Pat Kenny is one of Ireland’s most well-known faces and voices, but what do we know about the family behind him?
The broadcaster, whose radio show moved to the weekends in 2026 after 12 years, is set to return to the Late Late Show, the show he hosted until 2008, on Friday.
So then, ahead of the episode, what do we know about Pat and his life away from the cameras with his wife, Kathy?
Pat Kenny with his wife, Kathy. Pic: Brian McEvoy
Marrying Kathy
Pat and Kathy said I Do in 1992 in Paris after a legal ceremony at a registry office in Edinburgh, so that they wouldn’t alert the press to their marriage plans in Ireland several weeks before.
‘We had the wedding dinner in the Ritz and had a boat on the Seine, for champagne. I can’t imagine it would have been better anywhere else,’ Pat said in an interview with the Irish Independent in 2001.
Chatting about meeting his wife, he added: ‘I can’t regret not marrying younger. I hadn’t met Kathy. She is the one I was waiting for. And we met at the perfect time.’
Their family
Pat and Kathy Kenny with their daughters Kristina and Nicole at the IFTAs in 2016. Pic: Getty Images
Soon after saying I Do, Pat and Kathy welcomed their first daughter, Kristina, with Pat crediting her with helping him become more empathetic in his interviews.
They went on to welcome another daughter, Nicole.
According to Extra.ie, Kristina currently works for an Irish tech company, while Nicole works in digital marketing, having done media studies at DCU.
Pat Kenny and Kathy Kenny with their daughter Nicole at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin. Pic: Brian McEvoy
Pat rarely speaks about his daughters but has made a handful of public appearances with them over the years and every now and again, mentions his family in interviews.
Chatting with RSVP, he said his daughters try to make him healthier, saying: ‘Anytime we are out for food, they order salad on the side, and I always order chips. They are quick to say ‘Oh no, not again’.
Work-life balance
Kathy and Pat Kenny attend the 50th Anniversary Of The Late Late Show in 2012. Pic: FilmMagic
When Pat left the Late Late Show in 2008, it marked the end of two decades of Saturday nights away from his family, as before the Late Late, he hosted Kenny Live.
Talking with the RTÉ Guide, Kathy joked: ‘I said to Pat, “if you sign up for another five years of that show, you’re on your own”.’
‘In another few years, Kristina [their then 16-year-old daughter] would have left school, and you have to believe that there’s more to life,’ she added.
