A Monaghan man has been appointed the new chair of the RTÉ board. Catherine Martin, TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media confirmed the appointment at 2:30pm today. Terence O'Rourke from Iniskeen, graduated from UCD before taking up a post with accountancy firm KPMG in 1975 at the start of a notable career in business and finance.
He was Managing Partner of KPMG Ireland from 2006 up to his retirement in April 2013 and during that time he was also President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. Today, the 69-year-old is the is the current chair of the board at ESB. Previously, other directorships have included the Irish Times and Enterprise Ireland. Last October, Northern Sound reported how Terence O'Rourke was conferred with an honorary doctorate in philosophy from DCU and, how on that occasion, the Iniskeen man quoted Patrick Kavanagh. Describing himself in a 2009 interview as a "proud Monaghan man" Terence O'Rourke said that pride was instilled into him as a young man by his parents. His Monaghan connections include an affinity with Iniskeen Grattans GAA Club, especially through his cousins Paddy and Oliver O'Rourke.
Political Editor with the Irish Daily Mail, Craig Hughes told the Joe Finnegan Show earlier that Terence O'Rourke was not the first choice for the role but with a salary of €31,000 per year for the part-time job, he didn't think many people queued outside the Department of Media for the job. The journalist said Terence O'Rourke comes to the role with a wealth of experience: "I think Terence perhaps will be seen as a heavy hitter given his background," Craig Hughes said, "He's no stranger to government in the sense that it was this government that appointed him to that role in ESB so, yeah, I think he's coming into a very challenging role that will be under microscopic spotlight from the public."
