Styledbyniamh;Andrea Gilligan on ambition, accents & mentors
In the competitive world of Irish broadcasting, few voices resonate with as much warmth and authenticity as Andrea Gilligan.
As the host of Newstalk’s Lunchtime Live, she has become a staple of the midday airwaves, facilitating raw, honest conversations that often stops the nation in its tracks.
But behind the professional exterior is a journey rooted in Donegal, shaped by a stable, rural childhood, and mentored by some of the biggest names in the business.
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Before diving into her own storied career, Gilligan reflects fondly on her relationship with broadcasting legend Pat Kenny. For years, the two shared a daily five-minute handover as he vacated the studio so she could take over.
‘I do miss the craic with him every afternoon. Like he’s totally full of divilment,’ Andrea tells Styled.
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‘He’s such great fun,’ she says. Gilligan describes Kenny as a ‘great mentor’ who possessed a genuine, disarming interest in the lives of his colleagues.
‘Pat always had a huge interest in people. He’d always ask me what I’m doing at the weekends, and how my mom was, and how the pub was, and how my time in Donegal was; he’s just very, very interested.’
Growing up in Ballyshannon, Gilligan was the eldest of two sisters. While her surroundings were rural, they were far from isolated.
‘I grew up in a really nice, you know, rural area, but quite a lot of neighbours living around me and we would have all been very good friends,’ she recalls.
Education was the household’s north star, driven by her father’s focus on the future. ‘Education would always have been kind of a big thing in our house, and my dad would have been particularly focused on that. What were you going to do and where were you going to go?’ Interestingly, the woman now known for her inquisitive interviewing style originally planned for a life in the courtroom. ‘I’d always planned to do law; that was always what was in my mind.’
The shift from law to journalism happened almost by accident in a college canteen in Galway. A chance conversation sparked a realisation that her true passion wasn’t just the law, but the mechanics of society.
‘I’ve always had an interest in how the world works and in politics,’ she explains. ‘Not for me as a politician, but I’ve always had an interest in government and how things are governed and how decisions are made… the way the world works and operates.’
This curiosity led her to a Master’s in Journalism, and a head start at Ocean FM, where she built the portfolio that would eventually become her ticket to Dublin.
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Breaking into the Dublin media scene during the economic downturn was no small feat. To join Newstalk, Gilligan had to walk away from a permanent role as a news editor in Donegal for the uncertainty of a freelance contract.
‘I gave up my permanent job… moved to Dublin, and the rest is history,’ she says. That history included a stint at RTÉ, though she admits, ‘I never worked as little in my life as I did when I was in RTÉ, but the pay was so good, it was great! It made up for the same work in Newstalk, seven days a week.’
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For the past five and a half years, Gilligan has occupied the ‘Lunchtime Live’ seat, a role she treats with immense respect. She describes the position as a ‘privilege,’ particularly when listeners share intimate, often heartbreaking, details of their lives.
‘I put a lot of work into it, and I’ve worked hard at it for the guts of probably 18 or 19 years,’ she says. ‘We have created something really special with the show… people contact you to share their most intimate life details with you and the things that are affecting them most.’
She cites the story of ‘Tony,’ a father worried about who would care for his adult daughter with intellectual disabilities after he passed away. ‘As a result of that interview, more and more people got in touch… really heartbreaking stories from all over the country.’ One woman described having to leave her daughter at an A&E department because she had ‘absolutely nowhere to go.’
‘I think that demonstrates how she was at her wits’ end,’ Gilligan notes.
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As for the future, Gilligan is staying put, recently confirmed to continue presenting the show for the ‘foreseeable future.’ And while she occasionally gets ‘an awful slagging’ for her accent, with some saying it’s too Northern and others saying it’s not Donegal enough, she remains unfazed.
‘I’m really proud of my Donegal accent,’ she insists. ‘I’m really proud of the fact that I have an accent.’ In a world of polished, uniform voices, it is that very authenticity that makes Andrea Gilligan the perfect person to hold the microphone for the Irish public.
STYLE NOTES
The Power of the ‘Soft’ Blazer
Consider this your permission slip to retire the stiff, stern blazer of seasons past. Andrea shows us exactly how it’s done, throwing a sharp navy jacket from Pamela Scott over the delicate fluidity of a satin midi skirt or a lace-trimmed slip dress.
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Boardroom to brunch without breaking a sweat. It’s the push and pull of crisp tailoring against soft, light-reflecting fabric that makes this look sing, structured enough to mean business, dreamy enough to mean it on your own terms. Power dressing has had a glow-up, and it looks delightfully stylish.
Tonal Textures: Bouclé and Cream
If your outfit isn’t interesting to touch, is it even trying? Texture is the unsung hero of truly great dressing, and Pamela Scott’s pale blue bouclé jacket is proof. That gloriously tactile tweed creates instant depth and richness, especially when it meets the clean, cool lines of cream wide-leg trousers.
The palette is deliberately restrained, whites, creams, soft blues, because when the finish looks this expensive, you don’t need to shout. The masterstroke? Colour-matched suede trainers instead of heels. Effortless, grounded, and quietly devastating.
The Elevated Utility Trend
Utility has had its makeover moment, and it is not going back. The bomber jacket and the trucker jacket, once the preserve of practicality, have been given a full feminine reinvention, softer colours, delicate prints, zero apologies.
Pamela Scott’s cream bomber is the sleek, grown-up answer to a cardigan, all the ease, twice the edge. A simple figure-hugging bodysuit, like the one Andrea is wearing here from Irish brand Vivacious, makes for the perfect on-the-go, effortlessly fashionable work-to-out-of-office outfit. Throw a bomber over the simplest outfit and watch it do the heavy lifting. Style, sorted.
Credits
Photography by Evan Doherty
Makeup by Sarah O’Brien Beauty
Andrea Gilligan hosts Lunchtime Live weekdays, Monday to Friday, on Newstalk Radio
