Aine Lawlor says retiring from RTÉ was overwhelming after health scare last year
Aine candidly confessed 'I genuinely never thought I'd get to this age' and is looking forward to enjoy her interests outside of journalism, but will still be glued to politics15:29, 19 Jul 2026Aine Lawlor. . .
Aine candidly confessed 'I genuinely never thought I'd get to this age' and is looking forward to enjoy her interests outside of journalism, but will still be glued to politics15:29, 19 Jul 2026Aine Lawlor says retiring fromRTÉfelt overwhelming because she never thought "I'd get to this age". In a candid admission, the popular presenter shared she had a health scare last year before stepping down from her job with the national broadcaster. Aine left her role on Morning Ireland last year, but continued to host The Week in Politics on Sunday afternoons. But last week, she left RTÉ after more than 40 years. Speaking about retirement, Aine said: "I had a health scare in the last year, and it got as far as the punch biopsy and all the rest. "And I think that's why retirement was so overwhelming; I genuinely never thought I'd get to this age. "Aine was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 and lost both of her parents to forms of the disease. Losing her parents was "like an amputation," she told the Sunday Independent. "The scar heals, and you can learn to cope and adjust. But that arm is always gone. "[The fear of cancer] never leaves you, it just goes to the back of your mind. "Aine felt enormously lucky following her experience of cancer. She explained: "I had a very aggressive cancer that if I'd gotten it even 10 years earlier, the medicine that made me better wouldn't have been available. "I was lucky enough to meet Dennis Slamon, the man who developed Herceptin medicine, and talk to him. "So that's why I really got fascinated by it. "Cancer medicine is the most fiendishly complicated and stunningly brilliant thing to learn about. "Now that she has retired, Aine admits a part of her "has been an old lady, so the rest of me is just catching up now, I'm ageing down. "She will now have more free time to enjoy opera, cooking andgardening, but added: "They won't take politics out of me. It’s like a drug, it really is. It's dreadful. "Ainesigned off from The Week In Politics last Sunday, bringing her career with RTÉ to end. Speaking at the end of her final show, the Dubliner said: "First of all, I need to thank all the politicians who have taken the time to be grilled on a Sunday morning by The Week in Politics, and I hope they and you, the audience, have felt that the program always was fair to our guests and to all viewpoints, because that has been our aim throughout: to be tough but fair. "I have come to respect the work that politicians in Leinster House do on all sides of the house. "I have seen the hours they put in, the detailed and often laborious work on legislation and campaigns, and I have also seen how online abuse has impacted many of them and their families. "I could not do what they do. They and we deserve better in our democracy. "She also paid tribute to her RTE colleagues, adding: "To all my colleagues in RTÉ that I am leaving behind. "The past few years have been very difficult for many people here, and a lot has been written, fairly and rightly, and said, and some of it wrongly, about the big names and senior management. "I want to speak about the people here whose brilliant work you don't see: the fantastic directors, the studio crew who keep programs like this on air, the video editors, the graphics, staging, makeup, wardrobe, security. "Without all of them, this program and our news bulletins couldn't happen. "I have seen them all go beyond and above the call of duty, and I want to thank them for their professionalism and their real commitment and belief in public service broadcasting, and I have seen them deliver that for a long time now. "I really wish them all well and a better future. "She ended with an emotional thank you to the viewers as she said: "To all of you, our viewers, who have bothered over the years to tune into The Week in Politics, very often at ungodly hours. Article continues below"We have really appreciated every single one of you. Thank you. It has been a privilege. Beir bua agus slán. "Want tosee more of the stories you love from RSVP? To add RSVP as a preferred source of news on Google,simply click here