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Go Rail meets 2fm host Bláthnaid Treacy at Lennan’s Yard restaurant in Dublin for a chat about her fascinating broadcasting career and life story. Interview: Kate Brayden
PHOTOGRAPHY: MIGUEL RUIZ
Lennan’s Yard 21a Dawson St, Dublin (01) 240 2555 lennansyard.com
Seemingly glamorous without effort, the lovely Bláthnaid Treacy breezes into Lennan’s Yard in Dublin city centre looking ready for a photoshoot. Treacy is the type of broadcaster who remembers familiar faces and names, offering myself and photographer Miguel Ruiz a warm smile.
The multi-faceted venue consists of a gastro pub, restaurant, courtyard bar, cocktail bar and terrace. The cosy atmosphere and welcoming staff allow us to settle into our table, perusing the mouth-watering menu. “It’s like we’re kindred spirits!” grins Blathnaid when we order near-identical courses.
She chooses Stracciatella with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Bacon Jam and Rosemary Focaccia as her starter, while I munch on Salt & Chilli Calamari, Pok Choi & Mooli Salad with Buffalo Hot Sauce. Between hosting, presenting and Ultimate Hell Week, Treacy’s plate has remained consistently full this year.
“I’ve grown up in RTE so I’m basically part of the furniture because I’ve been with them for nearly ten years!” she laughs. “I started off presenting Two Tube with Stephen Byrne for young people. That was brilliant - I got to cut my teeth there in terms of researching, presenting live TV and flying off to London to do press junkets.
“I built up a great network of people by learning how to book guests. There’s a whole production team in television and it takes longer to create a programme, but I love bouncing off other people’s personalities and the speed of live radio.”
It’s a shame that major female talent at 2FM have announced exits in recent times.
“I was really sad to see Louise McSharry and Tara Kumar go,” Bláthnaid nods. “I love Louise’s podcast, Catch Up. She can push the boundaries a little bit more on that platform. She’s her own boss and gets to do exactly what she wants. There’s so much freedom in that, and Tara’s going off chasing her dreams!
“She’s amazing. They both work so hard. I’ve been fortunate to work with so many incredibly dedicated women. 2FM is wonderful because there’s a lot of female presenters, which you don’t see in some other stations. There’s a gorgeous camaraderie between us, we’ve such craic!
“I thrive off the entertainment side of broad-
casting. You’re better off not looking over your shoulder to see what everyone else is doing. I’ll tune into other stations because I’m interested in how different live presenters handle certain curveballs. Flattery gets you everywhere. I’ve learnt to throw in loads of compliments at the start of a chat!”
Our waiters pause our conversation momentarily to deliver our mains - Beer Maple Glazed Chicken, Sweet Potato Gnocchi, Organic Mushrooms and Lardo. The scent is enough to send us straight to heaven, forgetting the purpose of our meeting. Though they never took me place over a meal, does Treacy miss her Two Tube celebrity tête-à-têtes?
“I absolutely loved those interviews, but there were people you’d meet who were massively rude,” she laughs. “I was on a junket with another journalist once, and she told me that she was sent to interview a really famous English actor before, who was shockingly hungover. She just said, ‘You know what? I’m not doing this interview. You’re clearly hungover and disinterested. You need me to promote your film, I don’t need you’. That behaviour is just totally disrespectful. I’d love to do what she did!”
“It was definitely intimidating going into the junket room sometimes but generally the actors were quite good,” Treacy concedes. “They know the game, they know what to do. Musicians can be worse because they’re not acting. They’re tortured souls half the time!”
Bláthnaid grew up with cameras after playing Denise Byrne on Glenroe, later gravitating back to the screen when she completed her undergraduate degree.
“It definitely stood to me; some of my earliest memories are being on set, seeing cables run across the floors and booms,” Treacy smiles. “I love all of that because it feels like home. Sometimes when I’m walking to the backstage area in RTÉ, I notice old pieces of set. It was essentially another school for me when I was running around sets. My husband’s actually from Kilcoole where Glenroe was shot, which is crazy! One of my really good friends, Lewis Jackson, played Denise Byrne before I did. They just needed a baby for the christening, and he was a local. We always laugh about it.
“My mum was the one who put me forward for the role,” Bláthnaid recalls. “Glenroe had been on the screens for a couple of years at that point, and they put ads out to say that they were doing auditions. They came to the house and I had a curl in my hair at the top of my head. I was a quiet baby, which is great for a set.
“That’s how it started and then it was my life growing up. It felt normal until I got older and got recognised as a kid. I’d be seven years old walking home from school on my own and strangers would come up to me. That did make me feel uncomfortable because I was a shy kid. Glenroe finished when I was 13 and that was probably the ideal time.”
Bláthnaid later studied Irish and Archaeology in UCD before completing a television production course in Bray Institute of Further Education.
“One of my tutors, Noel, said that TG4 were looking for people who can speak Irish and can use a camera to do a travel show,” Treacy recollects, excitedly. “I decided to give it a go, and ended up getting it. I hadn’t been on TV for a decade at that point, so it was a whirlwind. We had some serious fun when the cameras were off. Sarajevo in particular was so interesting, because it has such a recent, dark history.
“Everyone you spoke to survived the war in the 1990s. It’s a real melting pot of different cultures. We finished in Paris after shooting for three months. It was a lot to take on as a young woman, plus my husband Charlie and I had broken up for two years. I was heartbroken, but I was able to throw myself into this cool new interrailing job.”
Bláthnaid met her husband at the age of 19, eventually marrying the jazz musician three years ago. They’ve since bought a beautiful house in Stoneybatter, Dublin.
“Charlie and I were always very drawn to each other, even when we weren’t together. We couldn’t be in the same room together without feeling that gravitation,” Bláthnaid beams. “I came back from
DISHING IT UP: (clockwise) Beer maple glazed chicken; Bláthnaid at Lennan’s Yard; and other dishes straight from the kitchen.
PLATE EXPECTATIONS: (clockwise) Bláthnaid walking through the courtyard bar; the Lennan’s Yard exterior; and the rosemary focaccia starter. shooting the travel show and was like, ‘Damn, I’m still in love!’ We’ve been together for 10 years, so it’s a new chapter of our lives.
“We know everyone in Stoneybatter now, all the barmen and baristas,” the 34-year-old adds of their new Dublin abode. “I’ll always be a Wicklow woman, but I burst out crying when we got mortgage approval, because I just never thought it would happen.
“We’re both freelance, so I couldn’t believe it. It’s been a long road but we’re finally there, so I’m trying to savour the moment. I’m just happy to settle in with our lovely little dog Mabel. You don’t have to prove as much to anyone when you’re in your thirties, even to yourself. When enough curveballs get thrown at you in the early stages of your life, things eventually work out.”
Treacy’s optimistic mentality allowed her to survive a stint on Ultimate Hell Week.
“Charlie insisted I said yes when I was asked to go on!” she laughs, rarely someone who turns down a challenge. “I was really proud of how far I got. I was in there with rugby players, MMA fighters, GAA stars and boxers but I managed to last three episodes. It showed me that I’m tougher than I ever thought I was. It also taught me the kindness of strangers.
“Setanta Ó hAilpín basically carried me the whole way! We had to carry these 20kg sandbags up a hill after jumping out of a helicopter and running up
flights of stairs wearing gas masks. It was a great learning experience, and I got to meet amazing athletes. It was like an extreme Gaeltacht because you’re thrown into a dorm with strangers! I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
“Because I have four brothers, I’m very comfortable in those masculine environments. You had four men screaming at you in your face, but that didn’t phase me. It was a bit of a shock coming back to the real world. I just went to bed: I slept, ate loads of food and cried a lot. It took me a good month to properly feel right again in my head. It’s easier to bury negative thoughts when you’ve got your comforts. In this situation, there’s no hiding from them. When I dropped out, I needed to properly look at my mental health, which was beneficial.”
Elsewhere, Bláthnaid’s turn at hosting the annual RTÉ Choice Music Prize and 2fm’s chart countdown has given her an extensive insight into the nation’s music scene. Ultimately, the prize was scooped by For Those I Love.
“That album was just the most incredible thing,” Bláthnaid gushes. “I listened to all the nominees from start to finish, but David Balfe’s was spectacular. The rawness of it. Coming out of the last couple of years, everybody has experienced some kind of grief or heartbreak: missing your family, experiencing the loss of a loved one, or even just not getting the chance to go off on your trip around the world. That album really resonated. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when he was performing in Vicar Street.”
Two of Treacy’s brothers, Fiachra and Uisneagh, also joined alt-rock outfit Columbia Mills, whose new album Heart Of A Nation landed on October 14. Bláthnaid and her family’s adoration for Irish music in part stems from a passion for culture itself.
“I wouldn’t have gotten into presenting without the Irish language,” Bláthnaid emphasises. “It opened the door for me, but it’s also a link to our history. I studied archaeology and it would always overlap with Gaeilge. Even just our place names give an insight as to what that area was used for. Those little windows into the past are so beautiful.
“I wish I was far more fluent than I am, but it’s still part of me. It’s ingrained. I learned all of it in school, but I should grab any opportunities to speak it. There’s actually a Stoneybatter pub called Heinz, run by a Connemara woman. On a certain day of the week, you get a discounted pint if you order it as Gaeilge!
“I’ve been asked before about whether I’d move to London, but I’m not sure I’d want to be away from Ireland. I’m massively close with my family and I adore Irish history, language, landscape and our sense of humour. When I go away, I notice that there isn’t the same craic. The last couple of years have shown what’s really important in life. Charlie and I are really happy, and if it ain’t broke…”
• Catch Bláthnaid Treacy counting down
the most popular tunes of the week on RTÉ 2fm’s Official Chart Show on Fridays from 8-10pm.
The Damage Starters: Stracciatella, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Bacon Jam, Rosemary Focaccia €12 Salt & Chilli Calamari, Pok Choi & Mooli Salad, Buffalo Hot Sauce €13 Mains: Beer Maple Glazed Chicken, Sweet Potato Gnocchi, Organic Mushrooms, Lardo €25
