And that's a wrap! End of an era as RTÉ's Cathy Halloran announces her retirement

It's the end of an era at RTÉ as the national broadcaster's Mid-West correspondent, Cathy Halloran has announced she is to retire later this month.

Cathy, who lives in Limerick city with her partner Nicky Woulfe and their son John Michael, has worked with RTÉ News for almost 40 years - 31 of which have been as Mid-West Correspondent.

Born in Dublin, she began her journalism career in the 1980s with The Farmer Magazine and went on to report for the Connacht Tribune newspaper in Galway.

She joined the national broadcaster in October 1987 where she reported for TV and radio across a wide variety of news and events including the Tribunal of Inquiry into the Beef Industry which began at Dublin Castle in 1990 

She was appointed to cover the Mid-West in 1993 and has been ever-present across the region since.

"It's been a roller coaster of a career during almost four decades working for RTÉ News, the bulk of them as Mid West Correspondent, and has given me a 'page one lead' on the stories making history and impacting the lives of citizens and their families and communities across this very busy part of the country," she told RTÉ.

The hardest stories she has had to cover are crime and fatalities, because of the impact they have on people's lives.

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But, she added: "There were also the stories of joy and those of ordinary people doing extraordinary things which were part of the daily mix of content from the region."

Cathy paid tribute to other journalists across the Mid-West, describing them as colleagues and friends and great supporters also of her work.

As for the future, she is looking forward to the years ahead when "the pressure of work and the tyranny of time will be replaced by a gentler pace of life."

Numerous friends, colleagues and fans have paid tribute to Cathy on social media since the announcement of her decision to retire.