By Mikie O’loughlin

Copyright rsvplive

She’s a doctor, broadcaster, mum-of-four, and one of Ireland’s most recognisable voices. But if you think Ciara Kelly is slowing down any time soon, think again. After a gruelling period of orthopaedic surgeries – including a broken back and a hip replacement – the Newstalk Breakfast presenter is back in the gym, walking the Camino, and quite literally stronger than ever. Here, Ciara opens up about health setbacks, her demanding early-morning schedule and why she’s not afraid of change – even if a third career chapter might be on the cards.

Read more: Dr Ciara Kelly feels ‘phenomenal’ again after two hip replacements and breaking her back

Read more: Matt Cooper and Aileen Hickie: Secret to 30-year marriage, overcoming health issues and family life

How is your health, Ciara? You broke your back recently and you also had a hip replacement, how are you now?

I am phenomenal. I am so good, I genuinely am. Later on this evening I will go to the gym. I am like a gym bunny now. I have a body that I haven’t had in years, and I don’t mean in terms of shape or size. I had such a bad time with orthopaedic disasters and I broke my back after I slipped in a hotel room, so I was very limited with what I could do for a long time. I got to a point before my hip surgeries where I could barely walk 100m, I was crippled. I was in a really bad way. I used to have to ask family to bring things upstairs for me because I needed two hands to hold onto the banisters. I used to ask them to make me a cup of tea because walking to the kitchen hurt me – and the walk to my kitchen isn’t very big [laughs]. Once I recovered from all of that I was determined not to throw it all away. I am in and out of the gym like a yo-yo, I do lots of weight training and I walk all the time. I did the Camino in April and I plan to do another one next year. I don’t know myself because I have boundless energy. I’m in the best shape I’ve been in in years in terms of my fitness.

There’s a vacancy in RTÉ after Joe Duffy retired from Liveline. You presented Lunchtime Live on Newstalk for three years before moving to breakfast radio. Would you ever make the move over there?

I’m very happy with my job. I love Shane Coleman, we have a great working relationship. I do a job where I feel lucky and I feel like I’ve landed on my feet. I would never say no to change in the future, not because I’m looking for the Liveline gig, but because I’ve already had a lot of change in my career. I used to do something entirely different when I practised medicine and then I threw all the chips in the air entirely in my 40s. I know that life doesn’t stay the same, I know that it changes. I know that change can be brilliant and invigorating, but I’ve no plans for change at the moment.

Do you think Irish people, or Irish women, in particular, are afraid of change?

That’s not just Irish people or Irish women. I think a lot of people have that personality where they are afraid of change. They find change threatening and they’re afraid of moving outside of their comfort zone. I’m a bit of a weirdo, I quite like change and I don’t fear it. I’m also aware that things can change for the worse. There’s a value in trying new things and experiencing the shot in the arm from that. The majority of people quite like to have a routine. I don’t know if it’s ADHD or whatever, but I am not one of them myself. I probably have a third chapter in my career. I don’t mean in RTÉ by any means. I sometimes think it might be writing. I never think ‘This is it now’ and I’m on the road to retirement and settling down. I don’t view life that way, at all.

In your two chapters so far, to put it that way, you’ve been surrounded by a lot of negativity and sadness. In medicine you dealt with people’s lows and hardships in life and on radio you deliver a lot of bad news to the nation. How do you perk up after that and bring a bit of light into your own life?

I’m genuinely naturally irrepressible. I always looked at medicine as a privilege and I don’t mean a privilege working in a leafy suburb with a reasonably well-paid job. I mean that it was a privilege that people let me into their inner lives. I was the person they dropped the mask for and I took that very seriously and I got a great deal of satisfaction from that. I felt like I had a responsibility for people. Even though there were times where it was very sad I still felt a value from my job. Since I joined Newstalk Breakfast we’ve had the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, the pandemic and extraordinary humanitarian disasters and you are the messenger to the people listening on the radio. Again, I see that as a privilege that people would trust you and listen to you. You might get to interview the Taoiseach about something important going on in the country and it’s like a ringside seat into history. I get a lot out of that, too. I’m a big believer in finding the good in what you do and reminding yourself of that. I always look at things glass half full.

You get up very early for Newstalk Breakfast, what does your day look like? Are the early mornings cruel?

The early mornings are tough, they are a grind. That’s the only part of my job that I struggle with at all. I start reading the newspapers at 5am, I listen to the news at 6am and then I have a pre-production meeting at 6.05am. I go on air at 7am, I finish at 9am and I usually leave the office at around 10am. If I can, I will try and get a nap at some point during the day because I’m usually very tired. I follow the afternoon news cycle too because how else would you keep abreast of things. I watch the Six One news and then do another conference call to decide what’s going into the next day’s show, this time about 6.15pm. I start reading briefs at 10pm and I try to have my light off by 11pm. It’s a long day, but it’s like a split shift because there’s a morning bit to it and then an evening part. It’s tiring and long, but I do have great flexibility. Supposing one of my kids is sick or they have something on in school or I have a gig to do, I have a lot of time in the middle part of the day. For someone who likes to be busy, it suits me.

Those hours go against the natural body clock and body rhythm. Is there only a certain amount of time you can work like that?

I’m five years on Newstalk Breakfast and I don’t think it’s a forever job. I look at Ian Dempsey on Today FM and I wonder how he keeps going because it’s very tiring. Nonetheless he does it and he does it very well. It’s horses for courses. For me, it’s not a forever gig because I would be shattered.

You launched the ‘Walk 100km in September’ campaign for the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation. Tell us about it.

I’m ready and I’m delighted to go flat out. It’s a really good campaign. The walk isn’t outrageous, it’s about 3km a day, if you do it that way. That’s not much more than a 30-minute walk. If you complete the 100km, it’s like doing your own little personal Camino. It’s a beautiful time of the year to walk. It’s good for you to get into a new habit and September is a great time to start something new because of the natural cycle of the school year. The Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation is a fantastic cause and I’ve met some of the families who work with them and they’re amazing people. We all know that the HSE is stretched, so a lot of the slack is picked up by families, carers and charities. This children’s charity is very close to all of our hearts.

September is also that bridge between summer and winter in Ireland, time-wise. Starting something new now is a great way to break things up.

September is a great time to start reading, evening classes or a new hobby. Since we were four years of age we were conditioned psychologically to think that September is the month where something starts because of school.

How was your summer? What did you get up to?

My summer was phenomenal, actually. I went to see Oasis and I was out on a lovely boat trip in Greystones. We exited Greystones harbour and we came across a school of dolphins. We were heading off somewhere else, but we stayed to watch them jumping everywhere. Ireland is amazing. I was lucky enough to have been away with my family in Thailand as well. I feel very lucky and very blessed. Even here in Ireland, the weather has been fantastic. This summer has felt like a proper summer.

What are the family up to at the moment? Who’s at home with you and who’s not? What are they all up to?

They’re all more or less home with me. I’ve two in college, one in secondary school and one just got Leaving Cert results.

You and your husband Eoin celebrated 25 years of marriage together at Christmas. Did you do anything to mark it?

God, no. I’m not very sentimental [laughs].

What’s it like to be coming towards the end of that school chapter as a parent as the children exit their teenage years?

It’s so good. It’s very liberating and I think most women will agree with that. I would say that I spent my 30s without drawing breath because, like many other mums, I was working full time. I had four kids who, at one stage, were all under the age of nine. You don’t get a minute and you lose sight of yourself, I think. That’s just normal as a parent and I feel so grateful to have them. Now that my kids are older, my youngest is 16, I’m at that phase where you reap what you sow. You spend all those years doing the heavy lifting with feeding and sleepless nights and, now, you end up with amazing people around you who are kind of like your tribe. They are “of me” so we have very similar humour, we enjoy each other’s company and we have really good fun. I’m having a good time, it’s all good.

Does that allow for more of a balance in your personal life and your marriage as well?

I think there’s great balance if you’re open to it. Life goes through phases and you need to be open to the good bits that each phase brings. I know some people who don’t feel what I feel, they feel that their kids don’t need them as much and they question their purpose. I don’t view it that way. In every stage, I try to find the good and I try to find the balance. I like to look at this phase, not just as a phase for me because my life is still very family oriented – I live in a mad house, but, at the same time, there is more balance and I have more time. The real secret to life is finding the bit that brings you joy.

The Biggest Loser docuseries has caused a stir on social media since it was released by Netflix. People have complained about the toxic diet culture that existed when the original show first aired. What are your thoughts on that?

I’m a great believer in body positivity and trying to support people. Medically, being a healthy weight is better for us than being an unhealthy weight. You shouldn’t be too thin or overweight, you need to find a happy medium. I know those kinds of programmes were popular. I left my role on Operation Transformation long before it ended. I’m off it since 2018. I left it because I felt it had run its course in general and approaches needed to change. I’m not trying to give out about it, I don’t do something and then kick it afterwards. I think we’ve learned over the years how to approach and support people looking to reach a healthy weight. I’m not sure that reality TV is the way to do that.

Do you think shows like The Biggest Loser and Operation Transformation in their original format just wouldn’t be made now?

I never watched The Biggest Loser, I felt it was voyeuristic. They have probably had their day. We look back at the prism of ‘nowadays’ at shows five, 10 or 15 years ago and say, “Oh my God”. Look at The X Factor, that’s also had its day. They were of their time and we move on and we live and learn as things change.

Throughout September, Life Pharmacy teams across Ireland will hit the ground walking, each pledging to complete 100km in a bid to raise €100,000 to fund Jack and Jill’s vital nursing care for families with children, up to the age of six, with severe learning disabilities often associated with complex medical needs. The campaign is calling on communities to join the movement by donating, either in Life Pharmacy stores or online, and be part of something truly life-changing.

Read the full interview with Dr Ciara Kelly in this issue of RSVP Magazine – on shelves now