RTÉ NEWS ANNOUNCES SAMANTHA LIBRERI AS NEW EASTERN CORRESPONDENT

RTÉ News is pleased to announce the appointment of RTÉ journalist, Samantha Libreri, as Eastern Correspondent. Samantha will be reporting and providing analysis across RTÉ News platforms on social, economic, cultural and political developments on all aspects of life in the Eastern region including all of Dublin, parts of east Meath, north and east Kildare and north Wicklow.

Samantha Libreri joined the RTÉ Newsroom in November 2000 and was initially employed as a runner while studying English and Sociology in UCD. She went on to become a freelance radio and television journalist for RTÉ, while also working as Editor of Ireland’s largest student newspaper, UCD’s The University Observer. In 2005 she was appointed as a full time journalist for RTÉ News and during her twenty-year career as a reporter, she has covered hundreds of news stories of national and international importance, major events and elections for television, radio and online. She has also presented some of RTÉ’s flagship radio programmes including Morning Ireland and Drivetime.

She has reported extensively on issues in the Greater Dublin Area in addition to major stories such as the Carrickmines fire tragedy, the controversy over expenditure at the FAI and the Creeslough Explosion. She has also reported internationally from Europe, the US, Africa and Australia on stories including the resignation of Pope Benedict, the Berkley balcony collapse and Ireland’s first appearance in a Women’s World Cup.

In 2007 she won a Justice Media Award for her work on a year-long series on Road Safety with Charlie Bird and in 2011 and 2012 she was named Transport Journalist of the Year for her reporting on Ireland’s transport infrastructure.

Samantha is from Finglas in Dublin and is married with two young children. She is an avid reader, runner and Shamrock Rovers fan. In December 2012 she wrote a book about her home place called “Finglas: A People’s Portrait,” published by New Island Books.

Commenting on her new role Samantha said: “As someone who was born and reared on the northside of Dublin and who has lived and worked all my life in the capital, being appointed RTÉ’s Eastern Correspondent is a dream come true. I hope to bring my 20 years of reporting experience to this new and expanded role to tell the stories of those who live in the commuter belts of Meath, Kildare and Wicklow while also keeping audiences up to date with the major developments in Dublin which impact on those who live, work in and visit the capital. I have always been so proud to work for RTÉ and am delighted to be taking on this role at such a vital time for reliable, accurate and engaging journalism.“

Samantha will be taking up the post in late May.