Boyle woman Cara McHugh has been announced as the newest presenter and reporter with RTÉ’s news2day.
The 24-year-old is joining the programme following a nationwide call-out by RTÉ for young graduates with experience in journalism and media, followed by a comprehensive audition process.
Cara begins broadcasting today, Monday, August 31st, on RTÉ2, the RTÉ News channel and RTÉ Player.
Originally from Boyle, Cara attended Scoil na nAingeal Naofa/Abbey Primary School before going on to Abbey Community College.
She later studied English and French at UCD, where she was involved with student newspaper The University Observer.
After graduating, Cara worked as a production runner with RTÉ before moving into freelance journalism, covering both local and national stories for outlets including the Sligo Weekender, The Journal and Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio.
Her interests include reading, running, cooking, playing guitar and writing poetry. She also has a strong interest in history, particularly the history of the west of Ireland.
Speaking about her new role, Cara said: “I am so excited to be joining the RTÉ news2day team, which reaches primary school classes from every corner of Ireland.
“This environment is quite full circle for me, as I have always been a keen believer in accessibility to news for all ages.
“Storytelling was an integral part of my youth, and to be able to do this on a national platform, sharing significant stories with children, feels so important.
“I cannot wait to meet everybody along the road and get out and about.”
Cara joins Wexford presenter Cathal Dowd, who has been with news2day since September 2025.
news2day is RTÉ’s news service aimed specifically at children, covering Irish and international stories of interest to a younger audience.
The programme is broadcast from Monday to Friday at 4.20 pm on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ News channel. It is also available on RTÉ Player and is used as a teaching resource in classrooms across the country.
