Jacqui Hurley on completing her brother's bucket list
As the summer warms up and the World Cup kicks off, Janice Butler talks to sports broadcaster Jacqui Hurley about a busy few months ahead, her new radio gig, and completing those life bucket lists.
Summer has finally arrived, which hopefully means good weather, of course, and a packed schedule of sport to keep fans entertained.
Top of the bill is the highly anticipated World Cup, taking place across Canada, the United States and Mexico and including a record-breaking 48 teams, of which sadly Ireland is not one, having crashed out against Czechia in a dramatic penalty shootout.
Someone who is well used to the tension and heartbreak that comes with sport is broadcaster Jacqui Hurley, who has built her career around some of the most memorable sporting moments. She will be part of a panel of presenters for the World Cup and is excited for the coming weeks.
"I’m doing the opening game, and then it rotates after that. There are so many games this time around, so I don’t think any one person could do that volume; it’s trying to share the load with everyone," she comments.
Photo: RTÉ Guide
"It’s brilliant that we’re covering it – so much sport is going behind the paywall, and I do think for events like this, with kids watching at home, for a lot of them, this is their introduction to sport, so the fact that it’s free to air is huge."
She was live on air with her new RTÉ Radio One show, Inside Sport, when Irish fans’ hearts were broken during that penalty showdown; how does she handle moments like that?
"It’s all the emotions that you go through. You’re trying to capture a moment and the mood of a whole nation who are sitting there in disbelief of what’s happening. There’s a natural cycle of emotions that you go through, but it’s hard to keep your emotions in check in those moments, because at the end of the day, you’re human," she laughs.
We meet to chat in the RTÉ canteen. Dressed in a brightly coloured two-piece suit, Jacqui has arrived early to chat before going on to her new gig on the radio, which she co-hosts with Marie Crowe. The brand new sports-focused show airs each weekday at 6.00pm, and she admits that it’s probably an adjustment for the listeners.
"I do appreciate they’ve probably had to take a leap of faith with it because for people who are regular listeners to the radio, you’re used to getting Drivetime and hard news at six o’clock, so it’s probably a bit of a jump for people when you’re coming on and there’s people having the craic at six, so there’s definitely a change of pace with it but I’d like to expand it, do more on wellness and lifestyle so it’s not just a sport show. We’re not there yet, but we’ll get there," she remarks.
Photo: RTÉ Guide
Had she any hesitation when being approached for the job that complements her other roles in sport, including hosting The Six Nations and, at this time of year, The Sunday Game, which she took over in 2023?
"I got a phone call from my boss asking if I would be interested in doing it. Initially, when I saw it was a five-day show, I thought, I can’t do a five-day show on top of what I’m doing, but he was very quick to say I’d be sharing it with Marie. When I heard that, I thought brilliant – we’re fairly aligned in how we think, we’re friends outside of work, and if you’re going to split a show with someone, you need to do it with someone who's like-minded," she says.
"I think we’ve got a good vibe to it, I’m really enjoying it, it’s still early days, but it’s up and running, and it’s great to have something regular for the sports department, that everyone can feel a part of; having a presence on the Radio One schedule is huge for us," she adds.
Working in sport can bring challenges with home life since the majority of the work is done at weekends, but Jacqui says, she and her family – husband Shane and kids Luke (12) and Lily (7) are well used to it after her working in RTÉ for almost 20 years.
"Any time I say yes to anything workwise, it has to be ran by everyone at home to make sure it works," she says about getting the new radio slot. "I get a lot of time in the morning, I get to drop them to school every day, I’m very lucky, then I’m here in the afternoons after I collect them. So, there’s a nice balance, which I probably wasn’t expecting. I miss out a lot on the weekends, because I work every weekend, so what I miss out on there, I make up for during the week."
The Sunday Game had always been the dream job for Jacqui, and she spoke in the past about her disappointment in not getting the role on previous occasions. Now with some hindsight, she admits that when she finally did get the high-profile role in 2023, it was the right time.
"There was a lot of soul-searching at that time and probably the only time I thought of leaving here," she admits. "The Sunday Game was my focus, and I didn’t know what else there was here for me. Then the rugby came about for me, and I probably didn’t see it at the time, but I just wasn’t ready at that stage for The Sunday Game. The rugby has been the most natural fit for me. It’s really surprised me; I really love it. It’s been the joy of a lifetime, and I wouldn’t have got to do that had I got the GAA at the time," she says.
Photo: RTÉ Guide
"There’s a contentment now career-wise, because you’re getting to do all the things you wanted to do. There was a long time where that didn’t look like it was going to happen for me, so you have to take it in and appreciate it. But the competitor in me is always like 'what can I do next?’. I’ve tried to tick all the main boxes of the sports things I wanted to do, and then when opportunities come to do other stuff in the building, I try and make it happen if I’ve the time.
"I think you have to appreciate when you have it, because it’s not always going to be me, and I’m very aware of that; it will be someone else’s turn," she adds.
She’s a massive advocate for women in sport, be it on the pitch or behind the camera. Having written two books titled Girls Play Too, she’s passionate about keeping young girls interested in playing sport as they go through school years. Her own daughter Lily recently told her mum that she wanted to "play soccer for Ireland or be a gymnast at the Olympics."
"I just love that confidence and ambition because that wasn’t there when we were younger," she smiles."I would love to do a third book, but I’d also love to do a book for teenage girls. I have it in my head, the plan is there, and it’s certainly going to happen, it’s just when I can find the window to do it. It will probably be a next year project, and I think it would be a really valuable asset for teenage girls to have. We need to sit down with them and ask what are the real problems and what can we do to help."
Jacqui is as passionate about life and living it to the full as she is about her work and sport. Her sense of carpe diem comes from the sudden passing of her younger brother Seán, who died in 2011 when he was only 25 in a car accident, close to their home in Cork.
Not long before he passed, he had a meaningful conversation with their mum, Mairead, about what he hoped to achieve in life. For whatever reason, she took note of the conversation and his dreams, and this became a bucket list for the family to achieve in his honour.
Some of the items on the list included taking part in a triathlon, running a pub and running in the Cork City Marathon, and the family has achieved them and more since 2012. One of the more ambitious items on the list was to win a Motorcycling Championship, which became a reality as their Cork-based team won the SuperSport 300 World Championship last October in what was an incredibly emotional day for all the family.
The team, named #109, clinched the World SuperSport 300 championship with victory in the final race at Jerez where their Spanish rider Banat Fernandez took his third win and tenth podium of the season. And making them the first Irish motorcycle team to win a World Championship title.
"That idea for the bucket list totally just came about sitting around having a cup of coffee, and I said we should do this list. I never thought of all the things we’d be ticking off, one would be going to the World Championship. The dream and vision and the amount of people that had to get behind it. It really stopped me in my tracks," comments Jacqui on the incredible achievement.
"The bucket list gave people the ability to talk to us about Seán and get involved in a way that’s very non-intrusive. And it was something joyful to celebrate, especially for my mum and dad. I went to the final race last year, and as long as I live, I won’t forget that day. I don’t think Seán would even believe what has happened and been achieved," she adds.
The list is complete now, and Jacqui says it’s time for the family to focus on their own dreams while keeping Seán’s alive.
"You need to live and do your own thing, we can’t spend our lives chasing just his dreams – I want to make sure my parents are doing things they want to do, that’s really important."
And as for her own dreams, she still has plenty she wants to do with, especially with her husband and kids. "We try and do a few things every year that make us fulfilled," she says. "I’m not good with half-written pages."
