Aengus Mac Grianna

Aengus Mac Grianna (born 10 October 1964) is an Irish newsreader for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). Mac Grianna was born in Raheny, a suburb in north Dublin to an Irish language speaking family. His father was a scientist and his mother was a teacher. Mac Grianna was educated solely through Irish. He broadcasts in both Irish and English. Mac Grianna has presented the Oireachtas Media Awards.^[1][2] He lives on an alpaca farm in County Meath just outside Ashbourne with his husband Terry Gill who he married in June 2014.^[3] His first job was in the Arnotts Sports Department where he earned £80 per week. He is a fan of Desperate Housewives and Coronation Street and supports Dublin and Manchester United.^[4] Mac Grianna was considered a favourite to replace iconic newsreader Anne Doyle when she retired on 25 December 2011.^[5]

On 9 January 2013, a video of Mac Grianna surfaced on YouTube showing him being caught unaware whilst applying some make-up to his face as he prepared for a live bulletin on RTÉ's digital news channel News Now. The presenter did not realise the cameras were rolling after a technical error meant that footage of Mac Grianna readying himself for the broadcast was shown instead of the title sequence. The incident quickly became an internet sensation with over one million YouTube hits in the first couple of days.^[6] Aengus commented on it by saying ".. I saw the fun in it. You have to laugh at yourself as well, I think that’s important."^[7] Prior to this incident, Mac Grianna has had several previous incidents on air.

In August 2013, he came second in Celebrity MasterChef Ireland.^[8]

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