Downes to replace Bird in Washington

RTÉ RADIO 1 Morning Irelandpresenter Richard Downes has been chosen as the broadcaster's Washington correspondent, to replace Charlie Bird.

Downes, a former BBC foreign correspondent in South Africa and Iraq, said he was a “surprised but rather delighted man”, having only found out about his appointment shortly before it was made public by RTÉ yesterday.

He is hoping to be able to take up his new role within six weeks, with Bird returning home to his old position as chief news correspondent. Downes’s initial contract will be for two years.

Unlike Bird, who cited homesickness for his decision to return home early, Downes has extensive experience as a foreign correspondent. He covered the Iraq war in 2003 and was almost killed in an American bombing raid, even composing a farewell letter to his wife Maireád. His experiences were chronicled in his book In Search of Iraq.

“Reporting from a normal-type country will be quite a novelty,” he said. “It will be another type of challenge because I’m quite used to being in an extreme-type scenario.”

Downes said he will not miss getting up in the middle of the night to present Morning Ireland, though the programme did have its compensations. "Being a presenter of one of the most popular programmes in Ireland is hardly hardship," he said.

Bird’s contract was for four years but he announced he was quitting in February, saying his decision to take the role in the first place was “madness” given his age of 59 years.

Downes, who is married with two children and lives in north Dublin, said he was looking forward to being a foreign correspondent again.

“I would never go for a job that I was not able to do or that I could not give 100 per cent to.

“They [RTÉ] have committed money to the position and I’m committed to make it work,” he said.