooks and food blogs, he has also been part of the band Streetwize and is a passionate photographer.

Known for repeatedly appearing as a clergyman in plays, series, and films, Irish actor Jim Norton is most popular as Bishop Brennan from the sitcom Father Ted. His performance in the play The Weir earned him a Laurence Olivier nomination, whereas he won both the Tony and the Olivier for The Seafarer.

Award-winning Irish journalist Gemma O'Doherty had initially been a teacher but later began her journalism career with the Irish Independent. She contested unsuccessfully in the Irish and European elections. Known for her volatile nature, she has been permanently banned by YouTube and was once fined for abusing the police.

Immortalized in the Irish ballad Grace, Irish cartoonist Grace Gifford was a regular contributor to many reputed publications such as The Irish Review. She was part of the Republican movement and married her lover Joseph Plunkett just hours before he was killed by firing squad for his invoolvement in the Easter Rising.

Best known as the founder of the political party Sinn Féin, Arthur Griffith was also a journalist who launched the nationalist newspaper United Irishman. Though he didn’t participate in the Easter Rising, he was arrested and later released. He negotiated the Anglo-Irish Treaty and became the president of Dáil Éireann.

Irish model and TV presenter Amanda Byram is best known to audiences for co-hosting Total Wipeout. She was also part of the reality show Paradise Hotel and hosted the 2003 Miss World pageant and the Irish version of the popular dance reality show Dancing with the Stars.

Irish celebrity chef, cookbook author, and presenter Clodagh McKenna is best known for her appearances on shows such as This Morning. She is married to the Queen’s godson, British aristocrat Harry Herbert. Known for popularizing Irish recipes in the US, she has also written culinary columns.

Irish journalist and presenter Orla Guerin is best known as a BBC Middle East correspondent. She has had a long stint working from Jerusalem and is now based in Turkey. With multiple honors, such as the Jacobs Award, in her kitty, she is known as one of the best war reporters from Ireland.

Once the face of the Irish pop group B*Witched, Edele Lynch also won Celebrity Apprentice Ireland in 2013. She reportedly lost all her investments in property and disappeared during the Celtic Tiger recession. She now lives in Manchester with her 3 children that she had with her former husband.

Born in Scotland, Irish-American journalist Alexander Cockburn is best remembered as the co-editor of CounterPunch. The son of British journalist Claud Cockburn, Alexander had written for publications such as Village Voice and the LA Times. He also wrote politically relevant books such as Corruptions of Empire.

Former model and Miss Ireland winner Michelle Rocca is also known as the ex-wife of footballer John Devine. A descendant of the founder of Rocca Tiles, Michelle was also married to singer Van Morrison and appeared on the cover of one of his albums. She has also presented Miss World 1990 and Eurovision.

Suffering from achondroplasia, a disorder that leads to dwarfism, Sinead Burke rose to be a disability activist, highlighting the issues faced by disabled people in terms of fashion choices. The first dwarf to attend the Met Gala, Burke is also a bestselling author, a TED Talk speaker, and an influencer.

Born to an Irish mother and a Nigerian father, Dublin-born Emma Dabiri spent her initial years in the US before returning to Ireland. A teaching fellow at the SOAS, she is also the bestselling author of Don't Touch My Hair and other books that depict the reality of racism.

Apart from being a talented musician, associated with the pop band The Blizzards, Niall Breslin has also been a rugby player, a Gaelic footballer, and an award-winning author. He is one of Ireland’s best-known mental health advocates, too, with his own mental-health podcasts, and owns the charity A Lust For Life.

Apart from launching a pirate radio station at age 16, Riyadh Khalaf also became a successful YouTuber pretty early. A prominent LGBTQ+ advocate, he has been part of queer-centric documentaries and has penned a book on LGBTQ issues. He won season 15 of Celebrity MasterChef and has appeared on podcasts, too.

Thomas D'Arcy McGee was an Irish-Canadian politician, Catholic spokesman, journalist, and poet. As a young man, he opposed British rule in Ireland and was in favor of creating an independent Irish Republic. He later became conservative in his beliefs and moved to Canada. He helped create the Canadian Confederation in 1867 but was assassinated the following year.  

Actor, comedian, and presenter Al Porter is known for shows such as Blind Date and It's Not Me, It's You. The Irish performer, who began acting at 10, later also became a popular host on Today FM. Though accused of sexually assaulting multiple people, all charges against him were later dropped.

Anna Nolan created ripples as a lesbian former nun in the first season of Big Brother, where she ended up as the runner-up. The popular TV personality later hosted shows such as The Great Irish Bake Off and The Afternoon Show. She also led the production company Coco Television as its development head.