Sports Stadium

Sports Stadium 1970

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Sports Stadium was an Irish television sport programme on Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Broadcast between 1973 and 1997, it was RTÉ's flagship sports programme and one of its longest-running shows. It ran in a variety of slots, but in its final years aired on RTÉ Two on Saturdays between 1:00pm–6:00pm. Its first presenter was Brendan O'Reilly who lasted for fourteen years. Other presenters during the show's run included Liam Nolan, Fred Cogley, Michael Lyster, Peter Collins and finally Tracy Piggott. The format of the show was very similar to the BBC's Grandstand or ITV's World of Sport, and indeed Grandstand's racing coverage was often simulcast on the show. The earlier part of each show would feature a mixture of racing and recorded highlights of other sports. The centrepiece of the afternoon for many years was a live 3:00pm Football League Division One game, which would be followed by the classified football results. Coverage of the All-Ireland League was also featured on the show. For much of its life, the show's theme music was the distinctive keyboard riff from the Europe song "The Final Countdown". The original recording was used in the 1980s, but a re-arranged version was used during the 1990s.

1970

The Meaning of Life

The Meaning of Life 1970

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The Meaning of Life is an Irish television programme, the first series of which was broadcast on RTÉ One in 2009. It is presented by the veteran broadcaster Gay Byrne. Each episode involves Byrne interviewing a well-known public figure. The series is broadcast each Sunday night at 22:20. In 2010 The Meaning of Life returned for both a second and, later, a third series. Interviews with former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and actors Gabriel Byrne and Brenda Fricker during the second series attracted media attention when they spoke of their religious habits and child sexual abuse respectively. Gay Byrne appeared on The Late Late Show on 18 December 2009 to discuss the programme. A fourth series soon followed. Then a fifth series from January 2012. And a sixth in October 2012. And a seventh in January 2013.

1970

Little White Lie

Little White Lie 1970

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Little White Lie is a feature length IFTA-nominated Irish television romantic comedy drama broadcast on RTÉ One on 4 August 2008 at 21:30. It stars Andrew Scott and Elaine Cassidy. The drama follows the journey of a dejected actor as he searches for love after being discarded by his highflying girlfriend. The title comes from the fact that the main character tells one to his new girlfriend - that he is a psychiatrist instead of an actor. Little White Lie is written by Stuart Carolan and Barry Murphy and directed by Nick Renton. It is produced by Element Pictures, which previously produced Bitter Sweet and Prosperity for RTÉ. The drama featured music from the artist Julie Feeney. The song "You Broke the Magic" was taken from the Choice Music Prize-winning 13 songs.

1970

Growing Up Gay

Growing Up Gay 1970

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Growing Up Gay was a groundbreaking two-part documentary series broadcast on RTÉ One, which began on Monday 19 April 2010 at 9.35pm. It explored the experiences of the first generation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people growing up in an Ireland where it was legal to be themselves. Filmed over 18 months, it was made by Crossing the Line Films with the ongoing support and advice of Ireland's national organisation for Lesbian, Gay, Biseuxal and Trans young people, BeLonG To. It featured LGBT school-goers, Muslims, and young people facing persecution in their hometowns across Ireland. RTÉ courted controversy by recommending that the documentary be suitable for viewing by "mature audiences" only, despite its stars all being teenagers. There was also a delay in the appearance of the second episode on RTÉ player. Growing Up Gay was nominated for "Event of the Year" at the GALAs.

1970

Vincent Hanley: Sex, Lies and Videotapes

Vincent Hanley: Sex, Lies and Videotapes 2022

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Broadcaster and gay activist Bill Hughes documents his friendship with the radio and TV star, revealing the story of his life and his death from an Aids-related illness in 1987.

2022

Ballymagash

Ballymagash 1970

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Ballymagash is a satirical Irish television programme that aired on RTÉ One for one series in 1983. Presented by Frank Hall and featuring many of the cast members from the earlier Hall's Pictorial Weekly, the show was set in the fictional town of Ballymagash and cast a satirical eye on some of the "local" stories and personalities.

1970

Blood of the Irish

Blood of the Irish 1970

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Blood of the Irish is a two-part documentary miniseries broadcast on RTÉ One and presented by the professional gardener Diarmuid Gavin. It commenced airing on 5 January 2009 and completed broadcasting seven days later. In the documentary, Gavin sought 'the truth' about Irish genealogy. Genetic research into a selection of Irish DNA and its origins was undertaken for the programme at Trinity College, Dublin and EthnoAncestry. They revealed some previously unheard ideas. An attempt was also made to extract ancient DNA from some of the oldest human remains that have to date been located within the boundaries of Ireland.

1970

Marry Me

Marry Me 1970

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Marry Me is an Irish television series broadcast on RTÉ One on Sunday evenings at 20:30. A creation of Midas Productions and presented by Pamela Flood, each week she assists in turning an individual's dream marriage proposal, be it in a public or an intimate location, into reality, without the knowledge of their partner. The first series began filming in November 2007 broadcast in 2008 contained eight episodes. Viewing figures for the second edition were 450,000, placing 12th in the national television viewership figures of that week. A second series is in the making.

1970

Would You Believe

Would You Believe 1970

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Would You Believe is an Irish religious television series broadcast on RTÉ One. It currently airs on Sunday nights at 22:40. A new series of 12 films began airing on September 21, 2008.

1970

The Restaurant

The Restaurant 1970

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The Restaurant is a successful Irish reality television programme broadcast on RTÉ One. The seventh series began on 16 November 2008, running on Sundays at 20:30. In each episode a celebrity head chef takes on the culinary challenge of producing a top class, three-course meal with two value-for-money wines. This is then served to the restaurant's customers and the resident critics, Tom Doorley and Paolo Tullio, who are joined each week by a guest critic. The chef's identity remains a secret to those being served their food until the end of the show when all has been eaten. The critics give the meal a star rating of between one and five, which is then pulled from an envelope after the head chef joins the critics' table. The Restaurant is voiced over by Seán Moncrieff and the restaurant is manned by John Healy, Maitre'D; the kitchen staff, chefs David Workowich, Stephen McAllister and Louise Lennox and food researcher, Stephen Quin, and waiting staff, waitress, Elaine Normile and waiters, Lee Bradshaw and Vivian Reynolds. Following on from the success of the television show, RTÉ published The Restaurant - The Magazine, which includes images and recipes from the series. The format is sold internationally by Vision Independent Productions under the title The Secret Chef. It has had 3 seasons in Italy.

1970

Firefighters

Firefighters 2012

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Dublin Fire Brigade and ambulance services receive around 133,000 calls a year. Whatever the emergency, whenever it happens, the firefighters are first to respond, putting themselves in danger to save lives. And it’s not just fighting fires. Every member of Dublin Fire and Rescue is a trained paramedic, and whether it’s ambulance services, rapid river rescues, marine emergency response or high line rescues that are called for, they're equipped and trained to give people in need of rescue the best chance of survival. Using state of the art technology including vehicle and helmet mounted cameras this series will bring viewers deep into the heart of the fire scene with the firefighters themselves to witness and experience a level of danger, drama and emotion never before seen on Irish television.

2012

The All Ireland Talent Show

The All Ireland Talent Show 1970

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The All Ireland Talent Show is a Raidió Teilifís Éireann television series which was billed as Ireland's biggest-ever talent contest. It was first announced in November 2008 and the first series commenced broadcasting on 4 January 2009, completing on 15 March 2009. Modelled on Britain's Got Talent, it is produced by Tyrone Productions. Airing on RTÉ One, it was hosted by Daybreak features editor and Irish media personality Gráinne Seoige. Five judges take part and each regional judge, with the assistance of two other personalities who then disappear from the show, select five acts to be put forward to the live studio heats. In the second season this was changed to eight acts. Louis Walsh was approached to act as a judge before series one but refused to commit. On the opening night of series one, The All Ireland Talent Show had over 500,000 viewers, with Ireland only having a population of over 4 million people.. The opening is similar to the Got Talent series. The twenty-five finalists in series one competed for a first prize of €50,000, which was eventually won by the Mulkerrin Brothers of the Aran Islands.

1970

The Daily Show

The Daily Show 1970

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The Daily Show is a lifestyle magazine show which aired on the RTÉ One television channel in Ireland, and which debuted as part of RTÉ's autumn/winter season 2010. It followed Four Live (Irish TV series), presented by Maura Derrane. Presented by Dáithí Ó Sé and Claire Byrne, The Daily Show began on Monday 20 September 2010. It ended on 2 March 2012 due to budget cutbacks at RTÉ.

1970

Missing: Beyond The Vanishing Triangle

Missing: Beyond The Vanishing Triangle 2023

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A two-part true-crime series looking at some of the most notorious cases of women who disappeared within a so-called Vanishing Triangle throughout the 1990’s.

2023

Ireland's Smartest

Ireland's Smartest 2023

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General knowledge quiz hosted by Claire Byrne in which contestants face a series of rounds, with winners of the heats progressing in the tournament structure. Each show features three contestants, who face a series of rounds before one is elimnated, with the final pair facing a quickfire decider to determine who goes through to the next stage.

2023

The Hunger: The Story of the Irish Famine

The Hunger: The Story of the Irish Famine 2020

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In the 1840s, a catastrophic famine brought about the decimation of Ireland’s poor and the exodus of millions from the island. This major, ground-breaking documentary, narrated by Liam Neeson, explores the famine’s international origins and development in Europe, Britain and Ireland and charts its long-term legacy as it plays out for much of the century that follows. Today the Irish famine is recognised as the worst humanitarian disaster of the 19th Century but what is less recognised is that the crisis impacted far beyond Ireland’s shores. The story of the Blight pathogen that killed the potato crop, starts in the Andes of South America and then reaches into the heart of northern Europe where the collapse of potato crops causes the deaths of 100,000 people adding further fuel to social tensions that lead to Europe’s year of revolutions in 1848.

2020

Ireland's Historic Gardens

Ireland's Historic Gardens 2021

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This documentary examines the history of Ireland’s country house gardens over the last 400 years - during which time garden design has reflected political and social changes taking place within the country.

2021

Donal's Road Trip

Donal's Road Trip 2022

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Donal Skehan sets off on a food-filled road trip around Ireland, ticking off some culinary hotspots on his foodie bucket list.

2022

Winning Streak

Winning Streak 1970

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Winning Streak is a popular Irish game show that airs on RTÉ One, where five contestants compete for prizes up to €500,000. The show began in 1990 and has been hosted by various presenters, including Mike Murphy, Derek Mooney, Kathryn Thomas, Aidan Power, Marty Whelan, and currently Geri Maye. The show is funded by the Irish National Lottery and has been a top-rated program, although it experienced a drop in viewership in 2008/2009.

1970