Charlie Bird is one of Ireland's most well known journalists and has had a long and distinguished career in Irish public service broadcasting. In 1974 he joined RTE as a current affairs researcher and in 1980 he joined the newsroom as a reporter. In a career which spanned almost four decades he held a number of positions; Chief News Reporter; Special
Correspondent; Chief News Correspondent and Washington Correspondent. Over those years he was involved in many foreign assignments and also reported extensively on humanitarian stories around the world. Charlie also covered the troubles in Northern Ireland and the peace process. For over ten years he was RTE's designated link to the IRA. In November 2004 he was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws by University College Dublin for his outstanding services to Irish Journalism and in April 2015, he chaired the launch of the historic 'Yes Equality' marriage campaign.