Aine Lawlor
Aine Lawlor joined RTÉ in September 1984 as a trainee journalist, working on a number of radio and television programmes before becoming a reporter/presenter in January 1988. Before working in journalism she worked in arts administration, and is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, where she was also President of the Students' Union.
She has worked on The Pat Kenny Show, Today at 5, RTÉ 2fm News and a variety of television programmes, including The Nature of Things, Tuesday File, and as narrator for the highly-acclaimed series on clerical sexual abuse in Irish institutions, States of Fear.
She co-presents Morning Ireland, the flagship morning news programme on RTÉ Radio One. She joined the team in April 1996 is now one of RTÉ's most seasoned broadcasters as well as one of Ireland's most recognised voices.
She is married to Ian Wilson, and they have four children.
Aine was online for a webchat on Tuesday 10 October 2006. This is how she answered your questions.
jpb: Do you tire of politicians continuously prevaricating questions?
Aine: The most effective answer to a tough question is the truth. There are no nasty follow-up questions once the interviewee has been honest. If politicians realised this their lives might be simpler, but my job would be less interesting.
Fintan: Is Lee Carsley the saviour?
Aine: Is the saviour needed on the pitch or off it?
Phil: Apart from Morning Ireland, what is your favourite RTÉ Radio show?
Aine: Marian On Saturdays. Genius.
Anne O'Shaughnessy: Who have you most enjoyed interviewing? And what topics are most likely to enrage or excite you?
Aine: No simple answer to this one. It's a bad day, or I've done my work badly, when I'm not interested in the person I'm asking questions of. I don't get enraged by topics, at least not when I'm working. At least I try not to when I'm working. I try not to let my opinions show when I'm working and will often be tougher when I actually agree.
Gene: Are you looking forward to the General Election? Do you think it'll be earlier than the predicted May 2007?
Aine: Yes. Big time. As to the timing, I never try to read Bertie's mind.
Karen: Do you watch the news all the time when you go home or you ever switch off from current affairs and watch a bit of Corrie or Big Brother?!
Aine: Yes when I'm in studio, it's essential to know what's being said. Sometimes on a week off I'll treat myself to the soaps and feel like a kid bunking off homework.
Ann Carey: Hi Aine - with the likes of Miriam O'Callaghan and Grainne Seoige moving from hard news to light entertainment, is that something you too would like to pursue?
Aine: No. A gardening programme maybe!
Liam: Really enjoy the show in the mornings. Was just wondering, is it hard to remain impartial when dealing with tough or emotional stories?
Aine: Yes, but I try to be fair. If someone who's in a really traumatic situation has agreed to come on the radio and talk, and while on air they get upset, I try to give them the space to recover. Sometimes it's more box office to keep pressing and then the tears come. But I always try to imagine how I'd feel if it were me and to treat the person I'm talking to in that context.
Tom Murray: What was your funniest moment on Morning Ireland?
Aine: I'm afraid not repeatable! But we do have great fun during ad breaks.
Niall Doheny: Who was the most fascinating person you ever interviewed?
Aine: There is no absolute answer to this. I don't keep a chart like that. I think real, honest radio is always riveting.
Vincent: What motivates you? And it's perfectly acceptable to say 'money'!
Aine: Definitely not money, or I'd have more! I'm nosey, I'm just really nosey, and I get passionate about things.
Michael Falvey: If you were hosting a dinner party and had to invite five people from history, who would you invite and why?
Aine: Danton. Michael Collins. Eleanor Roosevelt. Elizabeth I. Abraham Lincoln.
Fred: I have noticed that Morning Ireland and the old Five Seven Live tend to always take a counter point style of interview which tends to be confrontational. Do you think that this is a fair observation and do you think that it is the most effective way of getting straight answers?
Aine: It is every good interviewer's job to test the points being made through good questions. That's something everyone on every programme tries to do. Personally, I try to avoid getting aggressive or overly confrontational. If there's a flaw in the argument being made by the guest, then I need to be clever enough to work out the questions that will highlight that without the distraction of a row for no good reason.
Eric: Would you like to do a one-on-one interview show on the radio where you have more time to talk to the guest?
Aine: I'm lucky that at the moment I'm involved with One to One on RTÉ ONE television at Sunday lunchtimes. It's a great chance to do those longer interviews, and it's been a privilege to spend time talking to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and Frances Ruane.
Leona: Have you ever got to meet any of your heroes through the show?
Aine: I look to history for heroes, not politics. It keeps it simple.
Jim: Do you prefer working in TV or on Radio?
Aine: I love radio - it's intimate and immediate. But TV has a power of its own, you can read faces.
Damien Dunne: Is there any reason why you bring up your 'wonderful' children in to every possible discussion while on air? And please don't try and make any jokes, especially concerning sports-related matters, as you obviously know little about sport and have no comedic talent.
Aine: Dear Damien, my children are wonderful. You're right, I know nothing about sport and I'm not hugely intentionally funny. Hope that helps.
Charles: How would you respond to the assertion that Morning Ireland lets government politicians off too easy when it has them on the ropes? Some days the show's waffle threshold is too high.
Aine: I don't think you'd find too many Government politicians who'd agree with you. Waffle is bad and should always be avoided. We're not always perfect.
Clare: Do you like that there is a certain anonymity involved with radio? Because people might not necessarily know what you look like you probably get less people stopping you on the street, do you?
Aine: I like the anonymity, but to be honest I don't walk around thinking about it.
ej: Would you prefer the country lifestyle again? Is Dublin too busy?
Aine: I have a dream that when I win the Lotto I'm going to pack my bags and move down the country and run a small specialist plants nursery and work in real time, the time of the seasons, not seconds, and only talk to nice people...
Terese: Is it second nature to you now getting up at the crack of dawn to get briefed before the show?
Aine: No, you never get used to it.
ej: What is your favourite animal?
Aine: Giraffe.
Austin: Do you think Morning Ireland could reach out more to people in the late teens and early twenties audience or have they been written off as a demographic? Eg why not a focus on sexual health?
Aine: Good point. We don't write anybody off, but it seems to be a fact of life that people care most about politics and current affairs from 25 on. If you've any good ideas about how we could reach out to younger people better please let us know. We have no monopoly of wisdom on this.
Rodney: Do you think the Democrats will regain the majority in the US Congress?
Aine: Probably, but it never does to underestimate the Republican election machine and the divisions in the Democratic Party. Fascinating election though.
Dermot: Do you ever feel like kicking over the traces and doing something really mad? What would it be?
Aine: All of us feel like that sometimes, don't we? What I would do if I went mad I can't tell you!
Patrick: Is Des Cahill your favourite sports presenter?
Aine: Yes.
Austin: There have been great instances on the programme in the past where you've highlighted things like the differences in the cost of petrol around the country. Why doesn't Morning Ireland do more stuff like that? It's very powerful, makes good radio and lets people feel like they're having a say.
Aine: That was John Murray's series and you're right, it was excellent. Good point.
Ben: Do you accept that presenters on Morning Ireland are frequently rude in the way in which they constantly interrupt their guests?
Aine: If we're rude it's inadvertent. Sometimes there is so much pressure to get to the bottom of an issue and there's a limited amount of time. This can lead us to seeming rude but it's not meant and if we're doing our job really well that shouldn't come across.
Niall: Do you think that Irish people are happier now than say five years ago with all the new-found wealth and prosperity?
Aine: There's no one right answer to this question. In the big picture surveys seem to show that people are happy in Ireland compared with other countries, but not that much happier than when the country was poor. It's probably easier to cope with your unhappiness if you have a job but success brings other problems too. And then, in terms of individuals, it simply depends on what has happened in their own lives in the past five years - love, illness, births, deaths, etc.
Eric: Do you think sometimes that less is more regarding packages on the programme? That you should focus on a few things in greater detail and not try to cram everything in?
Aine: Getting this balance right is always difficult. Obviously you feel like we haven't been getting the balance right. I'll pass the point on.
Ann: Who was the most difficult interviewee you ever had to contend with?
Aine: An unfortunate guy in Russia who forgot everything he meant to say as soon as he came on air, and there was nothing else lined up. So for seven of the longest minutes in my and the poor man's lives, I was desperately trying to suggest to him what I knew he wanted to say but simply was physically unable to utter. Torture for both of us!
Rachel: Have you ever felt totally out of your depth during a live interview?
Aine: Yes. But then I learned something very important - always ask the obvious question. Go back to basics and work from there. The interview is not about how clever or stupid I am, it's about what the person has to say.
Susan: Do you prefer doing the show when you have prepared items or is there a bigger adrenaline rush when something major happens and you're covering it live, waiting for developments?
Aine: You're right Susan, the best rush, and it is a rush, and a totally addictive one, is when all the plans go out the window and the programme is simply about something really important that's happening now in real time.
Murt Murphy: Do you prefer to holiday in Ireland or abroad?
Aine: Abroad, I need a break from the papers and the radio. If I stay in Ireland I just find it impossible to stay away from the news.
ej: Is it hard to maintain neutrality with someone you know is lying for his country or cause?
Aine: Who knows who's lying? Or why? I just try to ask the questions. People listening then make up their own minds.
Pat O'Donnell: In the world of litigation we live in at the moment, are you conscious of having your facts 100% correct at all times or do you go with your instinct from time to time?
Aine: I try to get the facts right all of the time, but it's not possible to be 100%. My golden rule - don't pretend to know something I don't. And apologise if I get it wrong as quickly as I can.
Brendan: Aine, Apart from Morning Ireland and the one o'clock show on Sunday, where do you see your subsequent (career) steps?
Aine: I don't have a career plan Brendan, but I've been lucky to have had some great chances. About the future, I've learned you never know what's in store.
Damien: Would you classify yourself as a feminist? Do you feel this influences your ability for unbiased interviewing?
Aine: Damien I'm lots of things. I'm a journalist, a mammy, a wife, a sister. Yes a feminist, but also a gardener, a friend, a pain in the neck...
PJ: You personally should do more human interest reports outside the studio. I know you're the presenter and very busy but you'd be very good at them and they'd be great to hear.
Aine: You're right - it's always better to talk to the real person at the heart of the story rather than some expert telling us about it. I prefer those interviews.
