In the Name of the Fada

In the Name of the Fada 2008

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In the Name of the Fada was a show that aired on RTÉ from 13 March to 17 April 2008, documenting Irish-American comedian Des Bishop and his pursuit of fluency in the Irish language. The show was a 6-part mini-series in which Bishop spends a year living in Tír an Fhia, which is one of many Gaeltacht regions in Ireland. Bishop aims to be able to perform a stand-up comedy act as Gaeilge by the end of the stay. The theme tune is Floating by Jape.

2008

Bosco

Bosco 1970

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Bosco was an Irish children's television programme produced during the late 1970s and 1980s. It was produced by the Lambert Puppet Theatre. Designed by Jan Mitchell, Bosco was voiced by Jonathan Ryan initially, in the pilot series that was broadcast, with four presenters per show, in 1978. When the show went into full-time production in 1980, with two presenters per show, Miriam Lambert took over. From the 1981 season onwards, Paula Lambert took over. A shared cultural experience for children in Ireland at the time, it ran for 386 episodes, ending production in 1987. The show however was continually repeated before The Den daily until 1996, when it was replaced by The Morbegs before officially ending in 1998.

1970

Fade Street

Fade Street 2010

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Fade Street is a reality television show produced by RTÉ Two in Ireland. The format is loosely based on the style of American reality-TV shows such as The Hills and The City. It follows the personal lives of a group of Dubliners, aged 20 to 29. The show's participants work in a variety of jobs, several of which are associated with the Dublin-based Stellar magazine. According to RTÉ, the show is unscripted and responses are spontaneous. As in The Hills, many scenes in the show are manipulated by the show's creators. The characters are not given lines or a script, but instead react genuinely to the situations into which they are placed. Bystanders present during filming have called the reliability of this assertion into question, claiming the show's participants regularly do several retakes of scenes if the creators are not happy. In an RTÉ interview the cast denied allegations that the show is scripted, claiming that learning lines would be too difficult; Cici said, "it's completely unscripted". The soundtrack, featuring songs used in the show coming from up-and-coming Irish music artists, is central to the series. In August 2011 the show was renewed for a second season on RTE 2 Television, with the webisodes-portion exclusion on RTE Player.

2010

Don't Feed the Gondolas

Don't Feed the Gondolas 1997

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Don't Feed the Gondolas is an Irish comedy panel show, that ran for four series on Network 2 between 1997 and 2001. The show was hosted by Seán Moncrieff and the longest-serving panellists were Brendan O'Connor and Dara Ó Briain. The name of the show is attributed to a remark made by a Wicklow County Councillor, Jimmy Miley, during a meeting regarding Blessington Lake. When the meeting proposed putting a gondola on the lake, he remarked: "That's all very well, but who's going to feed it?" A running gag of the show, whereby the host Seán Moncrieff would make prank calls under the alias 'Monica Loolly' and claim to be from a small town in Galway named Ahascragh.

1997

Love In The Country

Love In The Country 2023

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Six romantic hopefuls invite potential partners back home to try out their rural life. But will these daters drop everything for love in the country? Hosted by Anna Geary.

2023

Blackboard Jungle

Blackboard Jungle 1991

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Blackboard Jungle is an Irish quiz show hosted by Ray D'Arcy that aired for seven series on Network 2 between 1991 and 1997. The show, which aired up to three times a week, featured two teams of three representing two competing secondary schools. A grand final was held at the end of each series.

1991

Nighthawks

Nighthawks 1970

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Nighthawks was an Irish television series broadcast on Network 2. It was hosted by Shay Healy. It was part of the major re-brand of RTÉ Two as Network 2 in 1988. The programme, which began broadcasting in the late 1980s, was a three times-weekly, late-night series. Nighthawks was produced for its first two seasons by David Blake-Knox. In its third season the series producer was Anne Enright, later to become a Booker Prize-winning novelist. In its final season, it was produced by Briain Mac Lochlainn. The Irish Film and Television Awards-nominated director Charlie McCarthy and producers David McKenna and Philip Kampf also worked on the programme. The show's signature tune was composed by Ronan Johnston. It also featured several contributory sketches from Nuala Kelly, Joe Taylor, and Orla McGovern. An early star of the series was Northern Irish comedian Kevin McAleer, who specialised in rambling but amusing monologues to camera. The Irish actor/comedian-turned British television presenter Graham Norton also appeared on Nighthawks early in his career. Nighthawks was produced by RTÉ Raidió Teilifís Éireann. The programme was documented in the first episode of the 2008 RTÉ television series reviewing Irish comedy, Boom! Boom! The Explosion of Irish Comedy. The Irish folk and contemporary singer Mary Black has remarked on her website on the programme's 1989 connection to her song "No Frontiers". When RTÉ Radio issued new rate cards covering the period from 20 December 1999 until 4 June 2000, it used the term "Nighthawks" to refer to the fourteen spot nighttime packages it was making available on RTÉ 2fm.

1970

Punky

Punky 2011

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Stories from the everyday life of Punky, a spirited little girl, who has Down syndrome. Punky is a happy little girl who loves music, dancing and hugs! She loves playing with her big brother, Con, and jumping around with her dog, Rufus, who is Punky's best friend. He's small, hairy and loves to steal slippers and, well, what dog doesn't?

2011

The Sunday Game

The Sunday Game 1970

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The Sunday Game is Raidió Teilifís Éireann's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ Two every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ Two’s longest-running shows, having been on air since 1979, one year after the channel first began broadcasting. The programme celebrated its 30th season in 2008.

1970

Fergus's Wedding

Fergus's Wedding 2002

7.00

Fergus and Penny are planning their wedding. While mother and the local priest are helping with the preparations for a traditional good Irish wedding, the young couple are never averse to having a quickie with whoever is available.

2002

Bernard's Working Comics

Bernard's Working Comics 2021

1

Comedian Bernard O’Shea convinces witty workers with ordinary day jobs to step out of their workplace and onto the stage to perform stand up comedy.

2021

Wanderlust

Wanderlust 2001

1

Travel cum dating show in which contestants were introduced to prospective partners through the internet. The contestants then travelled to meet this prospective partner in their home country.

2001

Monday Night Soccer

Monday Night Soccer 1970

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Monday Night Soccer was RTÉ's main soccer (football) television programme. It was shown on RTÉ Two on Monday evenings during the Irish football season, showing highlights of recent matches in Irish football's top division, the League of Ireland Premier Division.

1970

The Last Broadcast

The Last Broadcast 2020

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The Last Broadcast is a music television show broadcast on RTÉ television in Ireland, usually on a weekday night. It is presented by Dave Fanning. It features live performances, interviews and music videos and whilst these are being shown, relevant facts and news are scrolled along the screen. It initially aired on Friday nights from 23:30 until 01:00 and was ninety minutes in length and the title comes from the album of the same name by Doves. In recent times the show has featured live performances from, amongst others, Kraftwerk, Nirvana, Chemical Brothers and The Charlatans as well as legendary acts such as The Pogues, Peter Gabriel, Free and The Cure. Irish acts featured in the programme have included U2 and a live acoustic performance from Pugwash. A special from Electric Picnic in 2006 was described by Hot Press as "entertaining". The show has also featured animations by the Eyebrowy team, who have previously appeared at the Electric Picnic and in Hot Press.

2020

Stories from Backwoods

Stories from Backwoods 2024

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In the wild forest of Backwoods, ambitious Ranger Rooney and always enthusiastic Hare get into hilarious adventures while learning a thing or two about friendship.

2024

Your Bad Self

Your Bad Self 1970

7.00

Your Bad Self is an Irish sketch comedy show which originally aired on RTÉ Two on December 26, 2008 at 21:40 before being developed into a series which aired in 2010.

1970

The Des Bishop Work Experience

The Des Bishop Work Experience 2004

7.00

Deciding to see if he can eek out a living on minimum wage. Des decides to try to survive for one month working a minimum wage job in various parts of Ireland. He turns his hand to cooking in a kebab shop in Waterford; a life guard at a swimming pool complex in Tralee; a shop assistant at a supermarket in Dundalk; and a general dogs body/jack of all trades/handyman at a hotel in Dublin (keep an eye out for his stair vacuuming techniques).

2004

The Fame Game

The Fame Game 1970

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The Fame Game was a television programme broadcast in Ireland on RTÉ Two. It ran for four seasons from 2001 and was presented by Caroline Morahan. She was selected to present the show from an open audition at the Royal Dublin Society in the reality TV series The Selection Box. After being presented with the contract to host The Fame Game, Morahan had only two weeks to prepare for that role. The premise of the show was that starstruck celebrity-worshipping fans were sent, usually to exotic locations, to track down their idols. It was produced by Adare Productions, they had had similar success with a weekly item on their TG4 series RíRá, where the fans tried to get the celebrities to speak a cúpla focal as Gaelige.

1970

Katherine Lynch's Working Girls

Katherine Lynch's Working Girls 2008

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Katherine Lynch's Working Girls is a three-part Irish comedy television programme broadcast on RTÉ Two in January 2008. It stars comedienne Katherine Lynch, who also co-wrote and co-produced the series alongside Warren Meyler. It was the pair's first television series. Lynch described it as a "hybrid" series, featuring both comedy sketches and interaction with the general public. Darragh McManus of the Irish Independent wrote that it was "in the spirit of the 'comedy of cringe' vein which is so in vogue".

2008