Your Public Service Media Do Mheáin Seirbhíse Poiblí

Bobbi Arlo has today been announced as the first act bidding to represent Ireland at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. Singer Bobbi Arlo is one of six acts vying to represent Ireland in the contest, which is taking place in Basel, Switzerland in May this year.

Bobbi Arlo’s song is entitled Powerplay.

Tune into The Ray D’Arcy Show on RTÉ Radio 1 from 3pm today to hear her first interview and the very first play of her Eurosong entry, Powerplay. Five further hopefuls will be unveiled on Ray’s show each afternoon this week, with listeners getting to hear each entry for the first time and get to know the acts performing them.

The six Eurosong finalists will compete on February 7^th on The Late Late Eurosong Special to determine who will go on to represent Ireland at the 69^th Eurovision Song Contest.

Biog: Bobbi Arlo’s sound is vibrant and enigmatic, drawing inspiration from artists like Shygirl and Sega Bodega, blending club-ready beats with deeply personal, soul-baring lyrics. In a short time, she has captured the attention of the Irish music scene, earning notable support from streaming platforms and even a place on Irish sensation Niall Horan’s personal playlist. Her songwriting is unique and passionate, with her anthemic track “Feel It” which was nominated for Song of the Year at the prestigious RTÉ Choice Music Awards.

Beyond this, Bobbi has sold-out shows in Dublin, received widespread airplay, and graced the stage at key festivals, including Spain’s Primavera. In 2024, her rising prominence was further cemented when she was named Gay Times & Coca-Cola Artist of the Year. This honour led to performances at numerous festivals across the UK and Ireland, solidifying her place as one of the most exciting emerging artists in the scene.

ENDS

20 January 2025

RTÉ Communications: Jilly McDonough

Live commentaries, reports and interviews on RTÉ Radio 1

The RTÉ GAA Podcast returns Thursday 23 January 

RTÉ Sport today (Friday 17 January) announced details of its live televised Allianz League coverage kicking off a year of GAA coverage including the GAA Championships, Camogie Championship and Club Championships. The live television action begins on Saturday 25 January as All Ireland Champions Armagh travel to Salthill to take on Galway in a repeat of last year’s All Ireland Final on Saturday GAA Live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Damian Lawlor will be joined by Peter Canavan and Tomás Ó Sé in Pearse Stadium as the Allianz Football League gets underway.

The following weekend, Armagh face Ulster rivals Tyrone in the Athletic Grounds on Saturday 1 February live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player while Saturday 8 February sees the Allianz Hurling League take centre-stage as Wexford host Kilkenny in Wexford Park. All eight live, televised games are listed below.

Allianz League Sunday returns to RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player on Sunday 26 January when Joanne Cantwell and guests Anthony Daly, Ciaran Whelan, Enda McGinley and Liam Sheedy will have highlights and analysis of the weekend’s Allianz League action in both Football and Hurling. Allianz League Sunday continues up until Sunday 30 March with highlights of the League finals.

Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1 will carry commentary, reports and interviews throughout the Allianz National Leagues alongside score updates and reports on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. The RTÉ GAA Podcast also returns with the first episode appearing next Thursday 23 January.

The Allianz National Leagues coverage continues a busy start to a big year of live national and international sport on RTÉ including the GAA Championships, Camogie Championship; the Investec Champions Cup, URC and the Men’s, Women’s and U20s Six Nations in rugby; UEFA Women’s EURO 2025, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Nations League play-offs and World Cup Qualifiers for the Men’s senior international team in soccer; plus horse racing, athletics, golf, and more.

Saturday GAA Live fixtures 2025 – RTÉ2 & RTÉ Player

Saturday 25 January 25 – Football: Galway v Armagh TI 1715 – Salthill

Saturday 1 February – Football: Armagh v Tyrone TI 1800 – Athletic Grounds

Saturday 8 February – Hurling: Wexford v Kilkenny TI 1730  – Wexford Park

Saturday 15 February – Football: Kerry v Dubin TI 1930 – Tralee

Saturday 22 February – Hurling: Tipperary V Cork TI 1930 – Thurles

Saturday 1 March – Football: Armagh v Dubin TI 1935 Athletic Grounds

Saturday 15 March – Football: Kerry V Armagh TI 1730 – Tralee

Saturday 22 March – Hurling: Cork v Galway OR Limerick V Wexford OR Tipperary v Clare TI 1930

RTÉ Communications – Fergus McCormack

One hundred years to the day from the publication of  F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and Guy Barker mark the occasion with a night of Jazz Age classics (10 April, NCH). There’s a Beatles night featuring Mark McGann (3 April, The Helix) and a David Bowie night featuring members of Bowie’s own band (2 March, 3Arena), an Oscars night (26 February, NCH) and a celebration of Jeff Lynne’s ELO (13 March, NCH).

John O’Conor joins the RTÉ CO for the Beethoven piano concerto that launched his international career back in 1973 (6 March, NCH) and having given the Irish premiere of Radiohead, A Jazz Symphony in 2023, the RTÉ CO brings back this incredible reimagining of Radiohead as arranged for jazz soloists and orchestra (20 March, NCH).

Full information below. Also below please see an amended listing for our 25 January concert at the NCH. Conductor Teresa Riveiro Böhm is indisposed and has had to withdraw. Ukrainian conductor Margaryta Grynyvetska will conduct the programme, in what will be her Irish debut.

Tchaikovsky and Bruch

Saturday 25 January, 8pm, National Concert Hall
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Margaryta Grynyvetska conductor
Rosanne Philippens violin

Brahms Tragic Overture
Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 ‘Pathétique’

An evening of famous romantic classics with two exciting young artists joining the RTÉ Concert Orchestra for the first time: Ukrainian conductor Margaryta Grynyvetska, who made her debut as a conductor at the age of 15 and is tonight making her Irish debut, and Dutch star violinist Rosanne Philippens.

Philippens has said: ‘My aim in a concert hall (or in any other place where music is heard), is to arouse feelings of togetherness. This is what makes music so essential: that wordless power of expression that brings people together.’

The concert begins with Brahms’ powerful and dramatic Tragic Overture, and ends with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, one of the most profoundly emotional of all symphonies. First performed under the composer himself just nine days before his death, he called the ‘Pathétique’ ‘the best thing I ever composed or shall compose’.

Bruch’s first violin concerto became so famous that it overshadowed the two he wrote after, to his own immense frustration. He wrote about fending off approaches from violinists wanting to play it: ‘I have now become rude; and have told them: ‘I cannot listen to this concerto any more – did I perhaps write just this one? Go away and once and for all play the other concertos, which are just as good, if not better.’ However good the others are, nothing has ever replaced Bruch’s first in audiences’ affections, and that’s the one with which Rosanne Philippens makes her RTÉ Concert Orchestra debut.

Tickets: €15–€42.50

Presented by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra

The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber
Tuesday 11 February, 7.30pm, National Opera House, Wexford
Thursday 13 February, 7.30pm, University Concert Hall, Limerick
Saturday 15 February, 8pm, National Concert Hall, Dublin
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Stephen Bell conductor
Killian Donnelly and Juliette Crosbie vocalists

Immerse yourself in the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, conductor Stephen Bell and acclaimed West End vocalists Killian Donnelly and Juliette Crosbie.

For over five decades, Webber’s unforgettable melodies have enchanted audiences across the globe, earning him Tony Awards, Grammys, and an Academy Award®. This programme, being performed in Wexford, Limerick and Dublin, features famous songs including Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina , Any Dream Will Do, I Don’t Know How to Love Him, Memory, Music of the Night, Love Changes Everything and All I Ask of You, as well as orchestral numbers including the Phantom Suite and Jellicle Ball.

Join us to celebrate one of the most enduring figures in musical theatre for over five decades.

Programme

Jellicle Ball (Cats)
Memory (Cats)
Love Changes Everything (Aspects of Love)
Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina (Evita)
Till I Hear You Sing (Love Never Dies)
The Last Man in My Life (Tell Me on a Sunday)
Symphonic Suite (The Phantom of the Opera)
Entr’acte (Sunset Boulevard)
As If We Never Said Goodbye (Sunset Boulevard)
No Matter What (Whistle Down the Wind)
Close Every Door (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat)
Any Dream Will Do (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat)
All the Love I Have (The Beautiful Game)
I Don’t Know how to Love Him (Jesus Christ Superstar)
The Music of the Night (The Phantom of the Opera)
Think of Me (The Phantom of the Opera)
All I Ask of You (The Phantom of the Opera)

Devised by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber® is presented by arrangement with The Really Useful Group Limited. Presented by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.

Tickets
Wexford: €22–€44 (returns only)
Limerick: €20–€35
Dublin: €15–€42.50 (returns only)

A Night at the Oscars
Wednesday 26 February, 8pm, National Concert Hall
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Stephen Bell conductor
Katie Birtill vocalist
Presented by RTÉ’s Seán Rocks

Join the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, conductor Stephen Bell, vocalist Katie Bertil and presenter Seán Rocks for an evening of Hollywood’s most celebrated music, from films that have received Academy Awards® or nominations. Revel in the magic of evergreen themes alongside recent favourites that have captured hearts and critical acclaim alike.

With Gladiator II fresh in the memory, the orchestra will revisit the power of Hans Zimmer’s unforgettable score to the original Gladiator, the Best Picture-winning epic that captured hearts with its haunting melodies and rousing themes. Zimmer’s score to Pirates of the Caribbean also features.

It will be no surprise that John Williams is strongly represented, with some of the thrilling, stirring themes that have added so much to the films he has scored. Tonight’s programme has music from Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Star Wars and Jurassic Park.

Vocalist Katie Birtill joins the RTÉ CO for classic songs old and new, from right back to As Time Goes By and right up to Shallow, with other showstoppers Secret Love, The Way We Were, Take My Breath Away and My Heart Will Go On.

Orchestral themes on the programme likewise span several decades, with the earliest the Robin Hood March by Korngold and the most recent the Bathroom Dance Scene from Jónsdóttir’s Joker score. Along the way there’s Out of Africa by John Barry, Gabriel’s Oboe by Morricone, Beauty and the Beast by Alan Menken and The Lord of the Rings by Howard Shore.

Get red-carpet ready and be swept away by the scores that made history, just days before the Academy Awards® ceremony scheduled for the following week. Audiences are encouraged to dress up as their favourite film character – a photographer will be on hand to capture the best looks!

Programme
Williams Raiders March (Raiders of the Lost Ark)
Horner My Heart Will Go On (Titanic)
Zimmer Dead Man’s Chest (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Jónsdóttir Bathroom Dance Scene (Joker)
Korngold Robin Hood March
Hamlisch The Way We Were
Barry Out of Africa
Williams Flying Theme (E.T.)
Moroder/Whitlock Take My Breath Away (Top Gun)
Williams Jurassic Park
Morricone Gabriel’s Oboe (The Mission)
Hupfeld As Time Goes By (Casablanca)
Menken Beauty and the Beast
Shore The Lord of the Rings
Fain Secret Love (Calamity Jane)
Williams Across the Stars (Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones)
Gaga/Wyatt/Rossomando/Ronson Shallow (A Star Is Born)
Zimmer Gladiator

Presented by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Tickets: €15–€42.50

The RTÉ Concert Orchestra Perform the Songs of David Bowie
David Brophy conductor
Sunday 2 March, 3Arena
Doors 6.30pm | Show starts 8pm

After two remarkable sold-out shows at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre last year, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra returns to a bigger stage to perform the Songs of David Bowie.

The show is presented by Singular Artists in association with the David Bowie Festival and adapted from the 2021 recording for RTÉ One television, Bowie: Starman – with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. It features specially commissioned arrangements of classics like Life on Mars, Heroes, Starman, Changes and Space Oddity as orchestra and artists combine to salute one of the most imaginative, influential and iconic musicians of our times.

Join Gerry Leonard as Musical Director, David Bowie’s alumni Sterling Campbell, Mark Plati and Gail Ann Dorsey, featuring special guests Faye O’Rourke (Soda Blonde), Dana Masters, Duke Special and Shops as they join the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and conductor David Brophy for a special night.

Tickets: from €59
Presented by Singular Artists in association with the David Bowie Festival

Beethoven & Brahms

Thursday 6 March, 8pm, National Concert Hall

RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Gavin Maloney conductor
John O’Conor piano

Wagner Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Overture
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major
Brahms Symphony No. 1 in C minor

Join the RTÉ Concert Orchestra for an evening of Beethoven, Brahms and Wagner, featuring internationally renowned pianist John O’Conor and conducted by Gavin Maloney.

Having joined the RTÉ CO in 2023 to perform Beethoven’s 3rd Piano Concerto 3 to a packed NCH, John O’Conor joins forces with the orchestra again for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. Back in 1973, John O’Conor made headlines when he was unanimously awarded 1st Prize at the International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna, performing this same concerto. This launched a career that has brought him all around the world over the past half-century. The connection with Beethoven flourished too, with CD Review commenting that he ‘by now should be recognised as the world’s premier Beethoven interpreter’; his recent recordings of the complete Beethoven piano concertos with the London Symphony Orchestra and Andreas Delfs have also been greeted with acclaim.

Also featured in the programme are Wagner’s majestic overture from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1, often regarded as Brahms’ answer to Beethoven’s legacy.

Tickets: €15–€42.50
Presented by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra

It’s a Livin’ Thing: The Music of Jeff Lynne’s ELO
Thursday 13 March, 8pm, National Concert Hall

RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Richard Balcombe conductor
Stuart Matthew Price and Patrick Smyth vocalists

Graham Bickley, Daniel Fletcher, Alex Turney and Heather Lundstedt backing vocalists

ELO classic hits as you’ve never heard them before!

Come out of the blue and enjoy the ultimate Electronic Light Orchestra hits performed by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra under the baton of Richard Balcombe.

During ELO’s original 13-year period of active recording and touring, they sold over 50 million records worldwide. Since then, the band had great success as Part II and The Orchestra before Jeff Lynne’s ELO re-formed in 2014. In 2015, Jeff Lynne’s ELO played at the Grammy Awards for the first time, performing a medley of Evil Woman, which will be performed in this concert by the RTÉ CO, and Mr Blue Sky with Ed Sheeran who introduced Lynne and the ELO as ‘a man and a band that I love’.

Other hits to feature in this special night are All Over the World, Livin’ Thing, Roll over Beethoven, Telephone Line and Sweet Talkin’ Woman. Deep cuts include Beatles-inspired The Diary of Horace Wimp and the playful blend of rock and opera, Rockaria: ‘She’s sweet on Wagner, I think she’d die for Beethoven/She loves the way Puccini lays down a tune, and Verdi’s always creeping from her room.’

From chart-topping anthems to hidden gems, join the RTÉ CO for a celebration of Jeff Lynne’s ELO legacy, blending rock, pop and classical influences.

Tickets: €15–€42.50
Presented by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra

Radiohead, A Jazz Symphony
Thursday 20 March, 8pm, National Concert Hall
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Reinout Douma conductor

Having given the Irish premiere of Radiohead, A Jazz Symphony in 2023, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra brings back this incredible reimagining of Radiohead as arranged for jazz soloists and orchestra.

This Radiohead jazz creation was first conceived as a tribute album by the Noordpool Orchestra and its founder and leader Reinout Douma, who joins the RTÉ CO again to conduct this imaginative programme featuring Paranoid Android, Nude, Weird Fishes, Karma Police, Exit Music, No Surprises, 15 Step, Suite: Everything in Its Right Place – Pyramid Song, You and Creep. The evening also features bonus Radiohead/Thom Yorke tracks The Eraser, a minimalist masterpiece, and Spectre, an existential meditation.

Jazzenzo magazine writes of Radiohead, A Jazz Symphony: ‘Whether it’s the moving, and dramatically small “Exit Music” with fragile violin solo, or the unstoppable “You”, the characters of the various songs are meticulously analyzed and magnified, but not in an ironic way. The specific properties of the material are emphasized. Noordpool Orchestra, similar to the Metropole Orkest, shows what an arrangement can do with a composition.’

Taking full advantage of Radiohead’s already formatively experimental works, featuring 7/8 time signatures and cascading arpeggios, the RTÉ CO bring the arrangements to life; as Reinout said in The Irish Times, ‘that was actually the idea: what can an orchestra do with these songs?’

Tickets: €15–€42.50
Presented by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra

The Two of Us – The Story of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, The Beatles
Thursday 3 April, 7.30pm, The Helix
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
David Brophy conductor
Mark McGann, Joe Stilgoe and Claire Martin vocalists

A must-see for Beatles fans.

Iconic Lennon-McCartney hits including Penny Lane, All You Need Is Love, Yesterday, Strawberry Fields Forever and more brought to life by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and conductor David Brophy.

Telling the back-story of this legendary song-writing duo is Liverpudlian actor/vocalist Mark McGann, along with two internationally acclaimed vocalists, Claire Martin and Joe Stilgoe.

Tickets: €15–€42.50

Presented by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra

Gatsby 100
Thursday 10 April, 8pm, National Concert Hall
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Guy Barker conductor
Tommy Blaize, Vanessa Haynes and Joe Stilgoe vocalists
Giacomo Smith clarinet/saxophone

Get your jazz hands at the ready with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra under the extraordinary Guy Barker for a celebration of 100 years of Gatsby.

The date, 10 April 2025, marks the exact centenary of the publication of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. The RTÉ Concert Orchestra is taking any excuse to indulge in the glamour of the Jazz Age with musical treasures of the 1920s, including Sing Sing Sing, The Joint is Jumpin’ and The Charleston.

A trumpet player with the late Quincy Jones, Frank Sinatra and Liza Minnelli, RTÉ CO Associate Artist Guy Barker is now one of the world’s most in-demand arrangers. He created the knockout orchestrations in this programme, brought to life by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Big Band and special guests. Tommy Blaize of Strictly Come Dancing, Vanessa Haynes and Joe Stilgoe, along with virtuoso Giacomo Smith on clarinet and saxophone, will transport you to the world of the Roaring Twenties.

Anyone who has seen Guy Barker in action with the RTÉ CO – including for their dazzling New Year’s Eve Gatsby Extravaganza in 2023 – will know the extraordinary calibre of performance and huge enjoyment to expect.

Tickets: €15–€42.50

Presented by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra

PR Executive: Angela Rohan

RTÉ Choice Music Prize

In association with IMRO and IRMA

Irish Song of the Year 2024 – Shortlist Announcement

Irish Artist of the Year 2024 – Shortlist

Irish Breakthrough Artist of the Year 2024 – Shortlist

The shortlist for this year’s RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Song of the Year 2024, in association with IMRO & IRMA, was announced today on RTÉ 2FM’s Tracy Clifford Show.

The shortlist is as follows (alphabetical order):

• Chubby Cat – Quiet
• Cian Ducrot – Here It is
• CMAT – Aw, Shoot
• Fontaines D.C. – Starburster
• Hozier – Too Sweet
• Jazzy – Make Up
• Jordan Adetunji – Kehlani
• Kabin Crew & Lisdoonvarna Crew – The Spark
• Niamh Regan – Music
• Picture This – Act of Innocence

To vote for the RTÉ Choice Music Prize, Irish Song of the Year 2024, visit www.rte.ie/2fm.

Votes are limited to one per person per day. Only votes cast in the Republic of Ireland will be counted. Voting closes at midnight on Sunday 16th February.

The winning song will be announced by Tracy Clifford on 6th March on a special Song of the Year radio show on 2FM that afternoon ahead of the live event.

A special RTÉ Choice Music Prize highlights programme will be broadcast on RTÉ2 television the following week.

Earlier this week the shortlists for further prizes were announced as follows:

Irish Artist of the Year 2024

• Jordan Adetunji
• CMAT
• Fontaines D.C.
• Jazzy
• KNEECAP

Irish Breakthrough Artist 2024

• Jordan Adetunji
• Biig Piig
• Kingfishr
• KNEECAP
• Sprints

Classic Irish Album

The winning album will be announced in the week or two ahead of live event, while the prize will be presented along with the other prizes at the RTÉ Choice Music Prize live event in Vicar Street.

Irish Album of the Year 2024

• A Lazarus Soul – No Flowers Grow In Cement Gardens
• Curtisy – What Was The Question
• Fontaines D.C. – Romance
• Orla Gartland – Everybody Needs a Hero
• KNEECAP – Fine Art
• NewDad – MADRA
• Niamh Regan – Come As You Are
• Róis – Mo Léan
• Silverbacks – Easy Being a Winner
• SPRINTS – Letter To Self

The winners of the Irish Album of the Year, Irish Artist of the Year and Irish Breakthrough Artist of the Year will all be announced at the live event from Vicar St on RTÉ 2FM in a special show 7-11pm on Thursday 6th March. The show will feature performances from many of the album-shortlisted acts, further details on the line-up to be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets are on sale now.

The 20th annual RTÉ Choice Music Prize will once again celebrate the best in Irish recorded music. The Prize has become one of the music-industry highlights of the year since its inception in 2005. The Irish Album of the Year award is chosen from a shortlist of ten albums by a panel of eleven Irish music media professionals and industry experts. The list of judges is available via http://www.choicemusicprize.ie

The winning Album of the Year act will receive €10,000, a prize fund which has been provided by The Irish Music Rights Organization (IMRO) and The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). All shortlisted acts will receive a specially commissioned award.

RAAP, Culture Ireland, FMC, Minding Creative Minds, Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet and Coimisiún na Meán are also official project partners of the RTÉ Choice Music Prize.

#rtechoiceprize

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Choice Music Prize: Liza Geddes, Recode Publicity I lizageddes@gmail.com

RTÉ: Neil O’Gorman neil.ogorman@rte.ie

Notes to Editor:

The RTÉ Choice Music Prize is organised by co-founder David Reid. Editor of RTÉ Brainstorm & co-founder of the prize, Jim Carroll, is the chairman of the judging panel for Irish Album of the Year. It is unique in that the judging of the Irish Album of the Year focuses simply and solely on the music (as opposed to sales or airplay). A new panel of judges has been put in place for each of the three categories. The full list of all the judges will be on the RTÉ Choice Music Prize website starting 8th January, and through the week as each shortlist is announced, along with some further details. This is the twentieth year of the prize.

Past winners can be found via http://www.choicemusicprize.ie/past-prizes/

Stay up-to-date with the latest RTÉ Choice Music Prize news by following @choiceprize, @rte2fm, @rte and @rte2 on Twitter and Facebook and @explorerte and @rte2fm on Instagram using #rtechoiceprize.

Further information can be found at:

http://www.choicemusicprize.ie

http://2fm.rte.ie/

http://www.rte.ie/

http://twitter.com/choiceprize

RTÉ Player has record breaking 142 million streams, up 42% year-on-year

RTÉ has highest share of TV viewing in Ireland in 11 years

RTÉ delivers 42 of the Top 50 of 2024’s most-watched shows on TV, with
Sport, RTÉ News, and Eurovision among Top 20 programmes

Newly released TV viewing figures by TAM Ireland/Nielsen Media for 2024 show that Irish audiences overwhelmingly chose RTÉ – their public service media – of all channels available in Ireland.

RTÉ attracted its highest share of linear TV audience in Ireland in over a decade with a share of 27.9% of the TV audience in 2024 beating the previous high of 27.7% in 2013*. RTÉ has grown its share of 15-34 year olds over the same period, going from 20.4% in 2013 to 25.4% in 2024.

Home grown content continued to pull the highest TV audiences in Ireland in 2024. The Late Late Toy Show yet again took top spot with Sport making up the remaining nine out of the top 10 most-watched programmes as the Guinness Six Nations, the All-Ireland Hurling and Football Finals, and the UEFA Euro 2024 Final all featured prominently.

As was the case in 2023, RTÉ delivered 42 of the Top 50* most-watched programmes across all channels available in Ireland in 2024 with a mix of Sport, entertainment, documentaries, News & Current Affairs, as well as, drama and comedy.

RTÉ Player had it most successful year to date attracting a record-breaking 142 million streams in 2024, representing a year-on-year increase of 42%. Audiences were attracted to a unique and distinctive mix of quality Irish and international content with a mix of national events, well loved TV series and quality box-sets in the growing catalogue of over 5000 hours of content.

2024 was a year of big national and international events with RTÉ bringing audiences relevant and engaging content including Ireland’s first Eurovision Final appearance since 2018, both Leaders’ Debates in the run up to the general election, as well as the Olympics and Paralympics, the Six Nations, the Euros and the GAA All-Ireland Championships.

UEFA Euro 2024 coverage was number one on RTÉ Player with 8.8 million streams followed by EastEnders, Paris Olympics 2024, Home and Away, and Fair City. Sleeper hit Yellowstone came in next with over 4.5 million streams on RTÉ Player.

Home produced documentaries including Bishop Casey’s Buried Secrets, entertainment favourites The Late Late Show, Dancing With the Stars, The Tommy Tiernan Show, The Rose of Tralee and New Year’s Eve Live, as well as comedy and drama in the form of Fair City and The Young Offenders, all proved hugely popular.

An election year saw RTÉ continue to be the home of trusted News and Current Affairs for Irish audiences with the Prime Time Leaders’ Debate and the Upfront With Katie Hannon – Leaders’ Debate both featuring in the Top 50 most-watched programmes of the year while coverage of Storm Darragh on the RTÉ Nine O’Clock News on December 6 and Storm Isha on the RTÉ Six One News on January 21 also made the Top 50.

While individual performances are not captured in programme averages, RTÉ’s coverage of a stunningly successful Paris Olympics for Team Ireland was hugely popular with Irish viewers with Kellie Harrington’s gold-medal performance in the ring peaking at 1.4 million viewers, Rhasidat Adeleke’s Women’s 400m Final peaking at 926,000 and the Irish Women’s 4 x 400m Final peaking at 910,000.

Steve Carson, Director of Video, RTÉ, said: “RTÉ constantly strives to provide audiences with a unique and compelling mix of content that they deserve from their public service media organisation. We are delighted to see audiences engaging with RTÉ content in such high numbers on television and on RTÉ Player across a wide range of genres, from trusted News & Current Affairs, Irish Drama, Entertainment and Documentaries, as well as national events and major sporting moments.

We invested in both the functionality and availability of RTÉ Player and it has paid off with an enhanced user experience and expanded catalogue clearly delivering for audiences. RTÉ is committed to continuing to deliver relevant, engaging content for Irish audiences that sets us apart from global media companies and streamers. We will continue to provide that for Irish audiences in collaboration with the independent sector in 2025 and beyond.”

-ENDS-

Date: Friday 10 January 2025

For more information contact:  
Sharon Brady, Senior Communications Manager
0876858975, sharon.brady@rte.ie

Notes to Editor:

*Individuals all day share – consolidated. Source TAM Ireland/Nielsen Media.

The Late Late Show celebrates Tradfest with Wallis Bird, Aoife Scott and Seán Keane
Political podcasters Ivan Yates and Matt Cooper and comedian David Nihill among guests this Friday

Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!

Friday night’s The Late Late Show will kick off the return of the season showcasing the best of our established and emerging musical talents celebrating this year’s TradFest with folk singer songwriter Aoife Scott, musician Wallis Bird, singer songwriter Mike Hanrahan and sean-nós singer Seán Keane.

In what has become a Late Late Show favourite, joining the Friday night TradFest party will be Mundy, Laois folk artist Molly Donnery, Cavan Gaeilgeoir Sinéad McKenna and Guadeloupean singer songwriter Ines Khai. Uilleann piper Louise Mulcahy, who made Fleadh history winning four senior all Ireland titles will also be among the guests on Friday night’s show.

Making it a proper session multi-instrumentalist Alan Connor, guest fiddler with The Chieftains Tara Breen, folk singer-storyteller Daoirí Farrell and percussionist Robbie Harris will be in studio; with dancers Ruth Charles of Riverdance and Jordo and the Legs adding to the hooley!

Banjo player and former Dubliner Gerry O’Connor will be paying tribute to Dubliner Barney McKenna, while multi-instrumentalist Josephine Marsh and Nigerian Segun Arkano, frontman of The Yankari Afrobeat Collective will give performances to beat the band!

Also on Friday night, musicians will honour the late Johnny Duhan who passed away in November last year by performing The Voyage.

Combine all that with Dublin-born comedian David Nihill and you’ve got a great night of music and entertainment. David had a crippling fear of public speaking and tried standup comedy in an attempt to fight his phobia. Having overcome his fear, he has gone on to become the biggest selling Irish comedian in America and joins Patrick to share his extraordinary story.

In a week that saw Elon Musk stake a claim on British politics and Donald Trump on Greenland; political podcasters Ivan Yates and Matt Cooper will join Patrick to reveal their predictions for the year ahead in global and Irish politics and how a Trump presidency will affect Ireland.

The Late Late Show is proudly sponsored by PTSB.

-ENDS-

9 January 2025

RTÉ Communications: Jilly McDonough

Notes to Editor:For more updates follow The Late Late Show online:
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Blue Sky: latelateshow.rte.ie
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RTÉ Supporting the Arts  

RTÉ Almost Doubles Support for Irish Arts and Cultural Events since 2014 

Watch our promo: RTÉ Supporting the Arts | 10 Years in Review   

RTÉ supported 178 arts and cultural events all over the island of Ireland in 2024. This represents an 82% increase over the ten years since the scheme was re-launched in 2014, when 98 events were supported by RTÉ. The renowned scheme – which won the Business to Arts Special Recognition Award in 2018 – also increased the number of supported events year-on-year, from 170 in 2023 to 178 in 2024. 

The RTÉ Supporting the Arts scheme aims to promote attendance at arts events nationwide, and supports the full range of genres, from dance to opera, visual arts to children’s events, literary festivals, film and Irish-language events. In 2023, RTÉ delivered a 30% increase year-on-year in the annual number of campaigns supporting Ireland’s rich and vibrant cultural landscape. The scheme offers dedicated promotion on RTÉ’s television, radio and digital services, and extensive support across RTÉ’s social channels. With production services provided by RTÉ, in addition to promotional airtime, the RTÉ Supporting the Arts scheme is a lifeline to Ireland’s creative and cultural sectors. 

Kevin Bakhurst, Director-General, RTÉ, said: “Artists not only deserve an audience, they need an audience. Ireland’s rich and vibrant arts and cultural sector can only thrive and grow if it is consumed – watched, read, listened to, participated in, and – crucially – attended. This is why the RTÉ Supporting the Arts scheme is so important. RTÉ allocates over €1million worth of promotional airtime each year to the arts, so that audiences all over Ireland can be informed about arts and cultural events near them, in every genre, and for everybody. I’d like to thank the RTÉ Supporting the Arts committee, and the teams in RTÉ’s commercial and promos divisions, for their steadfast support of the scheme, which has allowed it to grow so substantially and consistently. But most of all I’d like to thank the artists, the organisers, the national cultural institutions, the festivals, arts organisations and cultural bodies, whose incredible work we are so proud to support in ever increasing numbers.” 

This January RTÉ is supporting 13 amazing arts and cultural events all over Ireland through the RTÉ Supporting the Arts scheme, including First Fortnight Mental Health Arts and Culture Festival, which takes place across the country from 4th-18th January, with events across art forms including poetry, music, textile art, and theatre. 

There are several music events to enjoy including Music for Galway Midwinter Festival celebrating 150 years since the birth of Maurice Ravel, one of the most original and sophisticated composers of the twentieth century. In Killarney, FOLK iN FUSION will showcase the very best in folk, roots, bluegrass, country, and beyond. While Drogheda Classical Music Concert Series in Louth, will continue to bring some of the world’s most renowned musicians to Ireland’s north-east.  

In Dublin, the Royal Irish Academy of Music’s Wigmore Series will host an array of music performances, Glasshouse perform Ryuichi Sakamoto at the National Concert Hall, Brigit 2025: Dublin City Celebrating Women will host an array of events across the city, and TradFest, Ireland’s leading trad and folk festival, celebrating 20 years, will be a joyful celebration of Irish music and culture.  

There is also lots of theatre to enjoy with James Joyce’s The Dead continuing at the Museum of Literature Ireland, while The Ark will present The Giggler Treatment, a marvellous, mischievous new musical based on the novel by Roddy Doyle for children and grown-ups alike. The Borrowers is at the Gate Theatre. Based on Mary Norton’s beloved adventure novels, it follows the fortunes of the tiny Clock family.  

Events supported by the RTÉ Supporting the Arts scheme this January:  

Dublin Abbey 120 years | www.abbeytheatre.ie

Nationwide Irish National Opera | www.irishnationalopera.ie

Dublin The Dead @ Museum of Literature Ireland | www.anuproductions.ie 

Dublin Wigmore Series Dublin | www.riam.ie/whats-on

Dublin The Giggler Treatment | www.ark.ie/events/view/the-giggler-treatment-2024 

Nationwide First Fortnight Mental Health Art and Culture Festival 2025 | www.firstfortnight.ie  

Dublin TradFest 2025 | www.tradfest.com 

Dublin The Borrowers | www.gatetheatre.ie/production/the-borrowers 

Kerry FOLK iN FUSION | www.inec.ie/gigs/folk-in-fusion-yras-live 

Louth Drogheda Classical Music 24/25 Series | www.droghedaclassicalmusic.com 

Dublin Glasshouse perform Ryuichi Sakamoto | www.nch.ie/all-events-listing/glasshouse-perform-ryuichi-sakamoto

Galway Music for Galway Midwinter Festival RAVEL | www.musicforgalway.ie/midwinter-festival-ravel 

Dublin Brigit 2025: Dublin City Celebrating Women | www.dublin.ie/brigit 

Every year, RTÉ supports over 170 arts and cultural events all over Ireland through the RTÉ Supporting the Arts scheme. Spanning film, music, dance, opera, festivals, literature, theatre and exhibitions, and with dedicated promotion on RTÉ’s television, radio and digital services, and extensive support across RTÉ’s social channels, the RTÉ Supporting the Arts scheme is a lifeline to Ireland’s creative and cultural sectors.  

To find out more information about RTÉ Supporting the Arts and to apply visit  
About RTÉ Supporting the Arts – About RTÉ (rte.ie)  

Find out what’s happening near you on www.rte.ie/culture  

ENDS

For information:

Neil O’Gorman, Corporate Communications Manager, RTÉ | E: neil.ogorman@rte.ie

One of Ireland’s favourite shows Room to Improve is back for its sixteenth series and will be proudly sponsored by Electric Ireland.  The brand-new series will begin on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player at 9:30pm on Sunday January 5.

In the new series of  Room to Improve, architect Dermot Bannon returns with five new designs for five incredible properties with a special bonus episode. Charlestown in Mayo, Palmerstown in Dublin, Aughris in Sligo and North Strand in Dublin are the locations for each property.This year, we see Claire Irwin return as Quantity Surveyor. With soaring costs on materials around the country and budgets being pushed, Claire has to work harder to make sure everyone gets their dream home on budget and on time.

Four families from across Ireland have chosen Dermot as the architect for their new feature build with everyone challenged to keep within budget and comply with tight timing and planning deadlines. There’s a bonus episode this year featuring former Dancing with the Stars judge Julian Benson, as he prepares to open a dedicated facility in Dublin for the families of Cystic Fibrosis patients

The sponsorship deal with Electric Ireland includes 90 Electric Ireland credited stings airing across RTÉ One and RTÉ One +1, as well as during series repeats. It also covers live broadcasts on RTÉ Player, all available catch-up episodes, and sponsor logos on all dedicated promos across television and social media channels.

Five new episodes of Room to Improve will air throughout the New Year starting on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player from Sunday January 5.

Lisa Browne, Head of Marketing and Customer Insights, Electric Ireland said: “Electric Ireland is delighted to partner with RTÉ as the new sponsor of Room to Improve. Successful sponsorship is about the right fit between a brand and the entity being sponsored. This programme is loved by our customers and audiences as they look for inspiration to enhance their homes. Electric Ireland helps customers navigate the journey of home renovations and upgrades, providing innovative technologies and expert guidance to create more energy-efficient homes. This partnership aligns perfectly with our mission to empower customers to move to an electric lifestyle”.

John Urch, Business Director at Dentsu said: “We are delighted to have successfully negotiated the sponsorship of Room to Improve for Electric Ireland. As one of the highest-rated programmes on Irish television, Room to Improve is a jewel in RTÉ’s broadcast schedule. This partnership is a natural fit, with Electric Ireland’s NetZero products perfectly complementing the programme’s themes. The synergy between the two brands enhances the sponsorship, creating a seamless and meaningful connection. It is rare—and exceptionally powerful—when brands align as cohesively as Electric Ireland and Room to Improve have in this collaboration.”

Ruth Kennedy, TV Sponsorship Lead said: “RTÉ Media Sales are thrilled to welcome Electric Ireland as our new sponsors of Room to Improve.  The hit series has established itself as one of the nation’s favourite programmes featuring stunning home renovations and is a perfect fit for Electric Ireland to build a connection with its loyal Room to Improve weekly audience of over 650,000. We are all very excited about the new series beginning on Sunday 5 January and look forward to a successful partnership”.   -ENDS- 

Date:  2 January 2025

Notes to Editor: 

Room to Improve is produced by Coco Television for RTÉ.

Image caption: (L-R) Lisa Browne, Head of Marketing and Customer Insights, Electric Ireland, Presenter Dermot Bannon, and Pat Fenlon, Executive Director of Customer Solutions, Electric Ireland.  

Image credit: Damien Eagers / Coalesce for RTÉ

RTÉ Communications: Sharon Sorohan