Evelyn Cusack

Evelyn Cusack (born 3 November 1957) is an Irish former meteorologist who served as the Head of Forecasting from 2018 at Met Éireann, where she worked from 1981 until her retirement in 2023. She is the longest-serving weather presenter on RTÉ.^[1]

Evelyn Cusack
Cusack in 2015
Born	(1957-11-03) 3 November 1957 (age 67) Clonaslee, County Laois, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Education	University College Dublin
Occupation(s)	Meteorologist, presenter
Years active	1988–2023

Personal life

Cusack was born in Clonaslee, County Laois, the middle child of a family of seven.^[2] She attended University College Dublin, earning a bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics (1979) and a master's degree in physics (1984).

Career

Cusack joined the Irish meteorological service Met Éireann in 1981. She was a weather presenter on RTÉ from 1988 until 2018. In 1999, Cusack and other well-known weather presenters such as Gerald Fleming, who were all professional meteorologists, were temporarily let go from their jobs at RTÉ in favour of younger, less qualified presenters. However, after protest from viewers, Cusack and her colleagues were swiftly re-hired.^[3]

Cusack received the inaugural UCD Alumni award in science in 2014.^[4]

In March 2018, she was promoted to Head of Forecasting at Met Éireann,^[5] having previously served as Deputy Head of Forecasting.^[6]

On 1 June 2023, she retired from working at Met Éireann after 42 years.^[7][8]

Television

In 2008, she participated in RTÉ reality TV show Fáilte Towers.^[9] The show involved thirteen celebrities running a hotel for sixteen days and nights in order to win money for their designated charities. Cusack was the fifth to be eliminated.^[10]

In 2015, she met young Johnny O'Loughlin on the Late Late Toy Show^[11] who had made a special weather board game for her.^[12]

In 2017, she took part in TV3's Celebrity Masterchef.^[13][14]

References

1. Mulgrew, Seoirse (1 June 2023). "'Thanks for having me' – forecaster Evelyn Cusack retires today after 42 years at Met Éireann". Irish Independent. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
2. "RTÉ Television – Fáilte Towers". RTÉ News. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
3. "Met storm forced TV bosses to change tack and save face". Irish Independent. 28 October 1999.
4. "UCD Alumni". UCD. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
5. "Evelyn becomes Head of Forecasting". The Journal. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
6. Brophy, Daragh (1 June 2023). "Met Éireann's head of forecasting Evelyn Cusack is retiring today". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
7. "Evelyn Cusack retiring after 42 years of weather forecasting". RTE News. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
8. Kent, David (1 June 2023). "'It's time to go': Evelyn Cusack retiring from Met Éireann after more than 40 years". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
9. "13 Fáilte Towers celebrities announced". RTÉ.
10. "Evelyn checks out of Fáilte Towers". RTÉ News. 11 August 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
11. "Johnny O'Loughlin on the Late Late Toy Show". RTÉ. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
12. "As Evelyn Cusack retires, here's her Late Late Toy Show cameo". RTE News. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
13. Claire Digby, Marie (6 February 2017). "Celebrity Masterchef: Evelyn Cusack blown off course in dessert storm". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
14. O'Grady, Sean (7 February 2017). "'She thought I was an idiot' - Weather forecaster Evelyn Cusack sees her MasterChef run come to a sticky end". Irish Independent. Retrieved 1 June 2023.