RTÉ is today making available the updated legal advice received in respect of questions arising in connection with recent departures of executive-level senior management. In addition to the updated letter as received from RTÉ’s external legal advisors, RTÉ is also releasing the previously received legal advice as well an independent assurance confirming that RTÉ achieved the best commercial outcome with regard to severance/termination payments made by RTÉ.

RTÉ has been assured by its independent legal advisors that exit agreements fell within parameters of similar arrangements seen in both the private and semi-state sectors. While RTÉ will continue to operate in accordance with best practice, it has confirmed to the Minister that it is taking external advice with regard to future caps on severance pay and termination agreements, as well as options regarding confidentiality. RTÉ has also confirmed to the Minister that it has written to the former members of the executive, who departed the organisation since 2016, requesting their consent to waive their right to confidentiality.

RTÉ has also undertaken to look at bringing forward publication of the IAS 24 Related Party Disclosures figures, normally published each year in its annual report. These figures relate to transactions with key management personnel (i.e. those persons having authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the company). These figures will include an aggregate statement of termination benefits paid in 2023.

To view the original independent legal advice to RTÉ (05.10.23), click here.

To view the updated independent legal advice to RTÉ (21.02.24), click here.

To view the assurance letter to RTÉ (21.02.24), click here.

RTÉ Choice Music Prize

In association with IMRO and IRMA

Classic Irish Album

And the winning album is…

Achtung Baby by U2

Live Event, Vicar St Thursday 7th March (Sold-Out)

The RTÉ Choice Music Prize Classic Irish Album, in association with IMRO & IRMA, has just been announced on RTÉ Gold by Will Leahy. The winning album is: Achtung Baby by U2.

The judges for the prize are Sinead Crowley (Coimisiún na Meán), Michael Kealy (RTÉ TV), Maeve Quigley (Irish Daily Mail) and Will Leahy (RTÉ Gold) with Paul Russell (2FM) as the chairperson.

The panel chose Achtung Baby by U2 as their Classic Irish Album for the RTÉ Choice Music Prize and explain further: “The panel is unanimous that you cannot deny the album’s authenticity and significant cultural impact as one classic song after another unfolds over 55 minutes. To this day, it still resonates as a collection of songs that capture the spirit of change at both a personal as well as a societal level, when the Berlin wall came tumbling down, and Ireland sensed a change in the air. The ground-breaking Zoo TV Tour in support of the album helped to re-invent the stadium show and now over 30 years later, Achtung Baby is at the heart of the globally acclaimed ‘U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere’, a string of ground-breaking performances which launched Sphere, the cutting-edge new venue in Las Vegas”.

Thirty years ago, Bono described Achtung Baby as “the sound of four men chopping down The Joshua Tree” while Jon Pareles of the New York Times wrote that “stripped-down and defying its old formulas, U2 has given itself a fighting chance for the 1990’s”. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance and became one of the most significant records of the nineties and of U2’s career. Recorded over six months at Hansa Studio in Berlin and Windmill Lane in Dublin, Achtung Baby is U2’s seventh studio album. Produced by long time U2 collaborators, Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno with Steve Lillywhite, Achtung Baby was engineered by Flood and released on 18th November 1991. Led by The Fly, four other singles followed: Mysterious Ways, One, Even Better Than The Real Thing and Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses.

“Achtung Baby is rightly known as one of rock’s greatest reinventions because it was so complete.” – Pitchfork

Album playlist.

The inaugural winning Classic Irish Album last year was I Do Not Have What I Haven’t Got by the late great Sinéad O’ Connor.

*****

The winning Irish Album of the Year 2023 will be announced at the RTÉ Choice Music Prize live event in Vicar St 7th March, and will be broadcast on RTÉ 2FM in a special four-hour extended show with Beta Da Silva from 7-11pm. A special TV show will be broadcast on Thursday 14th March at 22.30 on RTÉ2.

The Classic Irish Album prize will be presented along with Irish Artist of the Year and Irish Breakthrough Artist that night.

The Irish Song of the Year 2023 will be announced by Tracy Clifford on her 2FM show on the day of the live event and presented to the winner in Vicar St that night. Tracy will also host the live event.

*****

The 19th 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 winning Album of the Year act will receive €10,000, a prize fund which has been provided by The Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). All shortlisted acts will receive a specially commissioned award.

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

Through its funding of the Music From Ireland programme, Culture Ireland’s support of the RTÉ Choice Music Prize will be directed towards shortlisted artists, as well as assisting the RTÉ Choice Music Prize “Conversations”.

#rtechoiceprize

RTÉ Media Sales has announced Allcare Pharmacy as sponsor of Brendan O’ Connor, RTÉ Radio 1, Saturday & Sunday, 11am-1pm.

Brokered by Javelin, the ten-month radio sponsorship consists of 4 x 10-second sponsor-credited stings every Saturday and Sunday morning, sponsor-credited promos within the ad breaks of Morning Ireland, Liveline, Playback and Sunday with Miriam, as well as podcast and homepage sponsorship.

Caroline Burton (Pictured, right), Head of Retail Marketing, Uniphar Group said: “Allcare Pharmacy is delighted to partner with Brendan O’Connor and RTÉ Radio 1 in 2024. As the largest Irish owned community pharmacy network and the number 1 retail brand for customer service in the recent CXi Customer Experience report, it was important for us to find a partner which reflects the informative, entertaining and important topics of the day that matter to our patients and customers. The Brendan O’Connor Show is a perfect fit for a trusted community pharmacy brand like Allcare Pharmacy.”

Roisin Shaw (Pictured, left), Account Director, Javelin said: “Allcare Pharmacy is Ireland’s leading Irish owned community pharmacy network. To really drive this leadership status, we have planned for the brand to partner with the now, second most listened to radio show in Ireland. In the latest JNLR Brendan O’Connor’s Sunday programme gained 20,000 listeners, bringing its audience to 343,000 listeners, while his Saturday show now garners 342,000 listeners, up 7,000  (Sept-Nov 22 vs 23). This sponsorship will serve as a constant reminder throughout the year for Irish people to choose Allcare Pharmacies for all their health and beauty needs.”

Tara Farrell, Radio & Audio Sponsorship Manager, RTÉ Media Sales commented: “RTÉ Media Sales is delighted to welcome Allcare Pharmacy back to RTÉ Radio 1 as the new sponsor of Brendan O’Connor. We are confident Brendan’s listenership ( 342,000 Saturdays, 343,000 Sundays*) will deliver the perfect platform for Allcare Pharmacy to communicate directly with its customers.”

RTÉ Choice Music Prize

In association with IMRO and IRMA

Conversations 2024

7th March, 12.00-16.00

http://www.choicemusicprize.ie/conversations/

Live Event

Vicar St, Dublin – Thursday 7th March, now sold-out, show starts 19.30 sharp

RTÉ Choice Music Prize live event, in association with IMRO & IRMA, takes place on Thurs 7th March and is now sold-out. Seven of the ten nominated acts have confirmed to perform at the event in Vicar St in March.

RTÉ Choice Music Prize Conversations will take place earlier in the day at at BIMM, Francis St, Dublin. With four topical music-industry discussion panels taking place between 12.00-16.30, Conversations brings together artists and industry professionals to discuss and explore some of the key issues affecting both performers and the wider industry at the present time. Admission is free, but attendees will need to register for a ticket via http://www.choicemusicprize.ie/conversations/ as spaces are limited.

RTÉ Choice Music Prize Conversations / Hosted by Jim Carroll (RTÉ)

11.00

Registration at BIMM, Francis St

12.00 – 12.45

Panel 1 Keynote Interview

Conor O’ Brien, Villagers

As he prepares for the release of Villagers’ 6th album, Conor will be discussing his exceptional career – from his early days co-fronting Choice Music Prize-nominated indie sensation ‘The Immediate’, through signing to Domino Recording Company, to playing sold-out Villagers shows all over the world both solo and with a full band.

13.00-13.45

Panel 2 Breaking Through in 2024

It’s a constantly changing and evolving landscape, and there are a multitude of ways of making it to the top. But what is the best way to amplify your music and your brand in a meaningful way right now? This is your guide to the key boxes you must tick in 2024 if you want to get noticed.

Panellists:

• Nels Hylton (BBC Radio 1)
• Matt Manner (Runway Artists)
• Sheena Madden (Amplify Agency)
• Paddy McLean (Co-General Manager Chaos Label / Polydor)

14.00 – 14.45

Panel 3 – The Long Arm of the Law – Are music lawyers the most important connectors in the music industry?

With A&R becoming less focused on songs and personalities and more data-driven, is a Music Lawyer now the most valuable piece in a rising artist’s jigsaw puzzle? One of the best routes for creating interest from key sections of the industry, lawyers can help secure a manager and an agent as well as introduce labels, publishers and DSPs…are you already lost without one?

Panellists:

• Ally Horn (Partner, Russell’s London)
• Will Headlam Wells (Statham Gill Davies London)
• Willie Ryan (Solicitor / Barrister)

15.00-15.50

Panel 4 (In association with AIM Ireland)

The Future of Music – A Panel of experts from across Europe discuss how AI is changing the industry, in real time.

Join us for ‘The Future of Music’ panel, where a diverse group of music industry trailblazers from across Europe will delve into the dynamic realm of AI’s real-time influence on the music

business. Explore the transformative role of AI in day-to-day operations for music professionals, including tech, marketing, publishing, and independent labels. This engaging discussion goes beyond the legal aspects, focusing on how AI is reshaping the landscape and redefining the everyday workflows for industry experts and the artists they champion. Gain insights into the cutting-edge strategies and innovations that are propelling the music industry into an AI-driven future.

Hosted by Gill Dooley (CEO, AIM Ireland)

Panellists

• Jaime Castañosa (Head of Marketing & Operations at Melboss)
• Petra Kauraisa (Communications Executive & Consultant)
• Ines Pagano (AMAEI – Portuguese Indie Trade association)

——————————————————————–

Later that night, the winning album will be announced at the RTÉ Choice Music Prize live event in Vicar St and will be broadcast on RTÉ 2FM in a special four-hour extended show with Beta Da Silva from 7-11pm. A special TV show will be broadcast on Thursday 14th March at 22.30 on RTÉ2.

The Classic Irish Album will be announced live on the Will Leahy Show on RTÉ Gold this Thursday, 22nd Feb, followed by a full play of the album, and a Classic Irish Album feature on Dan Hegarty’s show. The prize will be presented along with Irish Artist of the Year and Irish Breakthrough Artist at the live event in Vicar Street.

The Irish Song of the Year 2023 will be announced by Tracy Clifford on the day of the live event and presented to the winner that night. Tracy will also host the event.

——————–

The 19th 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 winning Album of the Year act will receive €10,000, a prize fund which has been provided by The Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). All shortlisted acts will receive a specially commissioned award.

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

Through its funding of the Music From Ireland programme, Culture Ireland’s support of the RTÉ Choice Music Prize will be directed towards shortlisted artists, as well as assisting the RTÉ Choice Music Prize “Conversations”.

#rtechoiceprize

The 6th RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards will be held in Vicar Street, Dublin on Tuesday 27th of February at 7.45pm. The Awards will be broadcast live on RTÉ Radio 1 and the RTÉ Radio App from 8pm. Highlights from the Awards will be broadcast on RTÉ One television on Saturday 2nd March 2024.

In what promises to be a very special night celebrating Irish folk music, the following artists will perform live on the night

• AOIFE NÍ BHRIAIN & CORMAC MCCARTHY
• BLÁTH NA hÓIGE
• BROOKS ACADEMY SET DANCERS
• CATHY JORDAN & FEARGAL MURRAY
• EOGHAN Ó CEANNABHÁIN
• GARADICE
• JOHNNY MCEVOY
• MUIREANN BRADLEY
• NIAMH BURY
• RHIANNON GIDDENS
• SEAMIE O’DOWD
• SORCHA NÍ SCOLAÍ
• STEPHEN JAMES SMITH
• STEVE COONEY & BREANNDÁN Ó BEAGLAOICH
• TRÍONA NÍ DHOMHNAILL (Lifetime Achievement Award 2024)

A full list of nominees is available here.

RTÉ and ITVX have revealed a first look at the cast of the highly anticipated second series of The Dry, which will air on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player later in the spring.

The 8-part comedy drama is produced by Oscar nominated production company Element Pictures (Poor Things, Normal People, The Gallows Pole), a Fremantle company for RTÉ and ITVX, in association with Fís Eireann/Screen Ireland, Coimisiún na Meán and ITV Studios.

Written by BAFTA-nominated screenwriter Nancy Harris (Dates) and directed by Paddy Breathnach (Viva, Rosie), the images reveal a budding new romance brewing for Shiv (Roisin Gallagher) with newcomer Alex (Sam Keeley) and feature an anxious and forlorn Tom (Ciarán Hinds), as a man on the verge of losing everything. A new friendship arises for Bernie (Pom Boyd) with her sponsor Billy (Thommas Kane Byrne), and we see a return to home comforts for Ant (Adam Richardson) and Caroline (Siobhán Cullen).

The storyline picks up seven months on from the events of the first series, and we now meet the Sheridans in their new normal. To all outward appearances, it seems like the family is relatively content: Shiv’s been sober, celibate, and solvent for six months, Ant has hung onto his job at the estate agents and his relationship with Max, and Caroline’s making up for a lost time by shagging everyone she meets on Tinder. So far, so normal… Or is it? After all, how normal is it for three grown adults to still be living at home with their parents? Are the Sheridan’s really happy with this new status quo, or have they just rearranged their dysfunction and found another groove of denial to fit into?

Shiv is determined to get sobriety right this time, to cut the toxic influences out of her life for good. But what if the biggest threat to Shiv’s stability turns out to be closer to home? Giving up alcohol is one thing…but what about giving up your family?

The Dry series 2 is an 8 x 30 mins drama commissioned by Dermot Horan, Director of Acquisitions and Co-Productions for RTÉ and ITV’s Head of Scripted Comedy Nana Hughes for ITVX. Emma Norton, Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe are executive producers for Element Pictures, alongside Nancy Harris and Paddy Breathnach. Ingrid Goodwin is the series producer. Filming took place in and around Dublin. ITV Studios are responsible for the international distribution of The Dry series 2.

The second series will air on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player later in the spring, and will stream exclusively on ITVX in the UK from the 14th March. The first series is available to watch on RTÉ Player now.

The tenth series of much-loved property series Home of the Year starts Tuesday 20th February at 8.30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.

Since first appearing on screens in 2015, Home of the Year has celebrated the creativity and individuality of homeowners all over the country.  Clever design and inspiring interiors will be showcased as viewers take a peak inside another 21 gorgeous homes located across the country.

The series will feature re-imagined semi-detached homes, renovation projects, architectural homes, restored period homes and new builds in locations in Antrim, Clare, Cork, Derry, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Louth, Mayo, Offaly, Waterford and Wicklow.

Looking for individuality, functionality, and clever design, the three judges will each score the homes out of 10, and the home with the highest combined score in each programme will go through to the final in April, where the winner will be crowned.

Making the difficult decisions are the returning judging panel of architect and founding partner of Douglas Wallace Consultants, Hugh Wallace, award-winning architect Amanda Bone and award-winning interior designer Sara Cosgrove.

Speaking ahead of his tenth series on Home of the Year, Hugh Wallace said: “Two hundred and ten delicious homes visited over a decade and my heart still flutters with excitement to walk through the hall door and get inspired. Love it!” 

Interior designer Sara Cosgrove said: “Delighted to be part of series 10 of Home of the Year. I loved travelling the country with my fellow judges, seeing the diversity of design and home styles.” 

Architect Amanda Bone said: “I believe a home is a reflection of the homeowner and a source of well-being, so it’s fascinating discovering what people enjoy and how they express and see themselves.” 

The series airs on Tuesdays at 8.30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player starting from February 20th 2024. 

Home of the Year is sponsored by AIB and is produced by ShinAwiL for RTÉ.