GIVEN ALL THE coverage Pat Kenny and Seán O’Rourke got today, the other big change to Irish radio slipped quietly under the radar.

Former Morning Ireland stalwart Áine Lawlor today began presenting RTÉ Radio One’s News at One programme, one of the most popular radio slots in the country. She will be sharing presenting duties with Richard Crowley, who had already been presenting the Friday afternoon edition.

An estimated 365,000 people listen to News at One every day, making it the third most popular radio programme in the country behind Liveline and Morning Ireland on the same station.

Before her first show today, Lawlor had spoken about how lucky she felt to be given the role. She had taken time off from Morning Ireland in late 2011 to undergo treatment for breast cancer, returning to the station last summer.

She began today’s show discussing the crisis in Syria with RTE’s Europe editor Tony Connolly.

Over the course of the 45-minute show, she covered an interview with Ivan Yates about how he dealt with his bankruptcy, Seamus Heaney’s funeral, and, in a slightly meta moment, the new Pat Kenny show on Newstalk and how it compared to Seán O’Rourke taking the reins at the rival 10am slot on RTE Radio One.

The News at One website has not yet been updated to take note of its new presenter, but people on social media welcomed the change:

Did you listen to any of the new shows today? What did you think of them?

Read: The Great Irish Radio War: Who won the first battle? >

Áine Lawlor: “I’m terrifically lucky at the moment” >

Poll: What radio station will you tune into next week? >

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