RTE broadcaster Claire Byrne has admitted she is "constantly fighting exhausting" as the top presenter mulls her future plans.
The mother-of-three admitted that she feels "fear and guilt" over not seeing enough of her children due to her hectic work schedule.
The Laois native said presenting both her RTE Radio One programme Today with Claire Byrne and RTE One's current affairs show Claire Byrne Live was "taking a toll".
She acknowledged that she is in "a really privileged position" doing a job she loves and being "well paid for it".
However, she said she wouldn't be honest if she didn't say it’s "exhausting" or that she's "not seeing enough" of her children.
Byrne added that helming both shows "isn't sustainable" in the long term, saying she was "at a crossroads" in making a decision on her future at the national broadcaster.
"I’m not embarrassed to say it is taking its toll on me," she said of her heavy workload.
"Of course I realise I’m in a really privileged position. I’m doing a job I love and I’m well paid for it but I’m not being honest if I don’t say it’s exhausting or that I’m not seeing enough of my children. I have this fear and guilt that weighs on me.
"The children hate when I leave on Monday afternoon as I usually try to get home after the radio show for a couple of hours. I try to rationalise it by saying that lots of mammies and daddies have to work every night and this is just one night.
"So it comes back to that choice, that decision. And because (Claire Byrne Live) is performing so well in its time slot, the final decision will most likely be mine. That’s the crossroads I’m at."
Byrne, who shares two daughters and a son with her husband Gerry Scollan, said the death of her dad hit her "like a train" earlier this year and put things into perspective.
"I need to ask myself how I want to live my life," she told the RTE Guide.
"It’s one o’clock before my head hits the pillow after Claire Byrne Live and I’m back in here again for seven o’clock or so. You can do that but can I do it long-term?
"It’s no secret to the bosses in RTE that I don’t feel this is sustainable. Particularly after the death of my father, I was asking myself what would my children be saying about their childhood in years to come?
"I hope that they will say that they have had a very happy childhood, but what I don’t want them to say in their second breath is that mammy was working all the time."
The 46-year-old said that someone senior at RTE will likely have to make a decision on whether she will continue to present both the radio and TV shows.
"I might have to come to a point where I make a decision if there isn’t a capacity there to move the TV slot," she added.
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