After two years on the road and in studio, bringing big news stories to kids all over Ireland, Barry Gallagher has signed off from the news2day studio for the last time.
Here, we chat to the Donegal man about his time on the show, ask him about some of his favourite stories and find out what he learned along the way.
Press play up top as we look back on some of his highlights and read on as he answers our questions.
What was your first show like?
"It was all a bit of a blur! But I do remember being very nervous. I worked in a newspaper before joining the news2day team and had very little on-camera experience, so it was all very new to me. I'm pretty sure I made quite a few mistakes on my first go around. Luckily, Molly, my co-presenter at the time, was there with me and as per usual, picked up my slack!
"One thing that's really weird is looking back at my early episodes - even though it’s less than two years ago - is that it feels like watching a completely different person. Your time on news2day both flies by and feels like forever."
Do you get nervous on TV?
"Not as much anymore! It's like anything, the more you do it, the less it scares you, but I still get a great buzz when I'm about to go on air. I do still get very nervous if I'm live on camera for the adult news, I don't think that will ever go away. But nerves can be a good thing, it shows you really care about doing a good job.
"And to whoever is joining the news2day team in September, don't be afraid of making mistakes, if you're anything like me, you're going to make them anyway!"
Can you pick a favourite story?
"Lots of stories come to mind! It’s been amazing to be able to film in Donegal, particularly with my old School, Scoil Cholmcille An Tearmann, where we shot an explainer on proportional representation. It was really special to go back to where it all began!
"But one story stands out from my first year on the job. I visited St John’s ward in CHI Crumlin, which is for children who have blood disorders or cancer, just before Christmas. The kids there were being visited by Santa who called in from the North Pole.
"Lots of kids have to spend the holidays in hospital every year, so it was a real privilege to see how they celebrate.
"I’ve actually been lucky enough to do reports in CHI Crumlin, Temple Street and Tallaght over my two years in news2day. I don’t think I’ll forget any of them anytime soon."
Barry and the team recently won an EBU award for their Voting System Explainer - you can watch it above.
What have you learned on news2day?
I have learned so much from my time in news2day, especially from the people I work with, Florence, Avril and Anne-Marie our Editors, and Molly last year.
I’ve gotten better at writing, video editing, and presenting (I think), and ultimately, I learned not to be as embarrassed about doing what you want to do, or making a fool of yourself on live tv!
But most importantly, I learned about how much kids actually have to say. It’s very easy to dismiss the opinions of young people, but when you work with them every day, you realise the importance of hearing their perspectives and ideas.
Whether it’s at a school, hospital, stadium or event, you quickly realise in news2day that kids are capable of amazing things. So to make a long story short, I’ve learned to listen to them much more often!
In 2023 we met Barry for the first time - check out what he had to say back then.
If you really miss the news2day gang over the summer you can watch all the shows here.
Enjoy the summer holidays and see everyone for the start of a new school term!
