Caitriona Perry says late colleague Keelin Shanley is ‘always missed and always loved’

The pair quickly became fast friends after working together on the Six One News.

In a touching social media post on Wednesday, Caitriona marked the day by sharing a selfie of her and Keelin smiling together in front of the RTÉ sign at the station’s studios in Donnybrook, Dublin 4.

Captioning the sweet photo, the 42-year-old wrote “Thinking of this legend today. Three years gone already. Always missed. Always loved”, tagging RTÉ News and adding the hashtag #KeelinShanley.

Followers flooded the comments section to extend their condolences and remember Keelin as a “superb journalist” who was a “beautiful lady inside and out”.

Barcelona-based journalist Joseph Sexton wrote: “She treated me wonderfully when I did an internship at RTÉ. A terrible loss, can't believe it's already been three years.”

Another said: “I have said this before, I loved her voice. So clear. Yes Keelin is really missed.”

A third added: “Can't believe it's three years now Caitriona. Sending loads of love.”

And a fourth chimed in: “An absolute legend. So young to leave this world.”

Keelin tragically died age 51 on February 8, 2020, following a two-year battle with cancer, leaving her husband Connor Ferguson and two children, Lucy and Ben, behind.

Caitriona has previously opened up about her friendship with Ms Shanley, revealing that she was aware of her illness long before the public.

Speaking to the Irish Independent six months after Ms Shanley’s death, Caitríona said: “She was sick before she took on the Six One, but the only people who knew were me and our boss. So she and I were carrying that secret, and you have to have massive respect for someone who does what we do.

“For Keelin, journalism was a vocation and part of who she was. She wanted to work on, and write her book because she didn't want to just be this sick person.

“Everyone deals with these things in their own way. The work was important to her. We are a family in RTÉ and people give out, and they're entitled to their opinions, but we have each other's backs.

"You work incredibly long hours and you're in very difficult situations, so you form really close bonds with people, whatever their job title is.”