“Remaining silent should not be an option”

We met Gráinne Seoige this summer to celebrate 25 years of VIP magazine.

We also took a look at the last quarter century of her life and career, and the life she had.

Gráinne, let’s go back to 1999, when this magazine was launched. Where and what were you doing?

I was 25, living in Dublin with a six-year-old son in the Gaelscoil in Monkstown. I was a busy mother and working a lot! TV3 had only been around for a few months, we launched in September 1998 to great fanfare, the first independent television channel in the history of the State. It was also a very high-profile year with the Kosovo War, Bill Clinton having his problems but also being very involved in Northern Ireland. We also had Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, the Euro was coming and everyone was also very worried about the Y2K bug, like everyone is worried about artificial intelligence today. It was a time of real change and scrutiny. It reminds me a bit of all the instability and volatility we have today. I mean, how come we still have wars? Why haven’t we learned any lessons?

Why do you think we didn’t do it?

My sister Síle is very outspoken on this issue and she has been very vocal about the fact that silence should not be an option. We need to be more vocal because all we can do is show our discontent. I think politicians only listen to voices when there are enough of them and only if it means their power is at risk. But I am very proud of the position that Ireland has taken. I think Ireland has a connection with Palestine because we feel the generational pain of being colonised. But it is not about being anti-Semitic or anti-Palestinian, it is simply about what is right and what is wrong, and what is evil. I really hope that international pressure continues to increase.

Problems and conflicts are still present, unfortunately, but do you think there have also been positive changes?

Socially, the changes in this country in the last 25 years have been enormous. We are much more secular now; people are much less ashamed of what they have suffered in silence; people are coming forward and saying this happened to me, I was abused, people in power could have protected me and didn’t. When you think about it, the last Magdalene Laundry didn’t close until the late 90s. Isn’t that shocking? But we have made enormous progress, look at the same-sex marriage referendum, the abortion referendum, divorce is not the stigmatizing thing it used to be. But on the other hand, cancel culture is real and I don’t think it’s fair that someone’s name can be destroyed forever because of one mistake. Because to make mistakes is human.

Twenty years ago, Gráinne, what was your dream?

I wanted to be a journalist. I studied English and sociology at UCG, then I did my Applied Communications degree in Irish, and suddenly an Irish language TV channel came along. I did the interview, I did the training, then I’m on air and I’m 21. Then this new channel (TV3) came along, I did the interview and then, while I was still in the car park, I got offered the job. It might sound like a huge cliché, but maybe I was living the dream at that point! But if I had taken myself out of it all and looked up and imagined what I wanted, Sky News would have been the one. And it happened years later!

It’s crazy !

It’s crazy! After Sky News I came back to Ireland, I presented Seoige, but at the same time I started working with ITV in the UK, I made the jump to ITV Breakfast, GMTV in the summer, which was relaunched as Daybreak, I was features editor and I was travelling all over the world. And then after I met my husband Leon I moved halfway around the world and lived in South Africa for five years before coming back here and coming back to national television.

And I’m very busy on national television too. You’re never off!

I have a lot of fun! But the most important thing I learned early in life was to be flexible and not think that anything is going to last forever, because nothing lasts forever, especially in this industry where it’s all about change.

Would you say that being flexible has been the biggest change for you?

I think so. It’s almost like being a pebble in a stream. We start out as a multifaceted creature, but as life goes on, you become a smoother pebble because you meet other people and get different perspectives on life. Life polishes you, it takes away the rough edges and the rough spots. I like to think that it smooths out that framework of judgment that you’re born with. It smooths out as you get older because you can see the shades of gray better. And I think that makes us much more compassionate. As you get older, you build up the compassion quota within you, and I think that’s one of the beauties of aging.

Many people impact our lives, but who has had the biggest impact on you?

Professionally, I have met many people who have inspired me and I have learned lessons from each of them. But personally, I have had the opportunity to meet my husband, Leon. Meeting him and moving to the other side of the world and living in a different culture has been an enriching experience. In Europe, we have lived a fairly secure life so far. Our life is sophisticated and we take a lot of things for granted, including peace. We can close our doors and be pretty confident that everything will be fine, but South Africa has taught me a different way of living and challenged me, away from the preconceived perceptions I had of myself, to rebuild and rebuild myself.

This reconstruction of the “self” must have been an interesting, but refreshing, process?

It was true, but it was also a real challenge because I had to find myself again and it had a huge impact. I’m not as connected to that old image of myself as I used to be. So I take things now, like being on The Six O’Clock Show, as something fun and as a gift, but I don’t define myself by it anymore.

What did you like in life 25 years ago?

Going out and no one takes your picture, or you don’t take anyone’s picture! If I could take anything back, it would be to take people’s phones away more often, so we can actually be together more.

Okay, Gráinne, here’s a weird one: where do you think you’ll be in 25 years?!

I don’t know! I could live in South Africa. I could be in Galway, a loving grandmother with many grandchildren! I could still be on television. Who knows? I could do a podcast like my sister Síle who taught me so much. She went through a tough time and her career completely changed, she carved out a completely different niche for herself. It’s not always easy to speak out, but Síle is not afraid to speak out and I think that’s very brave. I admire that.

Watch Gráinne with Síomha and Martin on Weekend Ireland AM on Virgin Media One every Saturday and Sunday from 9am-12pm and keep an eye out later in the summer for Season 2 of Grá Ar An Trá.