At home with Sybil Mulcahy

To some people Sybil Mulcahy might seem to have the dream job. As an entertainment reporter for TV3 she gets to go to all the big showbiz events, movie premiers, concerts, fashion shows and more, meeting the stars and wannabes – and generally getting into the glamour and glitz of it all.

As well as being on first name terms with virtually every home-grown superstar, she has interviewed the likes of Tom Cruise, Beyoncé, Pierce Brosnan and even President Clinton in the seven years she’s been with TV3. Even as we catch up with her she is zooming up the M1 to Belfast to try and nab an interview with Justin Timberlake who is appearing in the Odyssey Arena. “Apparently he’s not doing any media, but we’re going to film a bit of the show, go backstage and see what happens,” she says. “He’s got an entourage of 120 people with him, so you never know who we might come across.”
It’s all part of the job she insists – a job that has undoubtedly got busier since the launch of TV3’s new entertainment show XPOSÉ, which goes out on weekdays from 6.00pm to 6.30pm and looks at celebrity life in Ireland, Hollywood and beyond. The show also features her TV3 colleagues Lorraine Keane, Aisling O’Loughlin, Karen Koster and Lisa Cannon, all promising interviews with celebrities, movie stars, British soap stars and special reports from around Ireland and the world of entertainment. “Basically we’ll try and get hold of any star that arrives in Ireland,” she says. “So we’d be going along to every event – from movie premiers to celebrity balls, anywhere the stars gather.”
When not pounding the red carpets, home for Sybil is a four-bedroom house in Ballinteer, South County Dublin, which she shares with her husband of three years, 10-month-old son Hugh and live-in child minder. Though she grew up in Ballsbridge in leafy Dublin 4, high prices forced her to look further afield when house hunting, as she explains. “We bought the place about two years ago after searching for what seemed like forever. We were originally looking for something in the Dun Laoghaire/Monkstown area near the sea but we just couldn’t find anything within our budget.
“We were outbid on eight different houses, it was so frustrating. Then my sister [Orna Mulcahy, Irish Times Property Editor] suggested we go for a new-build, which we hadn’t really considered before. We went to see the showhouse and we made up our minds on the spot and just went for it.”
It’s not difficult to see why. An unusual, almost American style terraced townhouse with a large living room, it’s located at the front of the estate across from a large green area. Marley Park is at the end of the road and it’s also close to Dundrum Town centre. “It’s got everything we could ever want close to hand,” she says “We’re very lucky we bought when we did in that it was the last housing estate to be built in the area before the builders went totally over to apartments.”
The furnishing too is unusual and is not in the vernacular minimalist/modern style that seems to be all the rage these days. “My parents gave me a lot of nice pieces – my mother had this connection in Italy and I’ve a couple of cabinets from Bangkok. My curtains are silk from Thailand and I’m into art as well so I’ve got a couple of nice works around the place. Even my kitchen table is 30 years old – it’s not your bog standard modern stuff.”
Life has obviously changed dramatically since the arrival of baby Hugh and her social life has slowed down considerably. “I used to have a fair few dinner parties before he was born, but we don’t do as many now. We tend to go out to meet friends and I like going to Finnegan’s in Dalkey, which I love, and places like Ashton’s in Clonskeagh, Kiley’s in Donnybrook. The odd time I’d be in Renards, though I don’t think I’ve been there for ages.”
When not chasing the stars she likes to chill out at home in front of the TV. “We do watch a lot of TV but I don’t have a huge plasma screen or anything like that – just a small flat screen TV in the kitchen. I love listening to the radio but I wouldn’t listen to a lot of music at home. We get CDs in work all the time but I’m ashamed to say I’d buy a CD about every four months.”
With the summer fast approaching she plans to spend much more time relaxing in the garden soaking up the sun. “I like being outside but I’m absolutely useless in the garden,” she laughs. “When we moved here first it was full of builder’s rubble and it ended up as an overgrown jungle. We’re getting it all decked to make things easier. In fact it’s all being done today so hopefully we’ll get some nice weather this summer.”
Stars and sun – some people have all the luck!
XPOSÉ is on TV3, Monday to Firday at 6pm.