RTÉ broadcaster Teresa Mannion has decided to retire, saying she felt her age ‘crept up’ on her.

The western correspondent – who became a viral sensation during Storm Desmond back in 2015 when broadcasting in treacherous weather – joked that it was her joints that made her decide to leave her job.

She also laughed off speculation that she might one day run for President, telling Extra.ie: ‘Would you stop!’

This week she announced in the RTÉ Guide that she would be retiring from her job, remarking: ‘[It was] my age. I have a staff job in RTÉ, but there is a new thing now where it is not up to your employer – you can decide to stay on yourself – but certainly my Head of News was happy for me to stay on… There was no issue there at all. It was totally my own decision to decide to go at 65.’

In the past, some of RTÉ’s top staff were forced to retire at 65 due to the broadcaster’s then-policy, but that was updated thanks to the Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Act 2025, which states that workers with contractual retirement ages lower than the State pension age have the right to request to stay on in a job.

Teresa said: ‘I was born the same year as RTÉ television in 1961. They’ve been my work family all my life.’

Asked what pushed her to retire, she said: ‘I love the job, and I love so much about RTÉ. I had a great career there. It was actually a decision taken because I wasn’t having any big issues as such… just issues with my joints,’ she said, laughing.

‘My knees,’ she said, adding: ‘I am definitely cut out for the road. I love the road, and I do a lot of driving, trekking, and meeting people non-stop, but I actually got to the point where I thought, this is still a young person’s game.

‘Age creeps up on you. I can’t believe my age. There is a time where there is a natural order of things to say, move aside, and watch other people develop and shine.

‘I’m looking at younger people coming in, and you just see the whole media landscape changing, and I feel like I have had a really good innings in RTÉ, I’m 65 on September 15, I just feel like it’s right.

‘Once I decided, I was very happy with my decision.’

Teresa noticed she was attending her colleagues’ retirement parties ‘every week’, which made her think more about her own situation.

‘I’m going to retirement parties every week. My friends are all retiring… It’s a nice part of life – if your health is good – to finally say, you know, put yourself first. So many of my colleagues are gone that I have worked really closely with.’

But Teresa said retiring doesn’t mean she will stop completely and didn’t rule out a new career in presenting, remarking: ‘Maybe I will be energised to look at different things now.

‘I never, ever thought I would end up working in the newsroom. My career has not been linear. So I could imagine myself very easily going back into that world.

‘Also, you’re armed with way more confidence because I think once you’ve done news, you’re reacting so quickly and turning stuff around, there is nothing quite like it for making you very robust,’ she added.

Earlier this week, bookmakers Ladbrokes tipped Teresa at 10/1 to enter the next Presidential race in 2032. But Teresa told Extra.ie she would ‘never in a million years try to step into President Catherine Connolly’s shoes’.

‘Oh, would you stop,’ she said jokingly. ‘Oh my God, no. I actually hardly had a second to think about it. It’s funny. Of course, it is a joke and no, not in a million years.

‘One of my brothers – I’m from a large family – often calls and says “Ah, Mrs President next”. He would say it as a laugh. Now [when he saw the article] he said, “Look, I told you!”,’ she said laughing.

Teresa will sign off for the final time around the middle of August, before celebrating her 65th birthday in September. But she admits it will be ‘emotional’ saying goodbye, adding: ‘The feedback [to my announcement to retire] was nuts.

‘I think it will be emotional [when I leave]. I know it sounds like a cliché but there are so many great people in RTÉ, people you’re on the road with day in and day out.’

With her decades of service behind her, her mantra – ‘Don’t make unnecessary journeys, don’t take risks on treacherous roads, and don’t swim in the sea’ – will live on.