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Molly O'Connor

Multimedia Journalist in the RTÉ Newsroom

Former news presenter and reporter for RTÉ's children's news programme, news2day

MA in Journalism from University College Galway

BA in Communication Studies from Dublin City University

Enquiries: molly.oconnor@rte.ie

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'I have to have hope,' says Tuam relative amid excavation

The daughter of a woman whose child died in the Tuam Mother and Baby Home has described as "absolutely momentous" the beginning of excavation work at the site in Co Galway.

Annette McKay's mother Maggie O'Connor was sent to an industrial school when her mother died in 1936.

While there, Ms O'Connor became pregnant after she was raped by a caretaker when she was 17.

She was then moved to Tuam Mother and Baby Home.

Ms O'Connor was separated from her child after the birth and was moved to St An...
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'Nee-Naw' service to help Dublin revellers feeling unwell

A new service is being launched this week to provide support to people who feel unsafe or unwell during a night out in Dublin city centre.

Known as the ‘Nee-Naw’ van, the Dublin Nights Help Zone has been launched by Dublin City Council, supported by the Department of Justice, as a late-night welfare initiative.

'Nee-Naw' will operate as a mobile unit stationed on Camden Street, running every Friday and Saturday night from 10pm to 3am, starting 4 July, for a 6 to 8-week pilot period.

It will b...
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Opt-out organ donation act to come into effect tomorrow

The first phase of the Human Tissue Act 2024 is due to come into operation from tomorrow, meaning everybody will be considered an organ donor unless they opt-out or are included in a so-called excluded group.

The act will introduce an opt-out system of consent for organ donation and will allow for altruistic living organ donation to strangers.

The National Advocacy and Projects Manager with the Irish Kidney Association said the new laws governing the process of organ donation consider everybod...
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Expert warns parents over AI deepfakes of children

Only 20 images of a child are needed to create a deepfake video of them, a leading expert in cybersecurity has warned.

The study, conducted by Perspectus Global, focused on 2,000 parents with children under the age of 16 in the UK, and showed that parents upload an average of 63 images to social media every month.

Over half of these photos include family photos (59%), with one in five parents (21%) uploading these types of images multiple times a week.

Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrn...
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Changes needed to meet housing targets - Uisce Éireann

The Government's target of building 50,000 homes a year is possible, but would require some change, not only in terms of financing but also regarding "key enablers", according to Uisce Éireann.

Assets Strategy Manager with Uisce Éireann Angela Ryan said that they had contacted the Government late last year to say that it had sufficient funding to address just over 30,000 houses per year, but identified that additional funding would be needed if targets were to increase.

"We will need more mone...
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Woman calls on others to be aware of heart attack signs

A woman who did not realise she was having a heart attack has called on other women to take notice of the symptoms and seek medical help.

Ellie Byrne was working from home when she experienced symptoms of a heart attack, which her daughter recognised and sought emergency medical help for.

A recent study by heart and stroke charity Croí revealed that one in two women are unaware that heart attack symptoms in women may differ from those experienced by men.

Chest pain is the most common symptom...
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Richard Boyd Barrett being treated for throat cancer

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett has announced that he is stepping back from politics for a period as he receives treatment for throat cancer.

Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, Mr Boyd Barrett said: "I wanted to take the opportunity to say I recently got a cancer diagnosis and I found out a few weeks ago.

"And I have to enter into a fairly intense period of cancer treatment over the next ... well, it's going to certainly take a couple of months probably.

"All in all, we c...
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Donohoe 'concerned' over potential impact of tariffs

The Minister for Finance has said he is "extremely concerned" about the potential impact of proposed United States tariffs on pharmaceutical exports, warning they could deliver a major blow to Ireland's economy.

Speaking on RTÉ's Prime Time programme, Paschal Donohoe said the Government is preparing for "real and significant" difficulties if US President Donald Trump follows through on threats to impose tariffs on drug imports, including those from Ireland.

"I want to underline the scale of th...
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Govt directly engaging with US, OECD on trade - Donohoe

The Government is engaging directly with both the Trump administration in the United States and the OECD regarding the possibility of a disruptive trade war, the Minister for Finance has said.

Speaking during Leaders' Questions, Paschal Donohoe told the Dáil that he met OECD officials twice as well as talking to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

He said Taoiseach Micheál Martin will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington next week ahead of St Patrick's Day and Tánaiste Simon Harris wa...
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State failed to plan for asylum seeker increase - IHREC

Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) Liam Herrick has said that the increase in asylum applications was something which the State had failed to plan for.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin, Mr Herrick said that recent wars had led to an increase in applications across Europe and is an issue which the State had "full notice of" for several years.

"The State had also failed to implement its own policy commitments to provide reception accommodat...
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Gender-based violence survivors urge legal system reform

Survivors of gender-based violence have called for urgent legal changes to the justice system.

People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger will introduce a ten-point plan as part of a Private Members' motion in the Dáil next week calling for action.

United in a quest for justice a number of sexual violence, survivors held a press conference calling for reform.

They said they felt let down by the State and described their experiences of the judicial process as "retraumatising".

The grou...
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Building 93,000 homes a year 'not immediately doable'

A former member of the Irish Housing Commission has said that building 93,000 homes a year to meet demand between now and 2031 is "not immediately doable".

A report published by Davy Stockbrokers last week forecasted that the housing shortfall is now 230,000 homes, on the basis of the estimate that the population will reach six million by 2031.

Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne programme, Michael O’Flynn, Chairperson and CEO of the O'Flynn Group, said that in his experience, the "crisi...
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Hundreds attend Carlow funeral after appeal by undertaker

More than 300 people have attended the funeral of a woman in Carlow, after an appeal on social media by a funeral director who was concerned there would be very few people present.

Mary Regan, 89, had lived in Carlow for several years and since the passing of her husband Fred, over a year ago, the west Cork native had no next-of-kin. She also did not have many visitors to Hillview Nursing Home where she resided.

Following her death, Funeral Director Rory Healy went on social media and asked lo...
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Green Party leader preparing for election to be called

Green Party leader and Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration & Youth, Roderic O'Gorman has said that he is preparing for an election to be called this week.

Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One programme, Mr O’Gorman said that he is eager to get into the campaign to discuss the various plans of each party.

"The posters are threaded and ready to go and we’ve been out canvassing busily in my own constituency and Green Party candidates have been out canvassing across the country," he...
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Colin Farrell raises fundraising goal to €1 million

Irish actor Colin Farrell has set a new goal to raise €1 million for the charity Debra ahead of the Dublin City Marathon this weekend.

The Golden Globe-winning actor is running the marathon to support people living with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a rare genetic skin condition, in honour of his close friend Emma Fogarty, Ireland's longest-surviving EB patient.

EB, often referred to as "Butterfly Skin," causes severe blistering and open wounds, making it feel like living with third-degree burns...
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Public asked to help carry out survey of urban foxes

Researchers at the University of Galway are appealing to the public to register sightings of urban red foxes.

The survey is particularly focused on the largest cities across the island - Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Derry and Waterford.

The increased sightings of Irish wildlife in cities is attributed to the availability of food and shelter.

Red foxes in particular have been known to thrive in built up areas because of increased food opportunities, such as discarded food, insects...