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RTÉ Choice Music Prize

In association with IMRO and IRMA

Conversations 2022

2nd March, 11am – 3pm (online via Zoom)

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

RTÉ Choice Music Prize Conversations will take place on Wednesday 2nd March, the day before the RTÉ Choice Music Prize special live event.

With four topical music and industry discussion panels taking place between 11am – 3pm, via Zoom, Conversations brings together artists and music industry professionals to discuss and explore some of the key issues affecting both performers and the wider music industry at the present time.

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

11AM: Keynote Interview with Priscilla Kotey (Senior Vice President, Warner Music Ireland)

Register via Zoom here.

12PM: TikTok – How To Make It Work For You

Panellists:

• Darina Connolly – Head of Label Partnerships, TikTok UK
• Robert Grace – Artist

Register via Zoom here.

1PM: Music and NFT ‘s – A Token Gesture or a Viable New Revenue Stream?

• Interview with Mike Walsh – UK Head of Strategic Partnerships Serenade

Register viz Zoom here.

2PM: Here To Help – Organisations That are There To Support You

Panellists:

• Gill Dooley – CEO AIM Ireland
• Angela Dorgan – CEO First Music Contact / Ireland Music Week
• Ann Marie Shields – Director Minding Creative Minds / Head of Careers, Events & Industry BIMM Dublin

Register via Zoom here.

RTÉ Choice Music Prize Live Event

The show the next night in Vicar St will feature performances from seven of the album-shortlisted acts. Tickets on sale now via https://www.ticketmaster.ie/choice-music-prize-tickets/artist/1541435

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

The 17th 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 full list of judges is listed on the website.

Project Partners are Culture Ireland, The BAI, RAAP, FMC & Minding Creative Minds.

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

#rtechoiceprize

Emmy award-winning State of the Union returns to RTÉ Player today for a second season

Starring Brendan Gleeson, all episodes will be available exclusively in Ireland on RTÉ Player just 24 hours after release on US streaming services

WATCH: https://youtu.be/nD9V0SRnReQ

The new season in the US drama series State of the Union, starring Brendan Gleeson and Patricia Clarkson as a couple piecing together what went wrong over their 30 year marriage, comes exclusively to RTÉ Player today.

Created by Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, About A Boy) and directed by Stephen Frears (The Queen, Philomena), the acclaimed series, each episode of which is 10 minutes in duration, explores the travails of romantic relationships and the human experience. In this season, liberal campaigning Ellen drags her traditional, self-made husband Scott out of his comfort zone and into a hipster Connecticut coffee shop, where they have 10 minutes before their marriage counselling session to drink a coffee, gather their thoughts and argue about everything from Quakerism to pronouns.

Each week, between the bickering, they begin to piece together what has gone wrong between them. As the weeks go by they start to deconstruct their 30-year marriage. Past betrayals are aired, their sex life is re-examined, and their vulnerabilities are finally shared. By the end of ten weeks of marital counselling, they’re not the same couple they used to be (and neither are their married team of counsellors) but is making a change enough to save their marriage, or should they walk away?

Season 1 of State of the Union starring Chris O’Dowd and Rosamund Pike was one of the most watched drama box sets on RTÉ Player when it was released in 2019 and is available to stream now here.

Dermot Horan, Director of Broadcast and Acquisitions RTÉ, said: We’re delighted to launch State of the Union exclusively on RTÉ Player 24 hours after it’s made available to stream in the US on Sundance Now and AMC+ streaming services. This is the perfect binge watch – 10 episodes, 10 minutes each available to stream across a number of platforms. It’s a heart warming and thought provoking drama with a stellar cast and we hope our viewers will enjoy it.’

State of the Union joins a number of acclaimed international titles including, The West Wing, Damages, The Good Wife and many more, now available for fans of quality drama to stream on the RTÉ Player.

RTÉ Player delivered 67 million streams in 2021. Drama and Comedy accounted for 28% of streams last year with audiences binge watching Kin, Hidden Assets and Line of Duty. Total hours viewed grew by 49% and smartphone was the most popular device.

This eight-part Irish comedy drama stars Oscar nominee Ciarán Hinds

RTÉ and Britbox today has released two images from the original comedy-drama series, The Dry. The brand new eight-part drama is produced by Element Pictures, in association with Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland and ITV Studios, for RTÉ and Britbox. 

IMAGES here: https://we.tl/t-FulFQF6wU

The image features Roisin Gallagher (The Fall, Nowhere Special) as Shiv Sheridan who returns to Dublin after years of partying in London, sober and full of good intentions – but being back with her family makes staying on ‘the dry’ much harder than she expected. As Shiv tries to navigate this new phase of her life, so must her family…and they all have issues they don’t want to face.

Award-winning playwright and screenwriter Nancy Harris (Our New Girl, Dates) and acclaimed director Paddy Breathnach (Viva, Rosie) are the team behind The Dry. Harris has created and written the 8 x 30 min scripts, with Breathnach directing all episodes in the series.

On the origins of the series, writer Nancy Harris says, “I came up with the idea for The Dry over a couple of years, as like a lot of people, addiction has touched my life in different ways. However, every time I’d ever seen addiction represented on screen, it had always been in the most extreme way, such as somebody in rehab. I was interested in exploring the ordinary reality of being sober. And of finding the humour in suddenly having to navigate the emotional minefields and absurdities of family life – all while trying not to drink.” 

Dermot Horan, Director of Acquisitions & Co-Productions for RTÉ said: “Nancy Harris’s writing, brought to the screen by director Paddy Breathnach and a great cast have made The Dry a really special series about a very typical Irish family and the multiple issues they have to deal with. RTÉ are delighted to be working with the team at Element Pictures and UK platform Britbox and also many thanks to the BAI and Screen Ireland without whose support the series could not have been made. The Dry is one of many Irish drama’s on RTÉ this year as we pride ourselves on showcasing Irish talent.” 

The Dry also stars recent Oscar nominee Ciarán Hinds (Belfast, The Terror), Pom Boyd (Vanity Fair, Frank of Ireland), Siobhán Cullen (Origin, The Limehouse Golem), Moe Dunford (The Dig, Vikings) and newcomer Adam Richardson.

Emma Norton and Michael Dawson are Exec Producing for Element alongside company founders Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe and writer Nancy Harris. Element Pictures has offices in Dublin, London, and Belfast. The company recently brought the record-breaking adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People to the screen, and was behind Lenny Abrahamson’s internationally acclaimed films Room and The Little Stranger; as well as all of Yorgos Lanthimos’ English language films, The Favourite, The Lobster and The Killing Of A Sacred Deer, and upcoming production Poor Things.

ITV Studios is handling global distribution for The Dry. The series was supported by the BAI Sound & Vision scheme.

Broadcast Tonight, Monday 14^th February at 9.35pm on RTÉ One

A brand-new RTÉ One documentary RTE Investigates -The Accountant, The Con, The Lies exposes a scam involving an Irish businesswoman, Catriona Carey, a former sports star who played hockey for Ireland and camogie for her county.

Tonight, RTÉ Investigates unravels the workings of the fraud, involving lies and excuses at every turn. Using secret recordings of meetings and phone calls, RTÉ Investigates reveals the intricacy of the scheme and speaks to some of those affected who describe both the human and financial impact they have suffered.

In 2019 the effects of the economic and housing crashes were still being felt by tens of thousands of homeowners across the country. Many were in financial difficulty and at risk of losing their family homes.

Catriona Carey trained as an accountant. She is also director and owner of a company called Careysfort Asset Estates Ltd which is registered in England and it was in this capacity she met with people.

Since the financial crash, banks have been selling distressed mortgages to other banks and vulture funds at big discounts to get them off their books. It’s in this climate, that Catriona Carey had a proposition for would-be clients. She told them Careysfort Asset Estates would buy their debt from their lender at a discount.

For example, if a person in mortgage difficulties owed their bank €300,000, Careysfort Asset Estates might buy this debt from the bank for €100,000. The outstanding balance would be written off by the bank as a bad debt. Careysfort Asset Estates would then sell back to the client for the price it paid, in this example, €100,000. It would provide a new loan. With the original debt gone, people would have new mortgages with lower monthly repayments, helping them to stay in their home and Careysfort Asset Estates would make its profit from the interest rate on this new loan.

It seemed a win-win. But Catriona Carey’s company wanted money up front, a deposit – usually between 10% and 30% of the proposed new loan. For many this involved borrowing from family, friends or the credit union. For some, Catriona Carey requested that the deposit be paid in cash, and for others the deposit had to be wired to a Careysfort Asset Estates account in Belgium or Germany.

In 2006 Colin Finnegan who ran a successful haulage business, approached his parents with an offer to buy their home, shop and coal yard. Within a few years however he lost a work contract following the financial crash and unable to meet his repayments repossession was only a matter of time. In 2019, a barrister introduced him, and a number of others, to a Kilkenny businesswoman, Catriona Carey.

“It was my grandfather’s home, it is in the family a hundred years. You don’t like to lose your family home especially to see your parents being put out on the road. That was a massive worry.” – Victim Colin Finnegan.

In late 2020 he and other families got what appeared to be good news from Catriona Carey, who told them business was now concluded with their mortgage companies and they were preparing the contracts for final signing in January 2021.

By the summer of 2021, however, at least 18 months had passed for most since they paid their deposit and people were still waiting for Careysfort Asset Estates to complete the deal with their old mortgage provider and, issue the final contracts. Some clients were still getting letters from the company acting on behalf of their lender to chase the arrears on their mortgages. And all the while Catriona Carey kept insisting the contracts would come, keeping hope alive.

“You kept thinking to yourself maybe things will be OK because you are vulnerable. You are clutching at straws, you are hoping against hope that maybe they are not telling lies, maybe there is something at the end of it”.

Colin then became aware his property had appeared on Bidx1, a property auction site, which includes distressed properties where the loans are in default. Colin immediately raised his concern with Catriona Carey who texted him to say: “Our team put this up as part of our strategy. Please keep this to yourself and we do not want others to know how we work. We have this already bought as explained many times.” 

Catriona Carey’s reassurances were in fact a lie. A neighbour had placed a bid on the property and was successful in buying it. The neighbour has reassured the Finnegans that they can stay in their home.

RTÉ Investigates has also learned that Catriona Carey has a conviction under the theft and fraud offences act. She was convicted in February 2020 for theft of €6,948 and for forging a cheque from a Kilkenny hairdresser who had hired her as his accountant. She was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence.

Catriona Carey told RTÉ Investigates that she could not speak about any client due to strict confidentiality clauses. She denied that her company had falsely used the name of a solicitor. She also said her company has funds to cover all client deposits, but was not advised to refund clients at this point.

All those who tell their stories in tonight’s programme have complained to the Gardai about Catriona Carey and Careysfort Asset Estates. RTÉ Investigates also are aware of at least a further ten people who have also reported her to gardai.

Nobody has received their final contracts and Careysfort Asset Estates still has client deposits which, according to the initial agreement, were refundable. People have requested their deposits back but they have not been repaid.

Victim Sharon O’Riordan described the scam as: “Just a dirty rotten thing for any human to do to another. I know there’s lots of bad things happening out there. There’s no need for this to happen. Please God, she won’t get away with doing it to someone else who might not be able to handle the destruction that can follow.”

Victim James*: “It is very hard to think there is people out there that could do something like that to someone that’s in financial distress. I told her on numerous occasions how it was affecting me mentally, the stress and anxiety and she empathizes with me over the phone but behind it all she obviously doesn’t care.”

Victim Miriam Tormey: “I do suffer from depression and they put it under a magnifying glass times 100. That has been hard really, really hard. They treated us like fools and we aren’t. We’re just trying to get our lives back on track. It’s more than money. It’s that it’s our lives.”​​

Watch: RTÉ Investigates – The Accountant, The Con, The Lies, tonight (Monday) at 9.35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.

Incredible gift of flowers is explored in new series starting on Valentine’s Day on RTÉ One 

Faoi Bhláth celebrate Ireland’s rich biodiversity  

Presenter Aedín Ní Thiarnaigh uncovers rich array of wild flowers and learns their uses in cookery, medicine and craft

WATCH: https://youtu.be/nlffGXZ18bA

A fascinating new series starting tonight on RTÉ One will see presenter Aedín Ní Thiarnaigh travel the parks, lakes, bog and mountains of Ireland to uncover our rich array of wild flowers and learn about the folklore associated with them and their uses in cookery, medicine and craft.

In each episode in this brand new 13 part series which airs on Monday evenings at 7.30pm on RTÉ One, Aedin looks at a different habitat, including hedgerows, mountains, lakesides, bogs and meadows, and talks about some of the flowers in season as she visits. In addition to imparting the folklore and superstitions attached to each flower from our past she also seeks out information about the uses that these flowers had in the past and how some of those uses and this knowledge exist today.

Her journey takes her from the lakes of Lough Corrib and brings her as far as the wilds of Joyce Country on the Galway Mayo border and into the beautiful Dingle Peninsula and beyond.

Aedín Ní Thiarnaigh is a freelance journalist and presenter from Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford who has worked with TG4, RTÉ, BBC Gaeilge and Nós.ie. and more recently presenting Faoi Bhláth, an Abú Media Production. She is the founder and curator of the popular @BláthannaFiáine account on Instagram which shares photos and folklore of Irish wildflowers, focusing especially on the Irish language etymology associated with them. Her snappy reels sharing fun facts about native flowers have garnered her over 5,500 followers.

Aedín says: ‘Presenting Faoi Bhláth is my dream job. It’s given me the chance to travel to some of the most breathtaking places in Ireland and to get to know to some of the most interesting people I’ve ever met about the topics I love the most; our native wildflowers and their folklore.’

Faoi Bhlath airs on Monday nights at 7.30pm from tonight, 14 February, on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player. 

Overview as gaeilge

Sraith doiciméide a dhéanann ceiliúradh ar an nádúr fhiáin dúchasach thart timpeall orainn agus é faoi bhláth . Féachann an sraith ar ghnáthóg difriúil i gcóir gach clár agus Insíonn sé dúinn faoin mbéaloideas a bhaineann leis na bláthanana fádó , na seantraidisiúin a bhain leo, a dtábhacht don timpeallacht agus don bhithéagsúlacht agus na husáidí eile atá acu , le bia a dhéanamh nó leigheas agus agus go leor eile.

Curtha I láthair ag Aedín Ní Thiarnaigh

FAOI BHLÁTH EPISODE One

Sa chlár seo, déanfar iniuchádh ar chuid luachmhar d’oidhreacht chultúrtha agus nádúrtha na hÉireann – na fálta sceach. Tá na fálta sceach níos tábhachtaí sa lá atá inniu ann agus mar a bhí riamh, agus iad ina líonraí nádúrtha don fhiadhúlra. Sa chlár seo, fiosróidh Aedín Ní Thiarnaigh ról na bhfálta sceach i ndúlra na hÉireann agus foghlaimeoidh sí faoi na bláthanna agus plandaí fiáine a bhfásann iontu.

Tá na plandaí sna fálta sceach ar na plandaí ab ansa le muintir na hÉireann, stair agus seanchas ag baint le gach ceann acu; an draighean, an dris, an sceach gheal, an fheirdhris agus an tsailchuach.

Labhraíonn Aedín leis an luibheolaí Amanda Browne faoi thábhacht na bhfálta sceach agus faoina dtionchar ar staid bhithéagsúlacht na tíre.

In dhiadh sin téann sí chun buaileadh leis an dochtúir teaghlaigh Dr Frieda Ní Chatháin a bhfuil gáirdín fisic aici i gContae Luimnigh agus taispeánann sí an bealach le cógas casachta a dhéanamh as an sailchuach.

Matthew MacNabb and Laura Nolan topped the leader board tonight in what was an emotional evening on Dancing with the Stars for ‘Dedicated Dance Night’. Each dance and piece of music for show six were carefully selected as each celebrity dancer dedicated tonight’s dance to someone very special in their lives.

No couple were eliminated from the show this evening so all couples will dance again this week. The twist tonight is that now Matthew and Laura will be exempt from the first dreaded dance-off of series 5 which takes place next Sunday evening. Their emotional contemporary ballroom dance saw them achieve the highest combined vote between the judges scores and the public vote.

The pro-dancers opened the show with a contemporary ballroom dance tonight dancing to ‘I’ll Be There,’ sang by Jess Glynn.

The first couple to dance tonight were Nina Carberry and Pasquale La Rocca. Nina dedicated her upbeat and energetic salsa to her two young daughters, Rosie and Holly. They danced to ‘Starships’ by Nicki Minaj as that’s the song they love to dance around the kitchen to!
Nina said: “I really enjoyed it and I thought it went really well, I can’t wait to go home and watch it with the girls. I never thought I’d make it to week 6.”

• Nina and Pasquale scored 24 from the judges

Aslan’s Billy McGuinness and Hannah Kelly opened part two of the show. It was a very special contemporary ballroom dance for Billy as he dedicated his performance tonight to his bandmate and friend of over 40 years, co-founder of Aslan, Christy Dignam. They danced contemporary ballroom to one of Aslan’s most loved hits, Crazy World.
An emotional Billy said; “It was so emotional dancing for Christy. I will have an experience like that again in my life.”
His message to Christy who is watching at home “I love you to bits”

Billy and Hannah scored 17 from the judges.

Olympic medallist Ellen Keane danced an intense paso doble with Stephen Vincent tonight.  They danced to Beyoncé’s ‘Run the World (Girls)’ in celebration of Ellen’s best friend Aisling Byrne, who she hasn’t seen in three years but is always hugely supportive, even though she lives in Sydney, Australia.

Ellen said; “I think it was so important to dance to Run the World as she’s fierce (her friend Aisling). When I’m feeling down, she’s always there for me, even all the way from Sydney.”
Arthur gave Ellen her first 10 and she told Nicky Byrne she was on “cloud nine.”

• Ellen and Stephen scored 28 from the judges.

The next couple to dance were TV presenter Gráinne Seoige and John Nolan. Tonight, Gráinne dedicated her dance to her husband Leon. They danced a samba to Toto’s iconic song ‘Africa,’ in tribute to her husband’s nationality.
Grainne said: “I had a ball. Leon’s been at every show this series, but this week he got covid and unfortunately, that’s just the world we are living in.” Nicky asked her about how her life has changed since she met Leon. Gráinne continued; “Isn’t that what’s great about life? To move to the other side of the world and learn a new culture and new language. It’s so good for you to do that.”

• Gráinne and John scored 17 from the judges.

Jordan Conroy and Salome Chachua were next up with an emotional foxtrot who Jordan dedicated to his mother Jennie, who raised her two children as a single mother. They danced to an aptly named song ‘Isn’t She Lovely’ by Stevie Wonder. His finished his dance routine by presenting his mam with a bunch of flowers.
Jordan said; “It’s been a long tough road, but for me, it’s now more of a celebration. It was hard not to cry at the beginning. You’ve got to celebrate. It’s more of a celebration than a sob story.  A little big of nerves, it’s my mammy so I’ll always be a little boy at heart.” 

• Jordan and Salome scored 19 from the judges.

Nicolas Roche and Karen Byrne were the 6^th couple on the dancefloor. Nicolas dedicated his emotional dance tonight to his brother, Alexis. In 2008, Alexis donated his bone marrow to his other brother, Florian, as he battled leukaemia. ‘Hey Brother’ by Avicii was the perfect choice for their quickstep tonight.
Nicholas said; “I felt a lot of pressure, it’s been a tough rehearsal. The person who you dedicated your song to, is here all the way from France. You don’t want to mess it up! I thought it was quite emotional to dedicate the dance to my bother who saved my other brothers life.”

• Nicolas and Karen scored 19 from the judges.

Singer Erica Cody dedicated tonight’s tango to her icon and childhood inspiration, Samantha Mumba. Growing up, Erica realised she could be a singer too. She and Denys Samson danced to one of Samantha’s most popular hits ‘Body II Body’. Erica shared her delight in telling Samantha earlier in the week of her dedication of tonight’s performance to her.
An emotional Erica Cody said; “You can’t help but feel empowered when you have someone in your corner, who looks like you and tells you, you can do anything. It’s a real full circle for me, to do that for Samantha when she did it for me growing up. It’s such a journey, I’m really giving it my all.”

• Erica and Denys scored 20 from the judges.

Matthew MacNabb and Laura Nolan were last but not least as Matthew dedicated his dance to his close friend Ryan who passed away last summer. Ryan has been in Matthew’s thoughts with every dance step this week. ‘See You Again’ by Charlie Puth was the perfect track for their contemporary ballroom dance.
An emotional Matthew said; “We had such special memories, he was such a special person. I was in Love Island quarantine when he passed away so I wasn’t able to go to his funeral so this was my dedication to him.”

• Matthew and Laura scored 26 from the judges.

The Guest Act tonight were some of the cast of The Osmond’s Musical.  Nicky spoke to the judges as the final votes were being counted.

Matthew and Laura topped the leader board tonight.  Their points were a combination of the public vote and judges’ score.  Tonight’s twist means that the couple now have a free pass from next week’s first dreaded dance-off of series 5, fast-tracking Big Band Orchestra week which takes place in two weeks’ time.

As no couple were eliminated tonight, all the celebrity dancers will dance again in show seven next Sunday evening. The two lowest scoring couples will have to dance their routine for a second time. The judges will then decide who will leave the competition.

The Dancing with the Stars Official Podcast presented by Lottie Ryan is available on RTÉ.ie/podcasts, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Judge Brian Redmond will give his take on the series so far on The Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio 1 tomorrow morning.

Dancing with the Stars is proudly sponsored by Muller Corner.

Series one of Kin was a huge hit with viewers – proving the best drama is local drama  

Video Link: https://youtu.be/R3T3wcgfpFQ

RTÉ, the home of Irish drama, is delighted to announce series two of the gripping gangland drama Kin. Series two of Kin, which will air on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, will go into production this summer and will again see Irish talent on a global stage with AMC+ picking it up for another season.

A hit with both audiences and critics, series one had a consolidated average of over 621,000 viewers on RTÉ One and to date 2.7 million streams on RTÉ Player, making Kin the most successful drama in Ireland last year. Each week viewers were enthralled by the unravelling of the Kinsella family which starred Clare Dunne (Herself), Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones), Charlie Cox (Daredevil), and Ciarán Hinds (Belfast).

The eight-part drama charted the lives of the Kinsellas, a small but tight-knit crime family embroiled in a war against a powerful drug kingpin, Eamon Cunningham (played by Hinds). The finale saw an arrogant Eamon meeting his untimely demise, which was orchestrated by the shrewd and sharp Amanda.

Dermot Horan Director of Acquisitions & Co-Productions for RTÉ said: “As the home of quality Irish drama, RTÉ is delighted to deliver another series of Kin to Irish audiences. The first series was enjoyed in huge numbers across RTÉ on both television and RTÉ Player, as well as in North America and Scandinavia. We’ve worked with our international partners to make sure we could answer the call of Irish audiences to deliver another series and to ensure that Irish talent and quality Irish drama is showcased on the world stage. Series two of Kin adds to our strong slate of Irish drama being delivered to audiences over the coming year”.

The new season, which begins production this summer, will see the Kinsellas as the top dogs in Dublin, but killing Eamon Cunningham has created as many problems as it solved. They have incurred the wrath of an enemy even more dangerous than him. And where once there was the unbreakable bonds of blood and family, now there is only suspicion, distrust and resentment. But the greatest threat to the family emerges from within- in the shape of a ruthless, bullying, agent of chaos. Fortunately, from positions of great adversity the boldest plans are often forged. And so it is with the Kinsellas.

Kin is produced by BRON Studios and Headline Pictures, in association with RTÉ. AMC+ has acquired the rights to the drama for North America, Australia, New Zealand, Iberia, Latin America and the UK.

RTÉ RADIO KEEPS ITS CONNECTION TO LISTENERS AS NUMBERS INCREASE ACROSS THE BOARD

RTE RADIO WELCOMES 34,000 NEW LISTENERS 

RTÉ RADIO 1 GAINS 9, 000 (BoB) RTÉ 2FM GAINS 10,000 (BoB), RTÉ lyric fm GAINS 23,000 (BoB) 

RTÉ reaches almost 2 million (1,961,000) radio listeners in Ireland, with 49 percent of the Adult 15+ population tuning in every week (+34,000 Book on Book). RTÉ Radio 1 remains the only station in Ireland with a weekly reach of over +1 million (at 1,409,000) (+9,000), 17 of the Top 20 Most-Listened-to Programmes in Ireland (Adults 15+) are RTÉ Radio 1 programmes (grid below). RTÉ 2fm has a weekly reach figure of 710,000 of Adults 15+ (+10,000) while RTÉ lyric fm increased their listenership to 305,000 tuning in on a weekly basis (+23,000).

RTÉ Radio 1  

RTÉ RADIO 1 WEEKDAY MARKET SHARE 21.4% 

RTÉ RADIO 1 INCREASED WEEKDAY REACH TO 897,000 LISTENERS (+9,000)

• Morning Ireland is the most-listened-to radio programme in the country with 459,000 people tuning in each morning, (+9,000).
• The Ryan Tubridy Show gained +7,000 with 366,000 listeners and is the second most-listened-to programme in Ireland.
• The Brendan O’Connor Show on Saturday mornings is the third most listened to radio programme in the country, with 351,000 listeners, and 323,000 listeners tune in to the programme every Sunday morning.
• 346,000 listeners tune in to Today with Claire Byrne on weekdays (+6,000).

• ​343,000 listeners are tuning in every weekday as people talk to Joe on Liveline.
• News at One with Bryan Dobson has an audience of 330,000 listeners every weekday lunchtime (+1,000).
• Drivetime with Sarah McInerney and Cormac Ó hEadhra increases its listenership by 3,000 with 227,000 listeners tuning in every weekday evening.
• Ronan Collins plays the music for 242,000 listeners every weekday, increasing his listenership by 7,000.
• The Ray D’Arcy Show broadcasts to 209,000 listeners each weekday afternoon.
• Tuning in to the The John Creedon Show every weekday night are 51,000 listeners, up 3,000.
• Arena with Sean Rocks has an audience of 37,000 listeners.

Weekends on RTÉ Radio 1:  

• The Business pays dividends with a rise of 14,000 listeners (), an audience of 294,000 each Saturday.
• Saturday with Katie Hannon increased its listenership by 5,000 (), now broadcasting to 209,000 people at the weekend.
• An additional 8,000 listeners are tuning in to Countrywide with a listenership of 249,000.

• For the best of the week’s radio, Playback draws 310,000 listeners every Saturday morning.
• Sunday with Miriam informs and entertains 312,000 listeners every Sunday morning.
• World Report/Bowman increased its listenership to 199,000 listeners (5+,000).
• This Week has an audience of 169,000 listeners on Sunday lunchtimes (+6,000).
• Rising Time across the weekend gained listeners with 97,000 on Saturday mornings (+10,000) and 67,000 (+5,000) on Sunday mornings.

Peter Woods, Head of RTÉ Radio 1 said: “This is a good book for us. It’s a testament to our schedule of presenters and the relentless work of our programme teams. It’s very heartening because it reflects right across the schedule – music and entertainment as well as news and current affairs – emphasising how central RTÉ Radio 1 is to the cultural and political life of this country. All of this is driven by our listeners and the connection that our programmes have with their audiences.” 
RTÉ 2FM 

RTÉ 2FM HAS A WEEKDAY MARKET SHARE OF 5.7% 

328,000 LISTENERS TUNE IN TO RTÉ 2FM EVERY WEEKDAY (+4,000) 

• 2FM Breakfast delivers to 111,000 listeners, (+8,000).
• Jennifer Zamparelli on 2FM has 141,000 listeners (+1,000).
• Tracy Clifford on 2FM has 129,000 listeners (+1,000).

Dan Healy, Head of RTÉ Radio Strategy and RTÉ 2FM said: “As Ireland starts to come out of Covid this survey clearly shows how well radio has performed. There are 1,059,000 adults listening to radio on average between 7am and 7pm Monday to Friday. That is an 89,000 increase for every hour since the last survey before Covid. This was a good book for RTÉ 2FM with audience growing across all our shows. Doireann, Donncha and Carl have done well at breakfast, with 15- to 34-year-olds coming to listen to the show. This continues with Jennifer Zamparelli, Tracy Clifford and a very good result for Jenny Greene. 

Shortly The 2 Johnnies will join the station (21st February) and with all our other programmes, we anticipate that RTÉ 2fm will continue to grow in 2022.” 

RTÉ lyric fm   

RTÉ LYRIC FM HAS A WEEKDAY MARKET SHARE OF 2.2% (+0.1%pts) 

RTÉ LYRIC FM HAS 305,000 LISTENERS TUNING IN ON A WEEKLY BASIS (+23,000) 

• Lorcan Murray’s Classic Drive continues to increase listenership with 66,000 tuning in on weekday afternoons (+4,000).
• Movies and Musicals with Aedín Gormley has 63,000 listening in on Saturdays, (+13,000), while Aedín Gormley’s Sunday Matinee increases by 8,000 to 50,000 listening in.
• Marty in the Morning has 43,000 listeners turning on every morning (+1,000)

• Liz Nolan’s The Full Score has 45,000 listeners (+2,000).
• Niall Carroll’s Classical Daytime reaches 35,000 listeners (+4,000).
• The Lyric Concert with Paul Heriott/ The Mystery Train with John Kelly (Monday – Thursday) reaches 31,000 (+5,000).
• Weekend Drive with Evelyn Grant has 60,000 listeners on Saturdays (+12,000) and 50,000 on Sundays (+7,000).

Sinéad Wylde, Head of RTÉ lyric fm said “In another book of growth for RTÉ lyric fm we see that the station has built a real relationship of trust with Irish people. There was significant growth across daytime programmes with increases for Marty in the Morning with Marty Whelan, Classic Drive with Lorcan Murray and The Mystery Train with John Kelly. At weekends too more listeners came to us to relax and be entertained with gains across the schedule particularly on The Hamilton Scores with George Hamilton and Movies and Musicals with Aedín Gormley. RTÉ lyric fm, as well as being a haven for beautiful music where listeners come to unwind, is a dynamic and diverse space where listeners also come to be stimulated and brought on exciting musical adventures.” 

Notes:  

Book-on-Book (BoB) = Source: JNLR/Ipsos MRBI 2021-4 release (May – December 2021) vs. 2021-3

We do not have a Year-on-Year information as there was no equivalent release in 2020.

Supersized Storyland initiative underlines investment in drama and commitment to supporting new talent

RTÉ and Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland are proud to announce the eight Storyland projects which will now progress to a development phase. Of the eight dramas developed, three single dramas of 25 minutes duration will be commissioned for production and will broadcast on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player for the first time.

This year, RTÉ and Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland announced increased investment in the award-winning short drama series. Since its inception over 10 years ago, Storyland has acted as an invaluable springboard and support for Irish writing, directing, producing, and acting talent throughout the island of Ireland to develop their careers. The call-out for projects this year resulted in over 200 entries.

Following in the vein of RTÉ’s recent homegrown drama hits, which have local storytelling at their heart and have been a huge draw for younger viewers, the chosen eight dramas in Storyland feature stories that resonate, and an exceptional calibre of diverse and exciting talent.

David Crean, Acting Head of Drama RTÉ, said: ‘It’s brilliant to bring commissioned drama back to RTÉ2 in the shape of a new supersized Storyland with three new single dramas for the autumn.  It was an extremely hard decision to select the eight teams to go into development, but we are very excited by the unique voices and the wide range of stories coming through this year. And Screen Ireland are fantastic partners as we focus on talent and development to bring amazing Irish drama to audiences in the years to come.

Andrew Byrne, Television Project Manager, Screen Ireland, said: “We are delighted to invest in Storyland and are thrilled with the calibre of talent and stories received through the submission process. We look forward to working closely with the RTÉ team on the next stages of development, investing in emerging diverse voices and ultimately delivering three high quality productions to our screens later in the year”. 

Details about the 8 selected projects are listed below.

BALOR HALL by Rioghnach Ni Ghrioghair 

Producer: Deirdre Levins, Fantastic Films

You are cordially invited to Balor Hall… Murder is on the menu.  This is a Knifes Out/Succession whodunnit around a family land grab set in a large country house.

BLOOD AND WATER by Nessa Wrafter  

Producer: Rebecca O’Flanagan, Treasure Entertainment

A woman’s peaceful life is disrupted by the return of her long lost sister, and everyone expects her to be happy about it. Joy and pain come hand in hand as the siblings try to rebuild their relationship.

EVERY FIVE MILES by Sinéad Collopy  

Producers: Colmán Mac Cionnaith & Cormac Fox, Vico Films

In sight but out of mind; a young petrol station attendant is drawn into the harsh world of a trafficked immigrant car washer, torn between speaking out at the risk of losing everything.

FIXATION by Joy Buckle  

Producer: Stephen McCormack, Reflektor Media

A woman is cyber stalked and is terrified. The stalker ends up being her new partner. A story about surveillance, stalking and entrapment.

GOODNIGHT GIRL by Hiram Harrington 

Producer: Maggie Ryan, Escape Pod Media

Four queer friends attend the funeral of their trans friend, only to find her conservative family is burying her under her dead name and denying her true gender. The friends band together to carry out her last wishes: steal her ashes, and have their own funeral for her.

MUSTARD by Eva O’Connor 

Producer: Jason Forde, Four Quadrant Films

Eilis is addicted to mustard. When she falls madly in love, she’s sure her demons are finally banished, but when the relationship breaks down her shameful addiction to the yellow stuff returns with a vengeance.

SMALL FISH by Simon Delany  

Producer: Owen McCardle, Oddboy Media

A self-employed everyman is on the brink, as he struggles with the loss of his father, his family home and the love and respect of those close to him. As he continues to run out of options, one looms large, but could the death of a local politician provide a way out?

WARD-7 by Jonathan Hughes 

Producers: Ali Doyle & Trish Ryan for Savage Productions

The Ward family are in a race against time to get to hospital as one of their youngest is about to give birth.