Tributes paid following death of Bosco presenter Gráinne Uí Mhaitiú

Olivia Kelleher

Gráinne Uí Mhaitiú, the former presenter of the popular 1970s and 1980s children’s show Bosco, has died at the age of 72.

The mother of two of Carrigacurra, Valleymount, Co Wicklow, died on Saturday in the “wonderful care” of staff at Tallaght University Hospital in Dublin.

As well as her time on Bosco, Uí Mhaitiú presented with Seán Bán Breathnach on the Irish language show SBB Ina Shuí.

A death notice on RIP.ie reads that Uí Mhaitiu is survived by her husband Séamas, her son Connla, daughter Aoife, sisters Bríd and Aislinn, brother Cillín, grand-daughters Bláithín and Sadhbh, son-in-law Jarlath and a wide circle of friends. Her funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.

Many adults who were fans of the show as children paid tribute in the condolences section. One message read: “Fond memories of Gráinne in Bosco with her cheery & vibrant presence. Such an 80's icon for us primary school children.”

Another said that they “grew up in a much safer place through the sharing of her gifts to both educate and entertain us” whilst another person said that they found her “energy and enthusiasm uplifting” when they watched the programme as a child.

Bosco was produced by RTÉ from 1979 to 1987. It ran on repeats on the channel well in to the 1990s.

The roster of presenters included Marian Richardson, David Byrne, the late Frank Twomey, Jonathan Ryan, Mary Garrioch, Paul Burton and the late Philip F Tyler.

When actor Frank Twomey died in 2023 mourners at his funeral in Cork were told that presenting on Bosco was a “deceptively simple role” as it involved making children believe that you were a “friend to the red haired puppet” rather than someone working on a TV show.

In 2019, upon her retirement from a prolific broadcasting and producing life at RTÉ, former Bosco presenter, Marian Richardson, said that she was still approached in shops by people in their 40s and 50s who asked if she was “the girl from Bosco.”

She recalled interviewing the late former taoiseach Albert Reynolds for a news programme and having to re-shoot it after kids started shouting ‘Howya Bosco.’

She told the Irish Independent that “Albert really enjoyed that.”