She has become synonymous with afternoon television as the effervescent presenter of The Today Show, and Maura Derrane is friendly, curious and full of chat in person.

There have been a lot of changes for the direct Galway girl over the past two years, including a move back to Dublin from Dungarvan with her husband John Deasy and son Cal (7). John is a former Fine Gael TD, and his constituency was Waterford, so he and Maura were primarily based in his hometown of Dungarvan. They also had a house in Dublin as John had to be in Leinster House during the week, and have now sold the house in Waterford so there’s no going back.

After 18 years in the Dáil, John chose not to run for election in 2020 and is now working as a consultant. He was hired by the Ancient Order of Hibernians as its head of government affairs, and spends a lot of time in Washington.

“It’s what he’s always wanted as John went to university in the US and worked on Capitol Hill,” says Maura. “American politics is an area that he knows inside out. Moving back to Dublin during the pandemic was a very smooth transition.

We found a fabulous school for Cal and John was mainly at home as he couldn't go abroad with travel restrictions, so he was able to be with him when I wasn't there.”

The other big decision was that Maura reduced her working week from five days to three, as she didn't want to be away from Cal all week. “If the show was based in Dublin, I probably wouldn't have changed my schedule at all, because I’d be able to come home every evening,” she says. “But with it being in Cork, it just wasn’t realistic and something had to give, as you need to have balance between your working life and family.” The 51-year-old from the Aran Islands has forged a stellar career in TV presenting, with shows like Four Live on RTÉ One, TG4's Feirm Factor and Virgin Media’s Ireland AM under her belt. She has co-presented The Today Show with Dáithí O Sé for 10 years, and Sinéad Kennedy now presents the show two days per week.

Was Maura worried that reducing her days would have an impact on her career?

“I wasn't worried about that but the show is my baby so it was a big deal for me to step back,” she admits. “Sinéad is lovely and the perfect fit on the days I’m not there. She and Dáithí get on really well together and I’m so happy about that as I’d feel really guilty if it wasn't working out.”

FAMILY LIFE

Maura and Dáithí have great onscreen chemistry, and she speaks about him with great warmth. She is really proud that the show has kept the increased viewership it gained during the pandemic, with the show hitting percentages of 26 per cent of the viewership recently.

“Dáithí and I are both tricksters and we can literally say anything to each other on air,” she says. “Actually, at this stage I can nearly predict what he’s going to say.

“I wasn’t yearning for kids and was probably a bit selfish, now that I look back on it, because I really liked my life. I had great craic jumping around the world.”

— Maura Derrane

It’s like being married to him.” Maura also loves heading to her family home on Inis Mór and staying with her mum, Bridgie. She has three younger sisters, Róisín, Rita and Barbara. Barbara lives on the island with her family, and they are also close to their uncle Pádraig.

“It’s fabulous there and I appreciate it more than ever now,” says Maura. “I think the pandemic gave us a new appreciation for nature, so I was lucky to be able to spend the summers there. Cal loves island life and wants to be there all the time, and he is very close to my sister Barbara’s son, who is two years older.”

Maura’s dad Mattie died aged 79 in 2005. He was a “good bit older” than Maura’s mother, who is now in her eighties, and she recalls him being much stricter, but also soft in other ways. Bridgie has been a huge inspiration to Maura and gives great advice.

“My mother is a very open-minded person, and she’s so youthful and interested in everything that's going on,” she says. Maura was 43 when she had Cal and says there are advantages and disadvantages to having children at any age. If you’re a young mother, your children will be grown up when you’re in your fifties, for example, and you could be a grandparent when you still have lots of energy.

“The other side is that I had a lovely life before becoming a mother,” she says.

“I wasn’t yearning for kids and was probably a bit selfish, now that I look back on it, because I really liked my life. I had great craic jumping around the world, and was lucky that I had Cal because it was almost at the last minute. I don’t believe in looking back, but it would have been nice to have another child.”

Maura adores Cal and couldn't imagine life without him, even though sometimes children could “drive you cracked”.

“I won’t be able for the teenage years because even already - the drama!” she laughs. “l’m sometimes as childish as my son, to be honest, as I always had my own language and characters in my head and he is like that too. I love watching cartoons and children’s television programmes with him.”

The presenter has noticed that women sometimes feel they have to become serious when they become mothers. She feels it's different for men because they don't hold stress in the same way I think we women can kind of lose ourselves a little as we put so much eff ort into our children,” she says.

“It’s important to try to keep your individuality.”

So is she a strict parent with Cal? “I was stricter when he was smaller, but I have to be honest, the child is walking all over me now,” she laughs. “He is a really quirky kid and he knows what he wants.” Maura says that Cal has a lot of elements of her in his personality but is like John too. He’s a very good reader and was into science and maths when he was younger like his dad, but now he’s become much more artistic.

Like most parents, she battles with her son around the time spent online with devices, and tries to limit them, where possible. One of the things that worries her is that Cal is growing up in a world where social media holds so much influence. “That judgemental element online can be devastating for young people,” she points out. “I’d prefer a punch in the face than to be hounded on social media.”

Would she be happy if Cal followed her into the entertainment business or will she be warning him off ? “I’ve loved every minute of every single day that I’ve worked in the business so I’m a real pro-entertainment person,” she says. “Cal does acting classes and he’s a good singer, and I like him doing a bit of that anyway because those things are very good for confidence. I don’t care what he does as long as he finds his place.”

LOOKING BACK

It may come as a surprise to learn that Maura was a shy child who hid when visitors came to the house. She would be anxious if asked to read aloud in school, and says she didn't blossom into the personality she is now until her late teens.

“I wonder if things would have been different if I’d lived on the mainland and had done some acting when I was a child?” she muses. “If someone had said to me when I was 15 that I would end up working in TV, I would have thought, 'No way!' but I had to get over a lot to do what I do now.”

Maura met John at a Fine Gael Christmas party, and they hit it off , even though they’re very different in personality. He is the steady and organised one and she brings the fun and irreverence.

“There was a bit of spotlight on both of us in our careers, so we understood each other very quickly,” she says. “There are bumps in the road in every career and you have to be able to take a little bit of criticism in entertainment and politics. John is much more serious than I am, although he has a really quirky side to him. He’s very quiet and isn’t a talker and I never shut up. Sometimes l’m talking to myself, as he doesn't even answer me half of the time.”

Maura has not yet reached menopause, and when it comes to ageing, she has mixed feelings. On one hand, she finds it liberating not to care about what people think about her. She’s not a fan of the physical changes though, particularly with so many people looking at her daily.

“I’m not going to pretend it’s lovely to get older, and not having the body you had before or getting lines on your face,” she says. “People say they love all of that, but I don’t, thank you very much. However, I wish I had the confidence I have now when I was in my thirties.”

“As a woman, the most important thing is feeling good about yourself, so do whatever makes you feel good,” she adds. “There are women who always want to be perfect and look amazing, and then there are lucky people who don’t give a hoot and are happy out. If you’re not happy with your figure, work on it and do what you need to do to look in the mirror and be happy with what's looking back at you.

But don't try to be 20 again because you’re not, so get over that.” While she always looks gorgeous, it’s important to Maura that she’s happy with her outfit, hair and makeup on screen, as they’re part of her armour and uniform for work.

“You wouldn't be able to go on screen every day if you didn’t feel that you looked good, because it's part of the confidence you need for the job,” she says. “For me, it’s all about the content, but TV is a visual thing, and people are often looking at you first rather than listening to you. We’re all a bit critical, and sometimes there can be an element of people deciding on you as a person based on what you look like.”

THE NEXT CHAPTER

When Maura’s career began in news over 20 years ago, social media didn’t exist and the focus was on the actual story rather than the presenter. She specialised in crime so was usually filmed outside courts and at murder scenes, and was less concerned with doing herself up to go live into the news.

“When I started presenting Ireland AM, it became all about how I looked,” she says. “It was about putting you on the cover of magazines and photoshoots left, right and centre, which I thought was hilarious as I had grafted in news for eight years.”

Maura turned 50 during the pandemic, which meant there was no big party, but she didn't mind too much. “I think there's a certain point as a woman where you don't want to harp on these things,” she smiles.

“When I turned 40, I decided I didn't want to be defi ned by a number so I don't pay too much attention to that. I look at women like Salma Hayek, Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Aniston who are in their fifties now, and are excellent role models.

They refuse to be put into a box and are at the height of their careers. I realise now that if you love your life and what you do, you're ageless.”

Maura loves being surrounded by people of different ages, and the show is created by a team that is very varied in age. She is always generous with her time and advice with contributors and younger people on the team, and really appreciates the job they do. “I find the young people who are starting off on the floor to be brilliant,” she says. “I was very hungry in my early twenties and was very driven, and I went to work and did my best. I think that’s very important no matter what age you are.”

As for the future, the presenter says she’s very happy where she is right now and is not looking to the next thing, but she wouldn’t mind trying a bit of radio work.

“As I’m getting older, I just don't want to be killing myself any more,” she says. “I have a great balance now as I love when I’m in Cork and get to stay in my nice hotel and have dinner with friends. And then I love coming back to Dublin to be with Cal and John, and doing our own thing, even if it's just pottering around the garden.”

Watch Maura on The Today Show, weekdays at 3.30pm on RTÉ One.