Dublin, January 2003

An innovative News service, news2day, which is designed specifically for children, begins on Monday 20th January on Network 2. The programme, created in partnership with the National Children's Office, is aimed at children between the ages of seven and twelve approximately and will contain Irish and international news of interest to a young audience. They will be presented in an accessible and child-friendly manner and will give a voice to young people with substantial direct input from children themselves. The weekday bulletins will transmit each weekday at 5pm on The Den, Network 2's popular afternoon children's show.

Ailbhe Conneely, aged 23, from Portumna in Galway and 26 year old Cathal Murray from Athlone will present the bulletin. They have both had journalistic experience in local radio, but this is their first foray into television.

RTÉ's Managing Director of News, Ed Mulhall, said of the new service: "It's something the News Division has wanted to do for a long time. We're hoping to get a new generation interested, from an early age, in what's going on in the world around them and to get our younger viewers involved in this programme."

Ailbhe Conneely was born in Portumna, County Galway and attended the local National and Community School in the town. She studied English and History at NUI Galway before taking a post-graduate course in Applied Communication and Journalism. She worked as a reporter in the Newsroom of Galway Bay FM before joining news2day.

Cathal Murray is from Athlone and has four brothers and three sisters. He studied Business in University College Cork, where he was an active member of the Drama Society and worked as a newsreader in Midlands Radio 3 in Tullamore before joining RTÉ as a continuity announcer last year.

The programme can be accessed on: www.rte.ie/news2day and contacted by email at: news2day@rte.ie

Further information: Carolyn Fisher 01 208 3996 / 087 285 6878