Ciara Kelly

Ciara Kelly
Born
Ciara Angela Kelly[1]

(1971-04-26) 26 April 1971 (age 53)
Ireland
NationalityIrish
Other namesDr Ciara Kelly
EducationCommerce and Medicine
Alma materUniversity College Dublin
OccupationBroadcaster
Agent(s)Noel Kelly[2]
(2014–2023)[3]
Height5.7 ft (174 cm)
SpouseEoin[4]
ChildrenFour[5][6]

Ciara Kelly is an Irish radio presenter, columnist and former GP. She presents the morning show on Newstalk.[7] She also has a weekly column with the Sunday Independent.

Career

Kelly qualified from University College Dublin as a medical doctor in 1997, having previously completed a Bachelor of Commerce. She went into practice and also did media work, including breakfast television on TV3 and presenting Doctors on Call on RTÉ.[8]

She was the medical expert on Operation Transformation, a television series on RTÉ,[6] which won an IFTA in 2014,[9] and also on George Hook's lunchtime radio show on Newstalk.[10]

In October 2017, she withdrew from active medical practice to concentrate on her media career.[11] The same month she claimed that an "Irish Harvey Weinstein" was operating within the Irish media.[12][13][14]

Kelly describes herself as a soi-disant "intellectual".[15] She is the instigator of the public health initiative "100 Days of Walking".[16] In November 2019, Vicky Phelan blasted Kelly over her writing about people affected by the CervicalCheck cancer scandal who sued.[17]

On 18 March 2020, Kelly announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19 the previous day.[18] She discussed her diagnosis on Liveline, and Miriam O'Callaghan interviewed her for Prime Time through Skype from her home.[19][20] Though no longer practising in medicine, Kelly said she had taken precautions and had not been abroad.[21] She had continued to present the Monday and Tuesday editions of her programme, Lunchtime Live, from the hot press (a type of Irish cupboard or closet) in her home, and Mick Heaney of The Irish Times described her Wednesday programme as "a compelling show, remarkably so considering it was hosted by an ill woman sitting in an airing cupboard".[22] Her performance while ill contributed to her winning an IMRO award.[23]

From August 2020 she moved to co-presenting Newstalk's morning show.[24]

Kelly was a long-time client of Noel Kelly, of NK Management, until it emerged that he had been funneling secret payments to Ryan Tubridy.[2] She left Noel Kelly and NK Management in 2023 following the emergence of Kelly's involvement in the secret payments to Ryan Tubridy, announcing that she had been with him since 2014.[3]

Personal life

She lives in Greystones, County Wicklow.[25] She is an atheist.[26]

References

  1. ^ "Doctor Ciara Angela Kelly Wicklow". irelandstats.com. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  2. ^ a b Keena, Colm (1 July 2023). "Noel Kelly: Who is the behind-the-scenes agent, seen as RTÉ's 'real director general'? Dublin talent agent, who played a key role in funneling hidden payments to Ryan Tubridy, was considered more powerful than broadcaster's own director general". The Irish Times. Kelly is a successful agent, working with broadcasters such as Claire Byrne, Joe Duffy, Pat Kenny, Ivan Yates, Matt Cooper, Caitríona Perry, Carl Mullan, Cormac O'hEadhra and Ciara Kelly, as well as Tubridy, as part of his agency, NK Management.
  3. ^ a b "Ciara Kelly latest star to leave Tubridy agent Noel Kelly". Irish Independent. 8 July 2023. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023.
  4. ^ "My Greystones: Ciara Kelly". Greystones Guide. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  5. ^ Siobhan O'Connor. "Dr Ciara Kelly reveals the lengths and expenses Irish people go to to get the 'perfect' body with cosmetic surgery". Irish Mirror Online. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Dr Ciara Kelly: 'I was three stone heavier than I am now wearing elasticated-waist trousers but I said enough was enough'". Independent.ie. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  7. ^ "The new Newstalk weekday schedule has launched". Newstalk. 31 August 2020.
  8. ^ "DOCTORS ON CALL". RTÉ Presspack. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  9. ^ "IFTA 11th Annual Irish Film & TV Awards 2014". tipperaryphotos.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Ciara Kelly's prescription for a new show: rational discussion and bracing fury". irishtimes.com. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Dr Ciara Kelly: 'This next chapter in my life may be great or it may be a total disaster'". Independent.ie. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  12. ^ Hall, Eva (28 October 2017). "Ciara Kelly reveals there is an 'Irish Harvey Weinstein' who 'raped a woman'". Extra.ie.
  13. ^ Pownall, Sylvia (28 October 2017). "Dr Ciara Kelly opens up about prominent media figure she dubs 'Irish Weinstein'". Dublin Live.
  14. ^ Foran, Niamh (28 October 2017). "Dr Ciara Kelly brands media figure 'the Irish Weinstein' as she urges people to come forward". VIP.
  15. ^ "Dr Ciara Kelly: 'We need Love Island's Maura, an unexpected feminist icon'". Independent.ie. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  16. ^ Olney, Michael (14 February 2019). "Loop the loop at the Lough". Cork Independent. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019.
  17. ^ "'I take offence' - Vicky Phelan hits back at Ciara Kelly's 'disrespectful' CervicalCheck article". Irish Examiner. 27 November 2019.
  18. ^ Staines, Michael (18 March 2020). "Newstalk presenter Ciara Kelly has been diagnosed with COVID-19". Newstalk.
  19. ^ "Dr Ciara Kelly tells Liveline about her Covid-19 diagnosis". RTÉ. 18 March 2020.
  20. ^ "Watch : Dr Ciara Kelly has the virus". RTÉ. 19 March 2020.
  21. ^ "Dr Ciara Kelly got Covid-19 'in the community'". RTÉ. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  22. ^ Heaney, Mick (21 March 2020). "I have 'something personal' to share, Ciara Kelly told listeners". The Irish Times. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  23. ^ Quann, Jack (2 October 2020). "Newstalk wins nine IMROs, including Station of the Year". Newstalk.
  24. ^ "Ciara Kelly moves to breakfast as Newstalk announces schedule shake-up". Irish Examiner. 5 August 2020.
  25. ^ Dwyer, Roisin (26 July 2019). "Ciara Kelly: From GP to Newstalk presenter, and her love for Dublin". Hot Press. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  26. ^ Kelly, Ciara (18 October 2020). "Saving some at the expense of others is not the right way". Sunday Independent. p. 18. As an atheist I can still respect the beliefs of other people and the solace they get from attending church. It's something I suspect they need now more than ever. I can't fathom that we think elite sport is more valuable to us than religion. And I suspect it's more a reflection of what's popular than what's important.