''Ireland AM'' is an Irish morning television show on

Virgin Media One Virgin Media One, also called Virgin One, is an Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Ireland (part of Liberty Global), operated through its subsidiary Virgin Media Television. The channel was known until 30 August 20 ...

. It airs live every weekday from 07:00 to 10:00, and weekends from 9:00 to 12:00. The program features news, current affairs, weather updates, showbiz, fashion, beauty, food, health, home and garden. Its current weekday presenters are Alan Hughes, Muireann O'Connell and

Tommy Bowe Thomas John Bowe (born 22 February 1984) is an Irish former rugby union player from County Monaghan, Ireland. He played on the wing for Ulster, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions. In March 2012, after four years with Ospreys in Swansea, Wal ...

. The show is currently sponsored by

Fairy A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...

, Febreze, Lenor, Ariel and Flash while the programme was previously sponsored by P&G,

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...

Dolmio Dolmio is the brand name of a range of pasta sauces made by Mars, Incorporated. The range includes jars of sauces and ready-meal style packets and stir-ins. The company is marketed in television commercials and other media by puppets, known as "T ...

and

Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toa ...

. As of 2021, Ireland AM is the only Irish breakfast programme currently airing. As part of a new daytime schedule line up, from Monday 7 October 2019 the programme was extended to 11:00 am on weekdays, with the weekend editions now rebranded as Ireland AM too. In March 2020 it reverted to airing till 10:00 am on weekdays. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ireland AM began airing at the later time of 8 am but reverted to its original time of 7 am in September 2020.

History

1999–2003

''Ireland AM'' was launched on 20 September 1999 on the 1st anniversary of TV3's launch, the first show of its kind in Ireland. It was originally on air from 7:00 am to 9:00 am, hosted by Mark Cagney and

Amanda Byram Amanda Byram (born 16 June 1973) is an Irish television presenter and former model, best known for co-presenting BBC One game show ''Total Wipeout'' with Richard Hammond, the Irish version of ''Dancing with the Stars'' on RTÉ1 and for hostin ...

. The show went on air almost a year after TV3 launched, and was seen as an attempt by the station to improve ratings. In 2001 Amanda Byram left the show and moved to

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

breakfast show

The Big Breakfast ''The Big Breakfast'' is a British breakfast light entertainment television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4. Originally presented by Chris Evans and Gaby Roslin, the show was latterly presented by Mo Gilligan and AJ Odudu. The p ...

. Amanda was replaced by

Claire Byrne Claire Byrne (born 11 August 1975) is an Irish journalist and television presenter. Byrne presented ''The Daily Show'' from September 2010 to March 2012. In 2013, she became an anchor on RTÉ's flagship current affairs programme ''Prime Time''. ...

. A number of years after the start of the show TV3 executives decided on an extra hour for the show, and the show finished at 10:30 am.

2004–2008

In March 2004, Claire Byrne left the show in order to replace

Gráinne Seoige Gráinne Seoige (; born 5 November 1973) is an Irish journalist, news anchor and documentary and entertainment television presenter. A noted Irish language supporter, Seoige is the only television personality to have worked with all four Irish ...

as the main news anchor on TV3. Byrne was replaced by

Maura Derrane Maura Catherine Derrane (born 8 July 1970) is an Irish television presenter and journalist. She currently works for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), having previously worked for TV3 and TG4. Derrane is a from Inishmore, County Galway. She p ...

, a news presenter on the channel. In October 2005, Mark Cagney was nominated and later won the TV Personality of the Year Award at the

Irish Film and Television Awards Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

(IFTAs). After two years as co-host, Maura Derrane left the show in September 2006. She was replaced by television newcomer Sinead Desmond. By 2009 Desmond, and original presenter Cagney, were joined by Alan Hughes,

Aidan Cooney Aidan Cooney is an Irish radio presenter. He was a presenter of ''Ireland AM'' on TV3 from 1999 to 2018. He has since began hosting a weekday show on Q102, called Q Breakfast from 7am to 10am. Ireland AM Cooney joined the Ireland AM team in 1 ...

and

Anna Daly Anna Daly (born 10 March 1977) is an Irish television presenter. She worked for TV3 and was a presenter on TV3's breakfast show, ''Ireland AM'' and ''Weekend AM''. Daly was born in Dublin and graduated with an International Marketing degree fr ...

, who also frequently present segments and interview guests. Elaine Crowley presents news bulletins every half-hour, while Laura Woods is also a frequent contributor.

Today FM Today FM is an Irish national commercial FM radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Audio Ireland Limited. Broadcasting since 17 March 1997, it broadcasts mostly music, with a daily news and current affairs programme. Today FM holds a l ...

's Adelle McDonnell has contributed to a section of the show featuring soaps. In 2008, Midday joined TV3's line up of Daytime programmes.

2009–2013

In 2009 it was joined by The Morning Show with Sybil & Martin which followed the show at 10:30, it remained as a sister show until 2013, when

Late Lunch Live ''Late Lunch Live'' was an Irish afternoon television show on TV3. It premiered live on 30 September 2013 airing every Monday to Friday from 14:00. By 2014 the show was moved to a new timeslot of 15:30 to 16:30. The program features news and ...

joined TV3's daytime line up. ''Ireland AM'' won the "Favourite TV Show in Ireland" at the TV Now Awards in 2009. The show won the award for Broadcaster/Journalist of the Year at the 2011

GALAs In Greek mythology, Galas (; Ancient Greek: Γάλας ''Gálas'') was the eponymous founder of the Gauls. He was the son of Polyphemos and Galatea and the brother of Illyrius and Celtus In Greek mythology, Celtus (; grc, Κέλτος ''Kel ...

. In 2013 a revamp of TV3 daytime schedule saw ''Ireland AM'' add 40 minutes. It aired from 7 am to 10:45 am. From 07:00 to 08:00 Anton Savage presented a news and current affairs edition of the show, which is then followed by ''Ireland AM'' proper from 08:00 to 10:45. The revamp was due to falling daytime viewing figures from the channel. ''Ireland AM'' currently makes up 12.5% of TV3 output, or 41% of their legally required Irish programming content. ''The Best of Ireland AM'' airs at different times on Saturday and Sunday mornings on sister channel 3e, featuring highlights from the weekday shows. ''Ireland AM'' received an overhaul in September 2014. The show moved into the Sony HD Studios in Dublin's

Ballymount Ballymount (), is a locality on the south side of Dublin, near the mainly residential areas of Walkinstown to the east, Tallaght to the west and Greenhills to the south. Ballymount is accessed by a number of public bus routes from Dublin city ce ...

2014–2018

In July 2015, Ciara Doherty joined the show replacing

who left the show to take up her new role on ''Saturday AM'' and ''Sunday AM'' which began from 29 August 2015. On 31 July 2015 ''Ireland AM'' revamped its titles and on-air graphics. On 19 November 2017, Sinead Desmond quit her role on Ireland AM over an alleged

gender pay gap The gender pay gap or gender wage gap is the average difference between the remuneration for men and women who are working. Women are generally found to be paid less than men. There are two distinct numbers regarding the pay gap: non-adjusted ...

row with the station. Nearly six months after Desmond's departure, it was announced that Ciara Doherty would take over Desmond's role as co-host. In 2017 ITV's This Morning was moved from

Virgin Media Three Virgin Media Three, also called Virgin Three, is an Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Television. The channel was first launched by Northern Irish broadcaster UTV Media on 1 January 2015 as UTV Ireland; it primari ...

(then known as UTV Ireland) as a follow up to Ireland AM. On Saturday 29 August 2015, ''Ireland AM'' launched spin-off shows ''Saturday AM'' and ''Sunday AM''. Both shows are hosted by Anna Daly providing a mix of current affairs, showbiz, entertainment, in-studio guests, cookery, debate and fashion. Anna hosts the show each Saturday with

Simon Delaney Simon Delaney (born 2 September 1970) is an Irish actor, director and television presenter. He is known for appearances in a range of films and television series such as RTÉ's comedy-drama '' Bachelors Walk'' and CBS' legal drama '' The Good Wi ...

and on Sunday, formerly with Ivan Yates and latterly with Ian Noctor. ''Saturday AM'' focuses more on light entertainment whereas ''Sunday AM'' concentrates more on current affairs, debate and an analysis of Sunday newspapers. ''TV3 News'' provides news updates. On 30 August 2018, to coincide with the rebranding of TV3 to "Virgin Media One", a relaunch of the show took place. A new studio and a new on screen look was revealed. On 1 September 2018, to coincide with the rebranding of TV3 to "Virgin Media One", the Saturday and Sunday editions of the programme were renamed as ''"Weekend AM"''. In December 2018, it was announced that Aidan Cooney had left the show after being absent for several weeks.

2019–present

In July 2019, Virgin Media Television announced that Mark Cagney, who had been presenting the show since it began on TV3 in 1999 would be leaving the show. Virgin Media Television are yet to reveal his permanent replacement. On 31 July 2019 Cagney presented his last Ireland AM alongside Karen Koster and Alan Hughes. The show dedicated the last half hour of the show to him and aired a highlights reel. All the production crew, including Ciara Doherty who was on Maternity Leave at the time came in to wish Cagney good luck on his future endeavours. In October 2019, Weekend AM was renamed Ireland AM. On Monday 4 October 2019, Ireland AM was given an extra hour running from 7.00am – 11.00am, replacing ITV's This Morning, as part of a brand new weekday schedule launched by Virgin Media One, it was followed by Elaine. On Monday 9 March 2020 ITV's This Morning returned to Virgin Media one with Ireland AM finishing at 10:00am and Elaine moving to 15:00. In 2021 series regulars Aidan Power, Laura Woods and

all left the show, while Karen Koster moved to The 6 O'Clock Show with Muireann O'Connell moving to Ireland AM. Elaine Crowley joined Simon Delaney after her show was axed. In 2022, Brian Dowling joined Simon Delaney and Elaine Crowley on Saturday’s and Sunday's. Ireland AM also revamped it's titles and on air graphics.

Presenters

''Ireland AM''s current main presenters are Alan Hughes, Muireann O'Connell and

– (Monday – Thursday) with Elaine Crowley, Martin King and Kaja Mia (Friday-Sunday)

Regulars

Regular contributors include journalists from the ''

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

'', ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' and ''

TheJournal.ie ''TheJournal.ie'' is an internet publication in Ireland. It was a mixture of original and aggregated content, before moving to entirely original content. The website was founded in early 2010. It was edited by Jennifer O'Connell in 2010–2011, ...

''.

Former presenters

Newsreaders

* Siobhan Bastible * Geraldine Lynagh * Michael Ryan * Anne O'Donnell * Niamh Kinsella * Aisling Roche

Logos

File:New ireland am logo.jpg, Logo used from 2009 to 2015 File:Ireland AM Logo 2015.png, Logo used from 2015 to 2018 File:Ireland AM Logo 2018.png, Ireland AM Logo in use since August 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ireland Am 1999 Irish television series debuts 2000s Irish television series 2010s Irish television series Irish television talk shows Virgin Media Television (Ireland) original programming