RTÉ’S LONGSTANDING HEALTH correspondent Fergal Bowers has officially retired from his post.

He spent 22 years in the role at RTÉ, according to his LinkedIn profile.

RTÉ presenter Shay Byrne paid tribute to his former colleague’s career on Radio 1′s Rising Time this morning.

“Fergal Bowers heads off into the sunset and leaves us here in RTÉ,” Byrne said. “It’ll be a sad loss to the staff here.”

Byrne wished Bowers the best of luck in his retirement, though he added, “Men like Fergal never retire”, before playing a song recorded by Bowers for charity – “a reimagining of Mike Oldfield’s On Horseback”.

Having begun his career in journalism in 1980, Bowers reported on a number of recreational activities before pursuing reporting on healthcare. He worked for Irish Medical News and then for an independent Irish health website.

He took on the role of health correspondent at the national broadcaster in 2004.

Bowers grew recognisable nationally through his coverage of the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020, taking to the news each evening to reassure people on developments and stoically deliver the latest updates when the future felt uncertain.

Just 15 days after Ireland reported its first case of the virus, he penned an encouraging piece titled: “Covid-19: A journey together“.

“If the Italians are singing from balconies to beat the virus blues, let’s hope we see some sprinkles of good Irish luck too in the period to come. This journey ahead with Covid-19 – we take it together,” he wrote.

In another piece in 2021, he wrote of how the public “have been so kind and generous to me” in supporting his coverage of the pandemic.

He is the author of several non-fiction books, including one on a young mother’s experience of the hepatitis-C virus scandal.