An ceoltóir traidisiúnta ar an bhfeadóg mhór nó ar an bhfeadóg stáin thú?  Tá an comórtas do Bhonn Óir Seán Ó Riada na bliana seo fógartha ag an gcraoltóir Peadar Ó Riada, agus is ar an dá uirlis sin a bheas an comórtas dírithe do 2023. 

Beidh bonn óir agus €2500 ag dul don bhuaiteoir ar an gcomórtas, atá á reáchtáil ag Peadar tríd a chlár Cuireadh chun Ceoil ar RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.  Is é Dé hAoine 29 Meán Fómhair an dáta deireanach a ghlacfar le hiarratais.

Chuir Peadar Ó Riada an comórtas seo ar bun siar sa bhliain 2010, agus bíonn ceoltóirí ó gach cearn den domhan ag cur isteach air gach bliain.  Is liosta le háireamh na ceoltóirí ar an bhfeadóg mhór a thug leo an duais mhór go dtí seo, ina measc Tim McHugh as Baile Uí Fhiacháin i Maigh Eo, Seán Gavin as Detroit Mheiricá, agus Jillian O’Malley ó Chluain Cearbháin i Maigh Eo. 

Le cur isteach ar an gcomórtas, is gá do cheoltóirí:

• 5 phíosa/seit ceoil a thaifead
  (is leor iad a thaifeadadh ar an ríomhaire/fón, ní caighdeán stiúideo atá i gceist)
• Clárú ag www.cuireadhchunceoil.ie
• Na píosaí ceoil a uaslódáil go dtí an suíomh idirlín sin faoin Aoine 29 Meán Fómhair.

Roghnófar 15 iomaitheoir le bheith páirteach sa chraobh, agus fógrófar iad ar an gclár Cuireadh chun Ceoil ar RTÉ RnaG beo ó Éigse Dhiarmuidín ag tús mhí na Nollag.   Craolfar an chraobh beo ó Óstán an Rochestown Park i gCorcaigh ag deireadh mhí Eanáir. 

Is iad RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Iontaobhas Fódhla, Gael Linn, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, IMRO, Ealaín na Gaeltachta agus Óstán Pháirc Bhaile an Róistigh na hurraitheoirí ar an gcomórtas.

Donegal Native Barry Gallagher announced as RTÉ news2day presenter 

This autumn, first time television presenter Barry Gallagher aged 24 from Donegal is the newest addition to the news2day team. news2day is RTÉ’s news service designed specifically for children, featuring Irish and international news of interest to a young audience.   

Following a call out by RTÉ to media and journalism graduates across the country, and a comprehensive audition process, Barry was chosen to join the team. He begins broadcasting this coming Monday, 4^th September live on RTÉ2, RTÉ News channel and available for schools to stream on the RTE Player.

Barry joins the news2day team from Gartan in the hills of Donegal. He moved to Dublin for his undergraduate degree in journalism at DCU in 2019.  And after graduating in May 2022, Barry began working as a reporter with The Irish Sun, cementing his love for all things news. There he worked on a variety of different stories ranging from breaking news and sport  to investigative features, covering events across the country and beyond.  In his downtime, Barry enjoys music, film and Gaelic Football, which he played for many years with his local club, Termon GAA, and his secondary school, St Eunan’s College.

Growing up on a farm in rural Ireland, Barry also has a love for animals, which is sure to shine through during his time on news2day. And despite cutting his teeth in print journalism, Barry has made a handful of appearances on radio and television before joining news2day – and can’t wait to get in front of the camera again.

Speaking about his new presenter role, Barry said: “Joining the news2day team is a dream come true for me, I still can’t believe I’m actually here. Watching the show every day as a kid after school, I was always inspired by the amazing group of reporters that came before me – it’s a privilege to now be following in their footsteps. RTÉ’s news2day is such an iconic and important resource for Irish children across the country, and I’m absolutely buzzing to put my stamp on it.”

Barry joins news2day presenter Molly O’Connor from Dublin. Molly has been with news2day since September 2022.

news2day is broadcast Monday-Friday at 4.20pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ News channel. In addition to young viewers tuning in at home, it is also watched online on the RTE Player in many classrooms throughout the country and used as a teaching tool.

Watch Barry and Molly on RTÉ news2day at:  www.rte.ie/news2day

Hidden Assets, Obituary, The Gone, The Dry and Blackshore part of over 30 hours of new drama produced in partnership with the Independent production sector.

WATCH our promo here. 

RTÉ today released a first look at upcoming homegrown dramas as part of its New Season, with previews of Hidden Assets, Obituary, The Dry Series 2, The Gone, Blackshore, and new single dramas from Storyland.

This new season, RTÉ is continuing its strategy to increase its development of drama output, by investing in the Irish creative industry and showcasing the best of Ireland by filming right across the country. Partnerships both in Ireland and internationally continue to enable the production of these great original Irish dramas.

Brand-new series this season include The Gone, Obituary, and Blackshore, as well as the return of Hidden Assets and The Dry, all supported by Screen Ireland.

Hidden Assets  

Hidden Assets returns to our screens this Sunday, September 3rd, on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, with a six-part second season, set between Limerick and Antwerp, Belgium. Over a year has passed since the events in season one and the stage is set for an exciting season full of twists and turns. Claire (Nora-Jane Noone) is new to the fold as the lead Detective Sergeant in charge at the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) and faces a sudden challenge – a coordinated cyber-attack targeting CAB and the Belgian Counter-Terrorist Unit (CTU), with a connection to the Brannigan case.  Bibi (Simone Kirby), under threat from Richard Melnick’s business partner Swann, resurfaces with some new and crucial information unveiling dark details on how Richard ran his company Trestford  and reveals there’s a mole in CTU.

In the face of growing violence and ever higher stakes, Claire and Christian must join forces to uncover the mole and expose the truth about Trestford and Swann: it’s a race against time to stop the sale of Antwerp Port.

Cast includes the return of Simone Kirby (His Dark Materials, Jimmy’s Hall), Wouter Hendrickx, Cathy Belton (Red Rock, Philomena) and Aaron Monaghan (The Banshees of Inisherin, Redemption of a Rogue). Nora-Jane Noone joins the cast (Wildfire, Magdalene Sisters).

Obituary 

Obituary, which begins on September 26th on RTÉ,  is a dark comedy crime drama in which the newspaper that 24-year-old Elvira Clancy works for, falls into hard times and she is now being paid per obituary. When deaths trickle to a halt and work dries up, Elvira soon discovers that by murdering the unpleasant residents in her small town, she will not only earn more money but discovers she has an untapped bloodlust. The only problem for her lies with the paper’s new hire, Emerson Stafford, a suspicious crime correspondent who she begins to develop feelings for.

Starring a line-up of renowned Irish actors – Siobhan Cullen (The Dry) who takes the lead as Elvira Clancy, Michael Smiley (Bad Sisters, Bloodlands) as Elvira’s protective and troubled father Ward Clancy; Ronan Raftery (The Rook, Mortal Engines, The Terror) as ambitious new crime correspondent Emerson Stafford.

Directed by John Hayes (Dublin Murders, Bancroft) and Oonagh Kearney (Vardy V Rooney: A Courtroom Drama, Womens’ Christmas Night).

The Gone  

Beginning in October, The Gone is a new six-part thriller set in New Zealand written by Anna McPartlin and Michael Bennett. The Gone sees, a young Irish couple Ireland go missing, with a potential Irish crime family involved in their disappearance, leading to a joint New Zealand and Irish crime investigation. The lead Irish detective is played by Richard Flood, most recently starring in Grey’s Anatomy. The Gone is co-produced by Keeper Pictures and Kingfisher Films, in association with Southern Light Films (New Zealand) for RTÉ and TV New Zealand, with international distribution handled by Red Arrow Studios.

The Dry – Season 2  

We now meet the Sheridan’s 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? And are the Sheridans 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?

Season two of the eight-part comedy drama written by BAFTA-nominated screenwriter Nancy Harris (Dates) and directed by Paddy Breathnach (Viva, Rosie) will see the return of Roisin Gallagher (The Fall) as recovering alcoholic Shiv Sheridan, accompanied by an exciting array of new cast arrivals. Michael McElhatton (Game of Thrones) joins the series as Finbar, Bernie’s new close companion, whilst Thommas Kane Byrne (Derry Girls) plays Billy, Ant’s new nemesis. Could real love also finally be in the air for Shiv, with the arrival of charming barista Alex, played by Sam Keeley (Kin)? Additional newcomers include Seán Doyle (Normal People), Helen Norton (Cracks) and Ruth Codd (The Midnight Club). Familiar faces also reprising their roles include Ciarán Hinds (Belfast) as Tom, Pom Boyd (Vanity Fair) as Bernie.

Blackshore  

From the creators of Smother comes a new mystery thriller Blackshore follows DI Fia Lucey (Lisa Dwan), a laser- focused, ambitious detective who is haunted by her tragic past – a past she keeps locked away and unexplored.

After a series of “undue force” allegations, Fia is banished from her high-octane position to a rural backwater – uncomfortably close to her hometown. While there, she is charged with investigating a missing person case: a woman from Blackshore who has disappeared in mysterious circumstances. The case brings a reluctant Fia face to face with her traumatic past and back into the fold of a community who are still processing the unwelcome attention that her historical case brought to the town: a town that remains steeped in its own secrets and lies.

Blackshore is a dark thriller that explores the DNA of one town’s relationship with shame, guilt and the price of success.  Created by writer Kate O’Riordan (Smother, The Bay) and directed by Daithí Keane (Smother, An Klondike), the series is produced by Treasure Entertainment/BBC Studios and stars Lisa Dwan (Top Boy, Bloodlands), Rory Keenan (Striking Out, The Duchess), Stanley Townsend (The Tunnel, Redwater), Andrew Bennett (An Cailín Ciúin, Resistance) Amy De Bhrún (Line of Duty, Vikings), Jade Jordan (You Are Not My Mother, Rosie) and Aidan McArdle (Deadly Cuts, Mr. Selfridge)

STORYLAND

RTÉ continues its Storyland initiative focused on nurturing creative acting, writing and directing talent to cultivate new voices and perspectives in Irish drama. Previous Storyland winners have gone on to write for Kin, Hidden Assets and Smother.

Wrapped (Pipedream Productions & Alfonso Films) 
Two Irish women travel through airport security with thousands of euro worth of cocaine strapped to their bodies, hoping to leave their past behind. Starring Ella Lily Hyland (Fifteen Love, A Thousand Blows) and Lauryn Canny (Normal People, Dating Amber). Written by Tracy Martin, produced by Claire McCabe and directed by Mia Mullarkey.

Falling for the Life of Alex Whelan (Pure Divilment Pictures) 
A young Chinese Irish woman meets the man of her dreams at a foreign language film club. She discovers the next day through social media that he has died. Piecing together who he was through his online life, she begins to wonder what could have been. Starring: Chris Walley (Young Offenders, Bloodlands, 1917, The Last Voyage of the Demeter), Lila Coleman (Normal People) David Rawle (Moone Boy, Song of the Sea) Written by Nell Hensey and produced by Claire Mooney.

The Cousin
Dan, a young artist, submits to a prestigious art college with his project The Saints of Fairfield, an installation using projection mapping and archival photography. In the park close by where he lives, Dan projects portraits of people who lived in his neighbourhood over the years but have passed on due to old age, crime, overdose, suicide or emigration. When his application is successful an opportunity arises for him to escape a predetermined life path. But first he needs to sit down and get his cousin’s blessing, which might be easier said than done. Written and directed by Stevie Russell and produced by Michael Donnelly, The Cousin will be broadcast later in the year on RTÉ2 as well as RTÉ Player. Casting was directed by Dawn Mac Allister with several discoveries including leading man Adam Lennon-Collery lining up alongside established talent such as Fionn Ó Liongsigh (What Richard Did, Cardboard Gangsters) and Sharon Mannion (Bridget & Eamon, Prosperity). Cinematography is by JJ Rolfe (Kin, Witness No. 3) and Production Design by Mark Kelly (Blackshore, Smother).

Dr. Marie Cassidy’s name became inextricably linked with murder and tragedy over the two decades she spent in the Irish State Pathologist’s office. Many of the murders she investigated were femicide cases – the violent deaths of women by men.

In 1997, Dr. Cassidy arrived in Ireland from Glasgow to take up her post on the day two women were discovered raped and murdered in Grangegorman, Dublin. Over the course of this new three-part series, Dr. Cassidy remembers some of the many women not simply as victims or statistics, but as people with real lives. With the cooperation of families and the help of peers and experts, this series follows Dr. Cassidy as she tries to understand why women continue to be abused and killed, mostly by men they know.

Since 1996, 261 women have died violently in the Republic of Ireland. According to Women’s Aid, 63% were killed in their own homes, 55% were killed by a partner or ex and almost 9 in 10 women knew their killer.

Dr. Cassidy looks at the impact these deaths have had on families they have left behind and what justice means to them. She also explores the link between femicide and online pornography, recalling the death of Ana Kriégel, the case which prompted her to resign.

Dr. Marie Cassidy said: “Since the late 1990s more than 260 women have been murdered in Ireland. For twenty years I was part of the team investigating those deaths. There was a common theme; women who were wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, killed by a man they loved. Why? What is wrong in society and can it be fixed?”

Gráinne McAleer, Commissioning Editor of Documentaries & Series at RTÉ added: “In her term as State Pathologist, Marie Cassidy presided over the postmortems of women who died violently in Ireland. In this series, she remembers these women and reflects on their deaths. Her unique perspective serves as a timely reminder of an issue that hasn’t gone away. I’m very grateful to the families who allowed us to tell the stories of their loved ones. It would not have been possible to make this programme without their support.”

Former State Pathologist, Dr. Marie Cassidy explores The Femicide Cases on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player from this Monday, September 4th at 9:35pm.

Guests include Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Johnny Logan, Alice Taylor, Tony Holohan, Adi Roche, Tolü Makay, Jason Smyth and Naomi Long

Joe Duffy returns this September with a new series of The Meaning of Life, in which public and influential figures reveal how their lives have shaped, or been shaped by, their experiences, choices, values and beliefs. An extended interview with former Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin will mark the 100^th episode of the programme when the new series starts on September 3^rd on RTÉ One.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin talks candidly and emotionally about dealing with the clerical child sex abuse scandals in his former Archdiocese of Dublin, sharing his insights into the behaviour and motivation of perpetrators, their impact on victims, and how publicly addressing that wrong became a priority for him, despite resistance from within the Church.  With remarkable honesty, he reveals the difficulties he faced as a seminarian.

Over the course of the 17^th season of the programme, Joe also speaks with legendary three-time Eurovision winner, Johnny Logan, popular Irish author, Alice Taylor; former Presidential candidate and founding CEO of Chernobyl Children’s International, Adi Roche,  World Champion and Gold Medal-winning sprinter, Jason Smyth, singer-songwriter, Tolü Makay,  former Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan, and Alliance Party Leader, Naomi Long.

Joe Duffy said: “I am so proud that in this new series of The Meaning of Life we will reach the 100^th episode of the programme on September 3rd 2023. I have always believed that the Meaning of Life style interview – in depth, personal, brilliantly and meticulously researched – has an important place in the schedule of the national public broadcaster. As a young broadcaster, I deeply admired the work of Irish psychiatrist, the late Dr Anthony Clare. As a qualified Social Worker and Family Therapist, I have tried to add those skills with those I’ve learned in my three decades in broadcasting.
 
“I was deeply honoured that the interviewees in this series, from former Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, singer Johnny Logan, writer Alice Taylor, the remarkable Adi Roche, the former Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan, and many others opened up in such a frank and intimate way about their understanding of The Meaning of Life.”
 
Roger Childs, Commissioning Editor of Religious Content at RTÉ said: “‘It’ll never work – two people sitting in a room, talking about God. Who’s going to watch that?’” As The Meaning of Life enters its 17^th season and passes the milestone of 100 episodes, Gay Byrne’s own amusingly downbeat first assessment of The Meaning of Life has, thankfully, not proved to be accurate. Presidents, Taoisaigh, rockstars, writers, athletes, actors, politicians, showbiz personalities, scientists, philanthropists, religious leaders, business leaders and, perhaps most memorably, Stephen Fry, have all taken turns to sit in what Gay called “the chair opposite”, making the series into a Who’s Who? of modern Irish life. As Joe Duffy returns for his fourth season at the helm, the series continues to be a hit with guests and audiences.”

The Meaning of Life airs for 8 weeks at 22:30pm on RTÉ One & RTÉ Player from September 3^rd.

RTÉ announces selection of new and archive radio, television and online material honoring the 10th Anniversary of the death of Irish Nobel Laureate, Seamus Heaney

From the late-1960s until his death in 2013, Seamus Heaney regularly contributed to RTÉ. Marking his tenth anniversary, RTÉ presents a selection of new and archive radio content, as well as television and online programmes.

RTÉ Radio 1

Arena (Wednesday 30th August, 7pm) presents a show dedicated to the life and legacy of Seamus Heaney. Presenter Kay Sheehy is joined by friends, peers, and colleagues of Heaney, including fellow writers Paula Meehan and Blake Morrison, composer and musician Neil Martin, and leading academics Professors Chris Morash and Geraldine Higgins and Dr Rosie Lavan. Arena will also feature selected interviews with the poet from RTÉ Archives, in addition to readings of his poems from the RTÉ Lannan Seamus Heaney Collected Poems CD boxset, made in 2009 to mark his 70th birthday.

Sunday Miscellany (3rd September 9.10am) will broadcast new short writing specially gathered from contributors including Marie Heaney, Gerry Dawe, Mícheál McCann, Grace Wells, Denise Blake, as well as Seamus Heaney himself from the programme archive.

RTÉ lyric fm

Niall Carroll’s Classical Daytime (Monday 4th to Friday 8th September, and Monday 11th to Friday 15th September 2023, 12.30 daily) will feature a daily selected Heaney poem with an archive recording of the poet reading it. The poems include Mid-Term Break and Digging and range in theme from family and childhood, music and landscape, to history, human rights, and the violent years of the North. Introducing poems are Heaney’s lifelong friend Michael Longley, journalist and presenter Olivia O’Leary, Cailín Ciúin actor Andrew Bennett, 2022 Leaving Certificate student Luke Dolan, winner of the annual Poetry Aloud student competition, Nicholas Allen, Director of the Willson Center and the Baldwin Professor in Humanities at the University of Georgia in the United States, activist and artist Orla Tinsley, poet Annemarie Ní Churreáin, former Wexford hurler and facilitator Derek Lyng, Irish-Syrian journalist and activist Razan Ibraheem and painter Colin Davidson who made a portrait of Seamus Heaney not long before the poet’s death.

www.rte.ie/culture and RTÉ Player

On rte.ie/culture, audiences can enjoy10 Selected Archive Broadcasts, in which Seamus Heaney is either the person being interviewed or whose work is its focus. The selection begins with an in-depth conversation between the poet and presenter Mike Murphy in 2000 for Reading the Future. Also in the selection are an edition of Sunday Miscellany saluting the poet’s 70th birthday in 2009, and the two-part series called Professor Heaney, made after his death and first broadcast in 2014. Here the focus is on Heaney the working man, the teacher at two of the world’s most prestigious universities: Harvard and Oxford.

On RTÉ Player, the 2023 television documentary Untameable journeys into Seamus Heaney’s bog poems and Ireland’s wild bog landscape. It navigates his ‘bog poems’ in tandem with exploring the dilemmas in Ireland’s contested boglands, amidst the climate crisis. Written by Colm Tóibín, narrated by Ciarán Hinds and with readings of Heaney’s poems by Michelle Fairley, Untameable is directed by Alex Verner.

See: The power of the bog – Heaney, Toibin & Hinds are Untameable (rte.ie)

RTÉ Concert Orchestra

John Kelly introduces Neil Martin’s Sweeney live from the Kilkenny Arts Festival 2023. Seamus Heaney performed at the first Kilkenny Arts Festival in 1974. This year, to mark the 10th anniversary of his death, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra presented Sweeney, a song cycle based on Heaney’s Sweeney Astray. Heaney’s poem is a version of Buile Shuibhne, a 7th-century Irish saga about the clash between the natural and man-made world, and the role of race, religion and family, that still speaks to us today. Conducted by David Brophy, with vocals from Iarla Ó Lionáird and narration by Ciarán Hinds, Sweeney brings Heaney’s words to life in a memorable tribute.

See: RTÉ lyric Live: Wednesday 16 August 2023 – RTÉ lyric Live: Sweeney with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra from Kilkenny Arts Festival 2023 (rte.ie)

RTÉ Director-General, Kevin Bakhurst wrote to RTÉ staff this morning, Tuesday 29th August to announce that the Scoping Document for the RTÉ Register of Interests and the RTÉ Register of External Activities has been shared with the TUG (Trade Union Group) and the MA (Managers Association) for their consideration.

The document outlines RTÉ’s proposals in respect of both of these registers as part of the process of rebuilding trust.

The scoping document is available to view here.

NEW SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

• Over 30 hours of brand-new Irish drama
• A wide range of documentaries on issues that matter and real-life stories
• Large scale cultural event Ireland 100
• A range of content on the Climate Crisis
• A significant slate of peak-time Irish language programming
• Brand new homegrown entertainment and comedy
• Over 126 hours of original Irish children’s content
• Widest range of free to air Sport

WATCH the promo here. 

This new season sees RTÉ in partnership with the Irish independent production sector, deliver a broad range of unique Irish content to serve a wide range of audiences, from impactful documentaries to national cultural events, climate programming, series reflecting real Irish lives with prime-time programming as Gaeilge, brand-new Irish entertainment shows, the largest selection of Irish drama and Sport, and a broad slate of content for Ireland’s youngest citizens.

Factual

RTÉ continues to build on its track record of delivering impactful Irish documentaries and incredible Irish stories this season. 112 Days – Man Vs Ocean is an emotional and reflective adventure documentary that follows Damian Browne and Fergus Farrell’s voyage traversing the Atlantic Ocean in a two-person rowboat. Stardust is a major three-part documentary series which will provide a 360-degree perspective on the Stardust tragedy, while Patrick: A Young Traveller Lost shines a light on the urgent and sensitive issue of suicide rates among the Irish Traveller community through the harrowing story of 12-year-old Patrick McDonagh. Since 1996, 261 women have died violently in the Republic of Ireland, according to Women’s Aid. In a new series of Dr Cassidy’s Casebook – The Femicide Cases, former State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy explores the issue of femicide in Ireland through the lens of some of the cases she investigated during her career. In Richie Sadlier – Let’s Talk About Sex, Richie Sadlier explores Ireland’s sex education history through the eyes and ears of transition year students.

Climate takes centre stage with insightful new programmes including, Climate Live 2050. From the makers of Election ’18, this ambitious special imagines how the news might be in the year 2050 with presenters Mark Little and Carla O’Brien guiding viewers through a seismic night as the climate pushes the planet to a moment of crisis. Six-part series Heated takes a factual look at the implications of climate change for individuals, families, communities, and industry in Ireland. In A Climate of Change, Philip Boucher-Hayes journeys to examine the effect of climate change across continents and assess the implications it will have in Ireland. As part of RTÉ’s commitment to leading on Climate Change coverage, RTÉ News & Current Affairs is embedding reporting of the climate crisis across all topics and areas as it affects all our lives, including a continued special focus on biodiversity.

In November, RTÉ will screen Face Down, a documentary sprung from RTÉ’s hugely successful radio series RTÉ Documentary on One, it focuses on the 1973 kidnapping by the IRA of German businessman, Thomas Niedermayer. Funded by RTÉ, ARTE, Screen Ireland and BBC Northern Ireland, and with the support of Section 481 funding, this feature documentary is currently playing in cinemas in Ireland. RTÉ Radio 1’s RTÉ Documentary on One continues to go from strength to strength and offers a new season of stories of music, adventure, Irish civil war history, and Mount Everest. Acclaimed social history series Scannal looks back at the stories that shocked and shaped us as a nation including the disappearance in 1977 of six-year-old Mary Boyle.

Drama

RTÉ has significantly increased its drama output over the last four years; from 9 hours in 2019 to 43.5 hours in 2023, RTÉ continues to deliver more quality Irish drama to audiences. There’s an abundance of brand-new Irish drama hitting screens this new season, featuring a wealth of emerging and established Irish talent, filmed throughout Ireland in locations from Donegal to Killaloe, Limerick to Dublin supporting local economies throughout Ireland. RTÉ has worked with Irish partners including Screen Ireland and international partners, to bring more Irish stories to Irish screens and showcase Irish talent internationally. RTÉ also continues its Storyland initiative focussed on nurturing creative acting, writing and directing talent to cultivate new voices and perspectives in Irish drama. Previous Storyland winners have gone on to write for Hidden Assets and Smother.

Brand-new series this season include The Gone, Obituary, and Blackshore, as well as the return of Hidden Assets and The Dry, all supported by Screen Ireland. Six-part thriller The Gone, starring Grey’s Anatomy’s Richard Flood, sees a young Irish couple go missing with a potential Irish crime family involved in their disappearance, leading to a joint New Zealand and Irish crime investigation. Series 2 of Hidden Assets is set between Limerick and Antwerp. Claire (Nora-Jane Noone) is new to the fold as lead Detective Sergeant in charge at the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau, the cast also includes Simone Kirby and Cathy Belton.

In dark-comedy drama Obituary, Siobhán Cullen takes the lead as Elvira Clancy, a bored obituary writer who takes matters into her own hands. Filmed in Donegal, the six-part series also stars Michael Smiley and Danielle Galligan. Dark thriller Blackshore follows DI Fia Lucey (Lisa Dwan), a laser-focused, ambitious detective who is haunted by her tragic past, and stars Rory Keenan, Stanley Townsend, Andrew Bennett, and Amy De Bhrún. Season two of comedy drama The Dry written by BAFTA-nominated screenwriter Nancy Harris will see the return of Roisin Gallagher as recovering alcoholic Shiv Sheridan, accompanied by an exciting array of new cast arrivals including Sam Keeley (Kin) and Michael McElhatton (Game of Thrones). The Boy That Never Was is based on The Sunday Times bestselling debut novel by Karen Perry and adapted by Jo Spain. New Irish talent is showcased in Storyland with new single dramas including Wrapped, starring Ella Lily Hyland, Falling for the Life of Alex Whelan starring Chris Walley, and The Cousin, starring Fionn Ó Loingsigh.

A season of explosive drama awaits in Fair City’s Carrigstown this Autumn, where a kidnapping goes horribly wrong. RTÉ Player delivers more on-demand drama than ever before with new Irish and International box sets available to stream this Autumn, including critically acclaimed crime drama Luther, alongside Hidden Assets, Sherlock, The Split, Doctor Foster, Blue Lights and many more.

Culture – Arts and Music

RTÉ continues to invest in programming and events that celebrate and share our unique culture and rich artistic heritage. To mark the end of the decade of centenaries, RTÉ has commissioned a special live concert in association with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. Featuring some of Ireland’s best-known musicians, performers, and writers, Ireland 100: An Old Song Re-Sung will be broadcast in October to mark the 100th anniversary of Ireland’s accession to the League of Nations.

RTÉ will celebrate Culture Night in Donegal on Friday September 22nd from a lakeside setting in the shadow of Mount Errigal where the RTÉ Concert Orchestra will be joined by a host of guest performers. Aistear an Amhráin examines the meaning behind Ireland’s most popular songs and features Damien Dempsey, John Sheahan, and The Saw Doctors, and in Seisiún, presenter Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh visits celebrated music venues. Dolores@70 honours much-loved singer Dolores Keane as she turns 70, while Cloch Le Carn includes programmes on Sean Keane, and The Chieftains. A one-off documentary on the Hot House Flowers will examine a landmark year that changed the course of the bandmember’s lives. In Songlines, Thomas McCarthy meets an eclectic collection of Traveller singers throughout Ireland. The Meaning of Life with Joe Duffy features interviews with Johnny Logan, Adi Roche, Tony Holohan, and a 100th episode special with Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. Running for two weeks in October on RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ will broadcast the top ten short stories from this year’s RTÉ

Short Story Competition in honour of Francis MacManus, while Hidden Treasures spotlights the cultural, creative, and challenging work behind the scenes in Irish museums. In Viva Mary (Banríon Sitges), film maker Cathal Ó Cuaig meets mother, grandmother and Connemara native Mary Lambe, daughter of the painter Charles Lambe.

Entertainment

Homegrown entertainment and comedy brings us together for shared moments and this new season serves up plenty of uniquely Irish fare to watch live and on demand.

Friday, September 15th heralds the start of a brand-new chapter in The Late Late Show story as our new host Patrick Kielty brings his own inimitable style to the world’s longest-running live chat show and the best in Irish entertainment, music, and comedy (and yes, the owl will be there with a new shine to his feathers).

Tommy Tiernan is back for 16 episodes of The Tommy Tiernan Show in January. Audience favourite Dancing with the Stars returns with Jennifer Zamparelli, Doireann Garrihy and 11 new hopefuls, and Baz Ashmawy presents The Money List, a brand-new quiz show. The Full Irish Hidden Camera Show with 2FM Breakfast crew Doireann, Carl and Donncha sees pranks played on the unsuspecting public, and Ireland’s Fittest Family gains two new recruits with Sonia O’Sullivan joining our coaches and Laura Fox as our host. In the brand-new Love in the Country, Anna Geary is on hand to help Irish farmers find the love of their life, and First Dates returns to warm our hearts and serve a slice of modern Irish life in a restaurant full of new hopefuls.

In Foclóir Brille, stand-up comedian Bláithín de Burca takes viewers on a jubilant journey deep into the past, present, and future of the Irish language. In an RTÉ Player Original Ireland’s Perfect Pubs, stand-up comedian Anna Clifford goes on an epic Irish pub crawl to visit some of the country’s most unique hostelries. Comedy duo Darren and Joe try to make some money during the Rugby World Cup in Darren and Joe’s Rugby Bandwagon, and afternoon favourite Today is back from Cork, with Dáithí, Maura, and Sinéad. Also in Cork, Jock and Conor return for a brand-new series of comedy favourite, The Young Offenders.

Real Irish Lives

This season, RTÉ brings you into the hearts and lives of Irish people and Irish communities, documenting real-life experiences from inspirational transformations to quests for love, homes, and the perfect smile!

Real-life experiences are documented in programming including Fools for Love, where journalist Aoife Grace Moore investigates the dark side of dating apps. Sun, Sea, and Scalpels follows some of the thousands of Irish people opting to travel abroad for cosmetic surgery, and in Keith’s Teeth: A Dental Odyssey, Keith Duffy examines the nation’s changing relationship with our smiles.

Inside Penneys journeys into the fast-moving headquarters of one of Ireland’s best-known retailers. A Ring and A Prayer examines couples from diverse cultures and faith traditions who get married. Secret Life of Your Body, a new medical series, fronted by Kathryn Thomas, follows patients through surgeries and recoveries from heart bypasses to an ACL operation, and there are more transformative series in the shape of Big Life Fix, Raised by the Village, and Operation Transformation. Real life communities are documented in a slate of programming including Ar an Sliabh, capturing everyday life in remote Irish communities, Cheap Irish Homes, follows aspirational homeowners hoping to get on the property ladder for less, and Bog Amach, where Emer Mhic an Fhailí takes couples to prospective homes in spectacular locations. Peataí gives pet owners an opportunity to get answers to their pet problems, while in Listen to the Land Speak, celebrated nature writer Manchán Magan brings viewers exploring Ireland’s land and waters. Continental Riffs captures the essence of Europe through architecture, dance, and performance. In Marty’s Big Picture Show, Marty Morrissey and historian Liz Gillis attempt to track down faces captured in the lenses of some of Ireland’s best-known photographers. Dermot Bannon’s Super Spaces is a two-part series looking at unusual spaces where people live.

RTÉ serves our youngest citizens with a diverse range of content on RTÉjr, RTÉ2, RTÉ Player and RTÉ’s YouTube channel, with dedicated live action, animation as well as events. A safe space for young people to watch native content, RTÉjr offers programmes which are ad-free and available in Safe Mode on RTÉ Player.

The RTS Award-winning Story bud is back for a brand-new series, with episodes performed by Jason Byrne, Panti Bliss, and Dustin! Ladybird and Bee mixes charming storytelling set in the Natural World, and Tír na nÓg is a wonderland of adventure, used by parents, grandparents, and schools to immerse their preschoolers in Gaeilge. Will Sliney’s Storytellers 2 is part drawing show-part animated adventure, teaching budding young artists using the most powerful weapon in the world – a pencil. The series features WWE Superstar Becky Lynch, actor Aisling Bea, and broadcaster Dermot Whelan. Ray of Sunshine follows seven-year-old Ray who lives in the Sunshine Apartments smack dab in the middle of the city of Dublin.

In October, our very first RTÉ & Creative Ireland This is Art! Exhibition will be hosted in the prestigious RHA in Dublin. In Ruck and Roll, presenter Seán Treacy brings the Rugby World Cup to audiences and clubs across Ireland, challenging both the knowledge and skill of the future superstars of the sport! Space Camp Challenge in conjunction with SFI follows 8 TY students on the trip of a lifetime to Huntsville Alabama to participate in the NASA astronaut training programme. 2024 will also see Young People’s Programing premiere several series that tackle environmental issues, including What’s Next? a series for 10–12-year-olds that looks at innovation and challenges within the environmental sector.

News and Current Affairs

In a world of non-stop information, it has never been more important to be able to trust the news you consume. RTÉ News & Current Affairs cuts through the noise and establish the absolute facts as we verify them. We will challenge disinformation to ensure our audiences have confidence in the authenticity of our coverage across all our platforms. RTÉ News will continue to tell stories accurately and impartially on all platforms, enabling audiences to be informed where they need, including significant growth in our trusted Instagram and TikTok accounts engaging with younger people. In the past three months RTÉ News content has reached over 33 million accounts on Instagram and generated over 22 million video views on TikTok.

This new season will see RTÉ One launch a brand-new Irish language weekly current affairs television series, Fóram, which will be broadcast live on Sundays, with news and analysis of major stories as Gaeilge. As we head into another political term, The Week in Politics will also return on Sundays with Áine Lawlor and the insightful podcast series Your Politics available on all platforms each week.

Following on from the shocking and powerful programmes on Ireland’s dairy calves and Sex for Rent this year, the award-winning RTÉ Investigates team will deliver public service broadcasting at its very best in several new and revealing documentaries this season. Monday nights will see the return of Upfront with Katie Hannon on RTÉ One, giving the public the opportunity to share their views on topical issues and to put their questions directly to those in power. Miriam O’Callaghan, Fran McNulty and Sarah McInerney along with the Prime Time team will delve into the issues affecting all our daily lives. From climate change to the housing crisis to the spiralling cost of living, Prime Time will also provide extensive coverage and scrutiny of all the big events including Budget 2024.

Nationwide continues to broadcast local and community-based stories from all over Ireland as Anne Cassin and Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh present programmes featuring Irish tourism destinations, entrepreneurs throughout the land, craftspeople, insights into Irish history, and the extraordinary stories of ordinary people in different parts of Ireland every week.

Sport

RTÉ continues to bring audiences the widest range of free-to-air sport, featuring national teams, our national games and Irish athletes on the national and international stage. From the Rugby World Cup,

and the Irish Open, to the World Rowing Championships, World Gymnastics Championships, Euro Qualifiers, GAA Club and League action. RTÉ Sport is the home of Irish sport, trusted analysis, expert commentators, and a behind-the-scenes team dedicated to bringing the best sport to viewers this Autumn/Winter.

The Rugby World Cup takes centre stage with all 48 matches being broadcast free to air on Irish television across RTÉ television, RTÉ Player, Virgin Media Television and Virgin Media Player.

Jacqui Hurley presents live coverage alongside panellists including Jamie Heaslip, Simon Zebo, Jerry Flannery, Stephen Ferris, Fiona Coghlan, Bernard Jackman, Hannah Tyrrell, Donal Lenihan, and Darren Cave. The Men’s, Women’s and U20 Six Nations all return in Spring, live on RTÉ.

In soccer, the Republic of Ireland’s women’s side return to competitive action after their FIFA Women’s World Cup exploits with a UEFA Nations League campaign kicking off in September at the Aviva Stadium against Northern Ireland. Stephen Kenny’s men’s team will continue their bid to qualify for next summer’s Euros. Next month also sees the U21s begin their UEFA European Qualifiers campaign. The UEFA Champions’ League group stage returns to our screens alongside the climax of the domestic season with live SSE Airtricity League Premier Division action, and both Men’s and Women’s FAI Cup Finals.

After a stunning summer of GAA Championship action, attention turns to the AIB All Ireland Club Championships, while the Allianz National League will return in the New Year ahead of another Championship season. December sees the GAA All Stars announced with the ceremony live on RTÉ.

Both the Men’s and Women’s Irish Open Golf championships will be live on RTÉ later this year. RTÉ’s longstanding and comprehensive Horse Racing coverage continues with the Leopardstown Christmas Festival.

With the Olympic Games just a year away, the focus of athletes and fans alike turns to qualification ahead of the games in Paris. The World Rowing Championships in Belgrade will feature a host of Irish rowers aiming for medals. Qualification for Paris and the World Gymnastics Championships will take place in Antwerp this September. The European Cross-Country Championships take place in Brussels in December, plus RTÉ will look back on a momentous year of Irish sport and honour the greatest achievers of 2023 in The RTÉ Sport Awards.

Niamh O’Connor, Deputy Director of Content said, “RTÉ is firmly focused on our core purpose of delivering a broad range of unique Irish content that serves the Irish public. Working with Irish creative talent both in the Irish independent production sector and our in-house production teams, we want to give the public the very best content that they deserve from their national public service broadcaster. Programmes that they won’t see anywhere else, featuring Irish talent, Irish culture, Irish stories, Irish comedy, national cultural and sporting events which we are making available to the widest possible audience live and on demand. We are determined to serve the public and hope that this new slate of content connects and enriches people’s lives, from tackling big issues that matter today, to the lighter side of Irish life and entertainment that brings us together, we’ve listened to what matters to our audience and hope they enjoy our new season of content”.

The 2023 International Rose of Tralee selection drew a peak of 576,000* viewers as audiences tuned in to RTÉ One to see an emotional and delighted New York Rose Róisín Wiley announced as the 2023 International Rose of Tralee by presenters Kathryn Thomas and Dáithí Ó Sé.

Last night, an average audience of 497,000** watched the Rose of Tralee International Festival 2023 after the Nine O’clock News on RTÉ One.

Across the two days of the festival, an average audience of 406,000** tuned in. The show also had a 1-minute reach of over 1.3 million**** across both nights.

The Rose of Tralee has proved to be increasingly popular among 15-34 audiences as it grew from 45.5% to 53.7% this year. RTÉ Player has a total of 139,600 streams to date across both nights in Ireland and 69 countries around the world including the UK, the US, Spain, France, Australia, New Zealand and more.

On social media, @rteone Rose of Tralee content has over 2.2 million views and counting across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Twitter to date, and over 66,000 total interactions across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Every year RTÉ supports over 150 arts, cultural, community and related events all over Ireland including The Rose of Tralee International Festival with dedicated promotion on RTÉ’s television, radio and digital services, and extensive support across RTÉ’s social channels.

*****

Photo credit: Domnick Walsh Photography

Source for television figures: TAM Ireland Ltd/ Nielsen TAM, Live + VOSDAL data, National Individuals

Source for RTÉ Player figures: comScore DAx Analytics

*Peak-minute audience of viewers. The peak minute was at 23:19 on Tuesday 22/08/23

**Average audience – The average number of viewers across a programme or series, expressed in 000s. TV viewing is measured minute-by-minute, so the average audience is the average across all of these minutes.

*** Reach – the net number or percentage of people who have seen a particular piece of broadcast output. The TAM Ireland definition is 1+ minute.