Laura Woods and Anna Daly enjoy 'office party' as they poke fun at Ireland AM departure

The presenters left Ireland AM earlier this year after changes to the Virgin Media daytime lineup saw the pair depart the popular breakfast show.

Taking to Instagram, they shared a snap of themselves laughing while having tea at a café, and captioned the image “Office Christmas Party”.

Season regular Aidan Power also left the programme earlier this year.

The reshuffle saw former Xpose star Karen Koster move to the Six O’Clock show.

Muireann O'Connell was also added to Ireland AM which she presents alongside Tommy Bowe and Alan Hughes. Elaine Crowley was moved onto Ireland AM as weekend cover with Simon Delaney after her daytime show was axed.

After leaving the station Anna Daly was snapped up by The Communications Clinic as a consultant.

Speaking to Sunday World, she said her new role is “liberating.”

“It’s all good in the freelance world, so far anyway,” she began.

“I was used to being on staff for a fair chunk of my career, so you get used to the comfort of that. But what also comes with that is the restrictions, and this is a lovely world for me now to be able to say yes to things, and to be able to make my own decisions and to create my own diary appointments and talk to whatever journalist I want to talk to.”

"That’s actually very liberating having come from a very structured environment where everything is quite controlled.”

Anna added that lockdown helped her to re-evaluate everything.

“It’s starting to sound a bit clichéd now, isn’t it, but during lockdown I think we all re-evaluated everything,” she said.

“You start to realise that we’re all in a bit of a rat race. When my husband lost his family business, it gave me a bit of a kick up the arse, because the things you think are safe are no longer safe at all, they’re volatile.”

“You could never predict a global pandemic and the shutters being down on stores all over the country.”

Meanwhile, in an interview with RSVP Live, Laura Woods said leaving the station was “tricky” but plans to make the most of it.

"To be honest, any change, be it in your personal or working life, is a tricky time.”

"A period of adjustment is needed and I am not going to sugar-coat things, I wasn’t much craic for a couple of months of the summer,” she added.

"I have also been in this business a long time and I know it is a fickle business and jobs come and go. In a way, that creates an exciting element because you are not doing the same job and anchoring the same show for 40 years."

"But having that security and longevity, those gigs are few and far between. All I can say is that I had an amazing 10 years on Ireland AM with the best time.”

"They were great fun. I have to be stoic about things now, there is no point looking back,” Laura said.

"You have to look forward and push on with other passion projects and enjoy life. Getting up at 4.30am for the best part of a decade is a tricky thing to do so I will enjoy the lie-in’s."