The Nationwide presenter says her house feels empty these days but she is proud of how her three children are doing in life, noting none of them have followed in her footsteps
Anne Cassin for RSVP Magazine(Image: Kieran Harnett)
Anne Cassin says it’s an “adjustment” now all of her three children have flown the nest – and none of them have followed her footsteps into journalism.
The Nationwide presenter is married to husband Donagh McGrath, who also works in RTÉ, and together they share daughters Ellen and Heather and son Joe.
None of her children are living at home in the moment as they make great strides in their respective careers, and Anne says having an empty home is “very strange”.
She told RSVP Magazine: “Ellen is nearly 27 and has returned to Edinburgh where she’s doing a Masters to be an occupational therapist.
“My son Joe is 25, working in Dublin and living in Harold’s Cross.
“Heather is 21 and is in Germany doing her erasmus, so I’m going to fly over soon to visit her.
“None of them are at home, which is very strange. The two girls left on the same day in January and the house has been very empty ever since.”
Anne is glad that she had Dancing With The Stars to keep her occupied during this time.
She continued: “It’s an adjustment, but it is also the natural order of things.
“Young people need to go out and fly the coop and live their lives, and parents need to let them do that and wish them well.
“It opens up the opportunity for myself and my husband Donagh to travel for a bit.”
Anne and Donagh’s children have forged their own paths and haven’t pursued careers in the media, like their parents.
“I don’t even know how television speaks to a younger audience now,” Anne admitted.
“There are still vast numbers that sit at home and watch Nationwide, and they are still quite sizeable, but it’s established now that television is not essential to young people’s lives the way it was to me growing up.”
Anne met her husband in RTÉ 30 years ago.
“His role is Deputy Head of RTÉ Sport, so we don’t work together,” she explained.
“We met in the newsroom, where all great love stories begin!
“We’ve been married for more than 20 years, together for almost 30 years.”
The couple try to keep their work and home lives separate and have lots of different interests outside of RTÉ.
Anne said: “We used to be more hardlined about not talking about [work at home]. Not so much now.
“But we’re not in the same area, which I think is a healthy thing, otherwise we’d just be breathing the same oxygen.
“We have a lot of interests outside of work. We go walking and hiking, we walk the dogs.
“We love to travel. We go to Kerry a lot, we’ve been to Nepal, we’ve been to Jordan.”
Anne and Donagh hope to see more of the world when they stop working.
“I think you should while you have your health,” the presenter said.
“I would like to travel around more European cities. I’d like to see the States, despite the politics.
“Donagh wants to hike more around Spain, and I would like to get to know Italy better.
“Maybe we will take some long trips too, South America would be great.
“These are all in the plans when we stop working, because we will have the time to throw at it.”
Anne took part in this year’s series of Dancing With The Stars and said it was an “all consuming” experience.
She admitted: “It took over my life in a way that I didn’t expect, and not just the physical hours of training or filming.
“It invades your brain and takes over your mind. You’re thinking about it all of the time, you’re even dreaming about steps, you’re counting eights while walking and thinking about how you will perform.
“I was surprised by how emotional I got and sort of how attached I got to it. That was kind of strange.
“I kind of thought because I’ve been around the houses and doing television for years that this is just another show.
“But the thing is, it’s not just another show and it’s not just ‘dance’. It’s really demanding physically, psychologically and emotionally.”
Anne had to “dig deep” to step outside of her comfort zone.
She said: “I remember my first dance I had to do some flirty bits and I was thinking, I’m Anne Cassin from Nationwide, I don’t flirt! But I talked myself into it and I got it.
“And everyone was surprised, including my dance partner Robert. I was delighted with myself.
“We all talk about stepping outside of your comfort zone and sometimes they can just be words. But I really did that, in front of the entire country judging me.
“I feel I was brave to do it, because I was quite scared.”
The RTÉ star says a different version of herself emerged on the show.
“I now know there is a playful and whimsical side to me,” Anne said.
“It might sound pretentious, but I’m glad I met her, to be honest. I now know there is a lot more craic to me.”
Read the full interview with Anne Cassin in the March issue of RSVP Magazine, on shelves nationwide tomorrow.
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