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RTÉ One is an Irish
free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscri ...
flagship television channel owned and operated by
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
. It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís Éireann'' on 31 December 1961, it was renamed ''RTÉ'' in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ 1 upon the launch of RTÉ 2 in 1978. It is funded partly by the government's
licence fee A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is a payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts or the possession of a television set. In some countries, a licence is also required to own a radio or rece ...
; the remainder of the funding is provided by commercial advertising. Because RTÉ is funded partly by the licence fee it shows considerably fewer
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than most other channels available in Ireland and Northern Ireland. RTÉ One is available to 98% of the Irish population in HD on the
Saorview Saorview ( ) is the national digital terrestrial television (DTT) service in Ireland. It is owned by RTÉ and operated by 2RN. The service began operation on 29 October 2010 on a trial basis with a full launch on 26 May 2011. By legislation i ...
DTT service. It is also available in Northern Ireland via
Saorview Saorview ( ) is the national digital terrestrial television (DTT) service in Ireland. It is owned by RTÉ and operated by 2RN. The service began operation on 29 October 2010 on a trial basis with a full launch on 26 May 2011. By legislation i ...
, Freeview,
Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...
, and cable provider
Virgin Media Virgin Media Limited is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 ...
. The channel is also available online through RTÉ Player.


History

RTÉ One began life as ''Telefís Éireann'' in 1961. It was renamed simply as ''RTÉ'' in 1966, upon the renaming of the Radio Éireann Authority as Radio Telefís Éireann, and became ''RTÉ 1'' upon the launch of RTÉ 2 in 1978. Originally the station broadcast in black and white throughout the country using the European 625-line standard, as well as on the 405-line television system in the northern and eastern parts of the country; since the mid-50s, many people in these areas already had 405-line TV sets receiving BBC and UTV/HTV transmissions from Northern Ireland/Wales respectively. A standards conversion unit was used to provide the 405-line service, but when this electronic device failed, optical conversion was used, reportedly by directing a 405-line camera at a 625-line monitor. The first programme to be pre-recorded for the new television service was The School Around the Corner, an interview/quiz show created and presented by Paddy Crosbie and produced by James Plunkett.
PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
colour transmissions began in 1968, and the first programme made and transmitted in colour was "
John Hume John Hume (18 January 19373 August 2020) was an Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. A founder and leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Hume served in the Parliament of Northern Irel ...
's
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
." The first
outside broadcast Outside or Outsides may refer to: * Wilderness Books and magazines * ''Outside'', a book by Marguerite Duras * Outside (magazine), ''Outside'' (magazine), an outdoors magazine Film, theatre and TV * Outside TV (formerly RSN Television), a televi ...
in colour for RTÉ Television was the 1971 Railway Cup Finals (
Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...
), and soon after that, the Eurovision Song Contest 1971 from Dublin. In the 1970s, the studios in RTÉ's Television Centre started being equipped for colour, the first was the news studio in 1974, studio 2 in 1975, and finally studio 1 (the largest studio, used for productions such as '' The Late Late Show'') in 1976. RTÉ was also the sole Irish TV channel until 1978, when RTÉ 2 (known as Network 2 between 1988 and 2004) was created. The
Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
station TG4 began in 1996 as Teilifís na Gaeilge (TnaG). Since 1998 RTÉ One also competes with Virgin Media One (formerly known as "TV3"). Since it began broadcasting, RTÉ One has competed with
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
and UTV from Northern Ireland, and in the 1980s RTÉ began competing with other
satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
and
cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
channels that are widely available across Ireland through
cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
subscription services due to the high take up of cable TV from pan-European and UK channels since the 1960s, and the continued roll out of
MMDS Multichannel multipoint distribution service (MMDS), formerly known as broadband radio service (BRS) and also known as wireless cable, is a wireless telecommunications technology, used for general-purpose broadband networking or, more commonly ...
and
satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
during the 1980s and 1990s. From 1961, RTÉ Television would only broadcast from 17:35 until around 23:30 during the Winter months. In 1975 this changed slightly with transmission starting at around 15:30 and concluding around midnight (00:00). 24-hour broadcasts began in the late 1990s. In 1988, RTÉ One launched a schedule with a new news bulletin at 13:00. Currently, RTÉ One does not offer "breakfast television", but from 2013 to 2014 the station aired an early morning current affairs show called ''Morning Edition'', which was also simulcast on RTÉ News Now. Virgin Media One is currently the only indigenous broadcaster in direct competition for this early morning market with ''
Ireland AM ''Ireland AM'' is an Irish morning television show on Virgin Media One. 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, f ...
'' since 1999. RTÉ One during the
Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...
and special breaking news or election coverage, will provide a special bulletin in the mornings. RTE 1 and N2 had separate Weather forecasts (November 1997 – January 13, 2002). On Monday January 14, RTE 1 and N2 weather forecasts were remerged. On 6 July 2017, RTÉ One extended its on-air hours, starting at 6:00 am as opposed to the later 6:20 am as previously.


RTÉ One HD

RTÉ One HD was launched on 21 October 2013 — originally in upscaled HD — following the launch of a new
Saorview Saorview ( ) is the national digital terrestrial television (DTT) service in Ireland. It is owned by RTÉ and operated by 2RN. The service began operation on 29 October 2010 on a trial basis with a full launch on 26 May 2011. By legislation i ...
multiplex. Native HD broadcasts began on 16 December 2013. Since 2024, RTÉ One is now broadcast solely in High Definition (HD) on all platforms, with the Standard Definition simulcast ending on 2 April 2014 on the national DTT service Saorview, and on 29 April 2024 on Sky. RTÉ Television decided to launch the new HD service just before the Christmas period to draw audiences attention to the new service available to viewers. RTÉ have started to convert their main production studios to HD, the first being studio 5 in 2012, which is used mainly for sports productions. Any programmes still made in standard-definition are upscaled on the channel and it is intended that the vast majority of the channel's output will be in high-definition in due course. RTÉ One in SD continues to be available on Virgin Media Ireland until more of their customers have upgraded to HD. Sky Ireland launched the channel on 14 December 2015, as part of a new long-term partnership with RTÉ, however the channel is not available on
Sky UK Sky UK Limited (formerly British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB)), Trade name, trading as Sky, is a British broadcasting, broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television, broadband internet, fixed line and mobile telephone ...
's Northern Ireland EPG. In response to queries, RTÉ currently advises Northern Ireland Sky subscribers to contact Sky on the matter whereas Sky replies that it's an issue for RTÉ as to whether they make their HD channel available. On 11 April 2024, the channel was finally made available in Northern Ireland. Later that month, the SDTV feed was discontinued on Sky altogether, as such, the channel effectively became HD exclusive.


RTÉ One +1

A
timeshift channel A timeshift channel or time-shift channel (sometimes referred to as a +1 channel) is a television channel carrying time-delayed reruns of its "parent" channel's programming. This channel runs alongside its parent: the term ''timeshift'' does not ...
for RTÉ One (RTÉ One +1) was launched on 27 May 2011 and shares channel space with RTÉjr. The channel was made available on
Saorview Saorview ( ) is the national digital terrestrial television (DTT) service in Ireland. It is owned by RTÉ and operated by 2RN. The service began operation on 29 October 2010 on a trial basis with a full launch on 26 May 2011. By legislation i ...
from its launch, UPC Ireland replaced City Channel with RTÉ One +1 on 13 March 2012. Reeling in the Years does not broadcast on this channel due to music rights restrictions. It was referred to as RTÉ One Deferred in the Easy TV commercial DTT multiplex application, Easy TV was made up of RTÉ NL and UPC Ireland. RTÉ had also plans to create a third channel called RTÉ Three along with RTÉ One Deferred as reported in the Sunday Business Post in May 2008. RTÉ Three was dropped for the alternative RTÉ Plus/ RTÉjr. RTÉ Plus would have initially been a time shift channel for RTÉ One's prime time schedule, starting each night at 19:00 after RTÉjr ends for the night. This "Phase 1" of RTÉ plus was to begin broadcasting in May 2011. "Phase 2" of RTÉ Plus was to be made up of an entirely different schedule to that of RTÉ One, RTÉ had hoped that this would be made available in May 2012. Minister Pat Carey gave the go ahead for RTÉ One +1 for a maximum of 4 years at which point it will be reviewed. He did not give permission for the second phase in the channel as he was advised by the BAI that it may cause problems for commercial service providers such as TV3. As part of a new long-term partnership with
Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...
, RTÉ One +1 launched on Sky channel 115 on 14 December 2015, moving RTÉ2 HD down to 278. On 1 May 2018, the +1 channels and the Entertainment & Documentaries channel sections were moved to 201 - 299 to coincide with the non +1 channel. For example, RTÉ One is on channel 101, and RTÉ One +1 is on 201. When launched, RTÉ One +1 broadcast from 19:00 to approximately 02:00. On 15 February 2019, RTÉ One +1 began broadcasting 24 hours a day to coincide with the launch of RTÉ2 +1.


Programming

RTÉ One airs a variety of programmes each week, both homegrown programming and imported programming. A typical week of programming on RTÉ One would be as follows: On Sunday night RTÉ's flagship talent show '' The Voice of Ireland'' airs at 18.30, with the results show following soap opera '' Fair City'' at 20.30. '' Dragon's Den'' airs at 21.30 on Sunday nights. On Monday nights at 21.35, there is a questions and answers style show called ''Claire Byrne Live '' hosted by Claire Byrne. The long running chat show '' The Late Late Show'' hosted by Ryan Tubridy airs Friday nights from 21.35, it is the longest running chat show in the world. On Saturday night, game show '' The Million Euro Challenge '' airs at around 20.15, '' The Saturday Night Show'' airs at around 21.45, similar to '' The Late Late Show'' it has a variety of celebrity guests and music performances. Irish soap opera '' Fair City'' airs four times a week on ''RTÉ One'', it airs Sundays at 20:30, Tuesdays, and Thursdays at 20.00, and Wednesdays at 19.30, '' Fair City'' is similar to the British format for soap operas such as ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
''. ''RTÉ One'' also airs British soap opera ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
'' weekly at the same times as ''
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
''. RTÉ One also air a host of films throughout the week including the midweek movie on Wednesday at 21:30 and the big big movie (usually a children's film) Saturdays at 18:30. RTÉ One also air news coverage throughout the week including a 13:00, 18:00, and 21:00 news broadcast every day.


News and current affairs

''RTÉ News and Current Affairs'' provides all of RTÉ One's News and Current Affairs Programming. RTÉ News and current affairs television programmes include: ''News programming'' *''
Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 a ...
'' *'' RTÉ News: One O'Clock'' *'' RTÉ News: Six One'' *'' RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock'' *'' RTÉ News: Headlines (broadcast at regular intervals in the morning, early afternoon and at night)'' *'' Nuacht RTÉ'' *'' RTÉ News with Signing'' ''Current Affairs Programming'' *''
Prime Time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
'' *''Prime Time Investigates'' *'' Claire Bryne Live'' *'' The Week in Politics'' *'' Nationwide'' *'' One To One'' *'' Oireachtas Report'' *'' Euro Report'' RTÉ News and Current Affairs coverage of all major political events such as General Elections, Budgets, Local and European Elections and Referendums. Since 2000 RTÉ has covered the US Presidential Elections live. It also covers major political stories from the Northern Irish Assembly, including elections.


Diversity

RTÉ as a public service broadcaster is committed to providing awareness about the diverse communities found within Ireland. RTÉ aims to providing access to different groups through different mediums. RTÉ Diversity provides awareness of Ireland's multicultural society. From 2002, RTÉ produced a weekly multicultural show called Mono. The show aired between 2002 and 2005 and had a similar format as ''Nationwide''; but focused more on multicultural issues and had reports from all parts of the country. The show was produced by Kairos Communications for RTÉ and was presented by Shalini Sinha. RTÉ Diversity commissions a monthly show for individuals with hearing impairments or deafness. '' Hands On'' (originally called ''Sign of the Times'') airs every Sunday morning. The show is presented using
Irish Sign Language Irish Sign Language (ISL, ) is the sign language of Ireland, used primarily in the Republic of Ireland. It is also used in Northern Ireland, alongside British Sign Language (BSL). Irish Sign Language is more closely related to French Sign Langu ...
. The show is also subtitled using Irish or English subtitles. In 2009, the number of ''Hands On'' programmes were reduced by 60%, from 20 to 7. Diversity has also been showcased on RTÉ Dramas: The Riordans and Glenroe featured several characters from the Irish Travelling Community. Fair City and The Clinic have showcased a broader range of diversity which includes members of the Roma community,
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
movement, African heritage, Eastern Europe and other ethnic minorities groups in Ireland. In April 2010, RTÉ revealed a new multicultural programme which will air from March 2011. The show has a budget of €45,000 per episode.


Cláracha Gaeilge

RTÉ produced the television series '' Buntús Cainte'' in 1967, which together with the corresponding series of books, aimed to promote the learning of the Irish Language. The television series was presented by Máire O'Neill and Aileen Geoghegan. In the early 1990s, they produced a similar show with
BBC Northern Ireland BBC Northern Ireland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. BBC Northern Ireland is one of the four BB ...
called ''Now You're Talking'' which used the Ulster dialect of Irish. In they early 2000s, they produced a new series called ''Turas Teanga'', which was presented by newsreader Sharon Ní Bheoláin. During Seachtain na Gaeilge (Irish Language Week), continuity is provided through the Irish Language. During this week they also have a range of shows that promote the learning or use of the Irish language. In 2010 they produced An Cór with Fiachna O Braonáin. RTÉ also produced the highly successful Irish Language documentary strands Leargás, Scannal and CSÍ, which were first shown on RTÉ One with repeats on TG4. Nuacht RTÉ provides a round-up of the day's events at 17:40 each weekday. RTÉ has a dedicated commissioning brief inviting proposals for new Irish-language programming.


Education

In the early years of Teilifís Éireann most of the educational shows were aimed at children such as '' Dáithí Lacha''. In more recent years they have produced literacy programmes for adults such as '' Read, Write, Now'' presented by Derek Mooney.


Regional

'' Nationwide'' is RTÉ's main regional programme, in 2010 Gala began sponsoring the show. The shows average audience for 2009 was 400,000 viewers. The show began airing in the early 1990s. In 1999 RTÉ tested opt out for Dublin, Cork and Galway on UHF signals, however Chorus (a Dublin cable operator at the time) aired the Galway edition, while NTL (the other Dublin cable operator aired the Dublin version). RTÉ do not provide local opt-out or regional news. However RTÉ Cork produces a number of other Irish shows. '' Capital D'' was a programme for Dublin (similar in style to Nationwide), presented by Anne Cassin, it took a look at issues in Dublin. The programme did not return in 2012. ''Ear to the Ground'' is a farming magazine show. ''Nationwide'' is produced by RTÉ Factual while ''Ear to the Ground'' is produced by Independent Films for RTÉ.


Drama and comedy


1960s

In 1961 as Teilifís Éireann got ready to begin broadcasting it appointed Hilton Edwards as head of Drama, he was heavily involved in Irish theatre at the time. At this early stage they produced many international and local plays for television audiences such as ''
Antigone ANTIGONE (Algorithms for coNTinuous / Integer Global Optimization of Nonlinear Equations), is a deterministic global optimization solver for general Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programs (MINLP). History ANTIGONE is an evolution of GloMIQO, a global ...
'', ''
The Wild Duck ''The Wild Duck'' (original Norwegian title: ''Vildanden'') is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It explores the complexities of truth and illusion through the story of a family torn apart by secrets and the intrusion of a ...
'', '' The Fire Raisers'', ''
The Government Inspector ''The Government Inspector'', also known as ''The Inspector General'' (, literally: "Inspector"), is a satirical play by Russian dramatist and novelist Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the play was revised for an 1842 edition. Base ...
'', '' The Physicists'', '' Martine'', ''
The Well of the Saints ''The Well of the Saints'' is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge, J. M. Synge, first performed at the Abbey Theatre by the Irish National Theatre Society in February 1905 in literature, 1905. The Setting (narrative ...
'', '' Candida'', '' The Man of Destiny'', '' In the Shadow of the Glen'', '' Church Street'', '' The Field'', '' The Plough and the Stars'', '' The Shadow of a Gunman'' and '' The Hostage''. Both of Edwards' successors Jim Fitzgerald and Chloe Gibson would continue with stage play adaptations but would also look for original dramas for television. Hugh Leonard adapted
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...
's ''
Dubliners ''Dubliners'' is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. It presents a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century. The stories were writ ...
'' under the title Dublin and in 1966 he wrote '' Insurrection'', an 8-part real-time series which depicted the events of the 1916 Easter Rising which was broadcast on Easter Week on the 50th anniversary of the rising, it was RTÉ biggest drama production of the 1960s, involving on location filming and the Army. In its first ten years on the air RTÉ produced 103 plays of which 66% were Irish and 50% began life as stage plays. Half of the drama produced came from serials such as the
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
based urban soap '' Tolka Row'' which began broadcasting in 1964 and finished in 1968. In terms of population RTÉ was one of Europe's biggest producers of television drama. In 1965 '' The Riordans'' began broadcasting, this would begin the Wesley Burrowes trilogy of Irish Agrisoaps (Agricultural based dramas), it was followed by ''
Bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family (biology), family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that undergo alternation of generations, having both large plants that produce spores and small ...
'' in 1978 (and was aired on RTÉ One) as
Gabriel Byrne Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for a Grammy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards. Byrne was awarded the Irish Film and Television Academy L ...
's character (Pat Barry) moved from
Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...
to
Wicklow Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had ...
and in 1982 two of ''Brackens main characters Dinny and Milie Byrne moved to Glenroe which ran until 2001.


1970s

In the 1970s RTÉ produced several urban dramas set outside Dublin. ''The Burke Enigma'' began in 1975 and was RTÉ's first
police procedural The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...
something that they did not return to very often. ''Partners in Practice'' was RTÉ's first medical drama and was loosely based on successful TV formats from abroad such as ''Emergency Ward 10'', ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'', ''Marcus Welby M.D.'' and ''Dr. Kildare''. ''Partners in Practice'' was set in the new sprawling suburban Dublin in the fictional town of Sallybawn. Sallybawn was based on the new 1970s sprawling developments such as Tallaght. The series was set in the fictional Sallybawn Health Centre. It ran for one season in 1972 and was written by Carolyn Swift. In 1978 Louis Lentin became head of RTÉ Drama having produced Uncle Vanya (1970), King of Friday's Men (1967) and King of the Castle (1977). He started ''Thursday Playdate'', these were once of plays which dramatized current events and current affairs in Ireland. He would also be responsible for ''The Spike'' a controversial drama that was to run for 10 weeks only to be taken of the after the fifth episode. Problems surrounded both the content (A very critical look at the VEC system in Irish Education) and poor scriptwriting to deal with major issues.


1980s

RTÉ One had a major success with 1980s '' Strumpet City'' based on the novel by James Plunkett about the 1913 Dublin Lockout. It was successfully sold around the world to various countries including the
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. '' The Year of The French'' was a major follow up period drama with twice the production budget as ''Strumpet City'', however it was not as successful. ''The Year of The French'' was one of the many co-productions that RTÉ produced during the 1980s, it was co-produced with the UK's
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
and France's FR2. In 1983 RTÉ produced a World War II drama titled '' Caught in a Free State''. The four-part series was set against the backdrop of Irish Neutrality during the Second World War. It surrounded the true stories of German Spies in Ireland. The series was a co-production with
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
. Other Channel 4/RTÉ co-productions from the 1980s include '' The Irish R.M.'' and '' Echoes''. In the mid-1980s RTÉ developed a sitcom called '' Leave It to Mrs O'Brien'' which centred on the housekeeper of a Parish Priest. It is often quoted as one of the comedies which shows that RTÉ cannot produce good comedy. The series was a critical and audience failure. RTÉ would not produce another sitcom until the mid-1990s, while being criticized for not commissioning another series that featured a Parish Priest Housekeeper. In 1989, RTÉ returned with a new drama series based in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
city called '' Fair City''. In 2010, the show has celebrated its 20th anniversary since it first broadcast. The show continues to air four nights a week on RTÉ One.


1990s

In 1993, RTÉ One began to broadcast TG4's soap '' Ros na Rún''. The show initially broadcast for a short season each year. The show no-longer airs on RTÉ One, but instead airs each night on TG4. The show also airs on television in Scotland and America. In 1994 RTÉ broadcast ''
Family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
'' by
Roddy Doyle Roderick Doyle (born 8 May 1958) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been ...
, a co-production with the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. In 1993 RTÉ produced a sitcom set in a newspaper office called '' Extra! Extra! Read All About It!'' (also known as ''Extra! Extra!''). It was poorly received, critics stating the scripts lacked any humour and that the direction was poor. Reviewing the programme for the '' Sunday Independent'', writer
Colm Tóibín Colm Tóibín ( , ; born 30 May 1955) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, critic, playwright and poet. His first novel, ''The South (novel), The South'', was published in 1990. ''The Blackwater Lightship'' was short ...
called it "probably the worst programme RTÉ has ever shown". The ''
Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' Brendan Glacken was equally scathing: "Speaking of ''Extra! Extra!'', as I am afraid we still must, even seasoned RTÉ observers seem unable to answer the question why a series so pathetically weak should have been allowed to reach the screen at all". The ''
Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...
'' later listed it as one of the worst Irish TV shows ever. In the mid-1990s RTÉ return to sitcom with the development of '' Upwardly Mobile'' which ran for 3 seasons. The series was a critical failure but it often land in RTÉ top programmes each week. At the same time British station
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
commissioned ''
Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for British television channel Channel 4. It aired over three seri ...
'', which RTÉ is often incorrectly accused of turning down. RTÉ would not return to sitcoms until 2001 when ''The Cassidys'' appeared on '' RTÉ Two'' this was also a failure however two other successive comedies appeared in the same year on RTÉ Two, '' Bachelors Walk'' and '' Paths to Freedom''. RTÉ One's next comedy series would not appear until 2003 with the arrival of '' Killinaskully''. In the late 1990s RTÉ co-produced many period dramas based on novels by significant modern day Irish novelists, such as '' Falling for a Dancer'' and '' Amongst Women''. They also produced the
police procedural The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...
''Making the Cut'' and its spin-off series '' DDU''.


2000s

As a replacement for the axed rural soap ''Glenroe'' RTÉ commissioned ''On Home Ground'', surrounding a rural GAA club. The series was not well received and was replaced in 2003 by '' The Clinic''. The Clinic was an award-winning primetime television medical drama series produced by Parallel Film Productions for RTÉ. The show ran for seven seasons between September 2003 to November 2009. The last episode aired on RTÉ One on Sunday, 15 November 2009. The show was so successful that it also aired in Finland, New Zealand, Australia,
Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
, Scotland and Portugal. Since 2000 RTÉ has increased its output of specialized dramas. These drama's have discussed a broad range of issues such as the Irish Hepatitis C scandal in '' No Tears'' (2002) which featured Academy Award Winner Brenda Fricker. In 2003 RTÉ returned to comedy with the rural based '' Killinaskully'' series. The series was produced by Irish Comedian Pat Shortt. The series was a critical failure but according to one critic this was due to the rural/urban divide and "because TV critics tend to stand very firmly on one side of that gap, they have seldom attempted to understand the popularity of something so old-fashioned, predictable and lazy.". The series was a huge audience success for the channel often getting over 500,000 every Sunday night, with its Christmas specials becoming some of Ireland's most watched TV programmes during its run. In 2004 RTÉ co-produced with Denmark's TV2 a gritty drama series based on criminality in Dublin City. ''
Proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a co ...
'' aired for two seasons and starred Orla Brady. In 2006 RTÉ broadcast a fictional drama based on a nuclear fallout called '' Fallout''. Following this another drama appeared on RTÉ One in September 2006, the
docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television show, television and feature film, film, which features Drama (film and television), dramatized Historical reenactment, re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of docu ...
about the ''Stardust'' disaster, entitled '' Stardust'', to mark the 25th anniversary of the incident. In 2007, RTÉ began the drama series '' Single-Handed''. Three episodes of the series ran over the course of three years when ITV bought the rights to the show in 2009, which led to the co-production of the fourth series with Britain's ITV. In 2007, RTÉ aired '' Damage'' a drama which focused on rape and sexual abuse. In 2008, RTÉ produced ''
Whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...
'' this drama highlighted irregular obstetric practices within Irish hospitals. Another drama in 2008 included ''Bitter Sweet''. This drama follows the difficulties encountered by three female friends who undergo difficult changes to their respective lives. In 2009 RTÉ commissioned a second Pat Shortt comedy titled ''Mattie''. ''Mattie'' initially centred on the move of a rural Garda to the big city, however the series received poor reviews and audience figures were lacklustre. RTÉ attempted to re-launch the show as''STG Mattie'' the following year this time keeping Garda Mattie in country surrounding and adding a laughter track. In June 2009 RTÉ broadcast '' Father & Son'' co-produced with ITV.


2010s

The 2010
Live Aid Live Aid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a m ...
biopic ''When Harvey met Bobby'' (surrounding the relationship between
Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part ...
and Harvey Goldsmith) was co-produced with the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. '' Wild Decembers'' based on the novel by
Edna O'Brien Josephine Edna O'Brien (15 December 1930 – 27 July 2024) was an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer. O'Brien's works often revolve around the inner feelings of women and their problems relating to men and soc ...
aired at Christmas 2010. In 2010 their drama series '' Raw'' moved from RTÉ Two to RTÉ One. RAW ran for 5 seasons with its final season airing in 2013. The series centred on a busy Dublin Restaurant. The series '' Love/Hate'' (starring
Aidan Gillen Aidan Murphy (born 1967 or 1968), better known as Aidan Gillen (), is an Irish actor. He is known for his roles as Stuart Alan Jones in ''Queer as Folk (British TV series), Queer as Folk'' (1999–2000); Tommy Carcetti in ''The Wire'' (2004–20 ...
) detailing the lives of the Dublin's criminal underworld began in 2010. Love/Hate has since gone on to become one of Ireland most respected TV dramas, before ceasing production after 5 seasons in 2015. In 2011 RTÉ co-produced Brendan O'Carroll's '' Mrs. Brown's Boys'' with Boxpic and
BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...
for
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
. The series airs first on RTÉ One as BBC One is largely available across Ireland. The
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
detective drama '' The Fall'' starring Gillian Anderson was produced in association with RTÉ and aired on RTÉ One. RTÉ will also air ''Quirke'' a Dublin-based detective series, starring
Gabriel Byrne Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for a Grammy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards. Byrne was awarded the Irish Film and Television Academy L ...
and commissioned by the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
and The Irish Film Board. A drama surrounding the disappearance of a young girl aired in 2014, titled ''
Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...
''. It is directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan and stars Eva Birthistle and David Murray. Due to financial difficulties at RTÉ the series broadcast date was postponed for 2 years, the four-part series aired across 4 consecutive days. The four-part caused controversy with viewers and critics due its open ending. It was reported that a fifth season of ''Single Handed'' was to be produced by RTÉ and ITV, however the series did not get the required funding. A drama surrounding the Irish banking crisis has yet to be announced. A series surrounding the life of former
Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Charlie Haughey is expected in 2015. Aidan Gillen will play the title role in ''Haughey''. For the first time in nearly 30 years RTÉ returned to the
Television play A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television movi ...
in 2014. Three Irish writers Fiona Looney, Deirdre Purcell and Pat McCabe wrote 3 different plays for ''Play Next Door''. The writers were sent to different parts of the country and were told to set their work in a building in the locality. A documentary followed each of the writers as they lived in the towns, it was followed by the play.


2020s


Entertainment


Chat shows

RTÉ's flagship chat show is ''The Late Late Show''. It has aired on the channel since the summer of 1962. It is the second longest-running
chat show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (20 ...
and Europe's longest-running chat show. From 1962 until 1999 it was presented by Gay Byrne. In September 1999, Pat Kenny took over the role and after hosting nine seasons as Late Late host he stepped down to host a new political programme. In September 2009,
Ryan Tubridy Ryan Tubridy (born 28 May 1973) is an Irish broadcaster. He currently presents the weekday mid-morning programme ''The Ryan Tubridy Show'' on Virgin Radio UK, as well as a weekend programme on Sundays. His broadcasting career with RTÉ spanned ...
took over as host. In its early years the show was known for its controversies. Most Irish chat shows continue to use a similar formula to The Late Late Show, most shows are live and contain a mix of serious and entertaining interviews. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the biggest rival to The Late Late Show was ''The Live Mike'', hosted by Mike Murphy. The show was a mix of comedy sketches and interviews. Mike Murphy decided to leave the show and it was replaced by ''Saturday Live'' in the mid-1980s, the series had a new host each week. It in turn was replaced by ''Kenny Live'' hosted by Pat Kenny, who had been a guest presenter on ''Saturday Live''. ''Kenny Live'' was more entertainment focused then ''The Late Late Show'', however towards the end of the show Pat Kenny would do a one-to-one interview on topical subjects, e.g. Families of missing people. Most summers RTÉ provide a chat show. They have included Limelight hosted by Carrie Crowley, Good Grief Moncreiff hosted by Sean Moncreiff, BiBi hosted by
Bibi Baskin Olive "Bibi" Baskin (born 19 May 1952) is an Irish radio presenter, hotelier and former television presenter for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). She has been described as "RTÉ's legendary redhead". She has also worked as a magazine and ...
, Kennedy hosted by Mary Kennedy and the most recent series Saturday Night with Miriam with Miriam O'Callaghan. The show is well known for its wide variety of guests, which often include musicians, who usually perform on the show. The Duckworth Lewis Method made their television debut on ''Saturday Night with Miriam'' in 2009's season opener. Before hosting ''The Late Late Show'',
Ryan Tubridy Ryan Tubridy (born 28 May 1973) is an Irish broadcaster. He currently presents the weekday mid-morning programme ''The Ryan Tubridy Show'' on Virgin Radio UK, as well as a weekend programme on Sundays. His broadcasting career with RTÉ spanned ...
hosted his own Saturday night chat show between 2004 and 2009, called ''Tubridy Tonight''. After Pat Kenny left Kenny Live RTÉ produced a similar series to the 1980s ''Saturday Live'' this time called ''Saturday Night Live'' again with a different host each week, the series last until 2002. In 2003 ''The Late Late Show'' went into competition with '' Dunphy Live'' on TV3, however it only lasted until December 2003. Though RTÉ had stopped producing a Saturday Night chatshow that year, TV3 decided to air ''Dunphy Live'' on a Friday Night. RTÉ produced two pilot shows for Saturday Night in 2010. ''The Saturday Night Show (2010–2015)'' and ''Tonight with Craig Doyle (2010)''. Both of these shows are aimed to replace the highly successful ''Tubridy Tonight'' which ended in 2009, Hosted by Brendan O'Connor called '' The Saturday Night Show'' it was given an initial run of 8 weeks, it now airs every Saturday night. Craig Doyle was also given his own chat show. It replaced The Saturday Night Show. ''Tonight with Craig Doyle'' and ran on RTÉ One from 18 April 2010 for 8 weeks. In 2011 Gay Byrne returned with ''For One Night Only''. It started with an hour-long interview with boyband ''
Westlife Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...
'', which included many of their hits, similar episodes included
Imelda May Imelda Mary Higham (; born 10 July 1974), professionally known as Imelda May, is an Irish singer, songwriter, television presenter and multi-instrumentalist. She is known for her musical style of rockabilly revival and has also been compared to ...
and
Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was one of the founding members of the bands Planxty and Moving Hearts and has had significant success as a solo artist. His first albu ...
. In 2013
Imelda May Imelda Mary Higham (; born 10 July 1974), professionally known as Imelda May, is an Irish singer, songwriter, television presenter and multi-instrumentalist. She is known for her musical style of rockabilly revival and has also been compared to ...
returned for her own music show ''The Imelda May Show''.


Game shows/quiz shows

In the 1960s and 1970s RTÉ ran the '' Quicksilver'' quiz show presented by Bunny Carr. The show would tour the country and visit different towns. The contestants were picked at random to answer the questions, due to this random selection process the show is fondly remembered for questions such as "What the term for a male bee?" and the answer "a
wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...
?". It also coined an Irish phrase "stop the lights", usually stated when something is surprising. In the 1980s RTÉ produced game shows like ''Play the Game'', and Gerry Ryan's ''Secrets'' and quiz shows "Murphy's Micro-Quiz-M" (hosted by Mike Murphy), ''Where in the World?'' (hosted by Theresa Lowe), '' Rapid Roulette'' (hosted by Maxi) and '' Know Your Sport'' (hosted by George Hamilton). Since 1989 RTÉ have produced a game show with the Irish National Lottery. Winning Streak was the first such show originally hosted by Mike Murphy, who had had previous success with his chat show ''The Live Mike'' and the Irish version of '' Candid Camera''. He had also present ''Mike's Micro Quiz'' a family quiz show that included a "hi-tech" games machine. Winning Steak started off as a half-hour show on Friday nights in the late 1980s and by the mid-1990 was an hour-long Saturday night game show. In the mid-1990s ''Winning Streak'' was joined by other National Lottery game shows including ''Millionaire'' and ''Fame and Fortune'' hosted by Marty Whelan, '' Telly Bingo'' hosted by Liz Bonnin. In the 1990s RTÉ had international success with '' The Lyrics Board'', while it was derided by the critics the format was sold in many European countries. The show was originally presented by Aonghus McAnally during its initially run and in the 2000s by Linda Martin. Quiz shows included ''Challenging Times'' (hosted by Kevin Myres) and ''Dodge The Question'' (hosted by Jonathan Philbin Bowman). The 1990s saw RTÉ's version of ''Talkabout'' hosted by Ian Dempsey and later by Alan Hughes. After Gay Byrne's decision to leave ''The Late Late Show'', he was brought back by the station to host the Irish version of '' Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' however after two seasons the show was dropped as RTÉ were unable to find a sponsor after
Vodafone Vodafone Group Public Limited Company () is a British Multinational company, multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates Service (economic ...
Eircell pulled its sponsorship, the producers (Tyrone Productions) and RTÉ were in discussions with the National Lottery for a scratch card version of the show, ironically the National Lottery had defended the use of the term Millionaire a number of years previously due to its scratch card and TV game show ''Millionaire'' hosted by Marty Whelan for RTÉ. RTÉ One broadcast two editions of the Irish version of '' Test the Nation'' presented by Miriam O'Callaghan in 2006 and 2007.


Music

*RTÉ One has shown many Irish traditional music shows including '' The Pure Drop'' and '' Come West Along The Road''. *'' Number 1'' was a pop music quiz show from the 1980s and they also aired ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
''. *During the 1980s they had several live music shows with famous Irish stars of the time including ''The Sandy Kelly Show''. *In the late 1980s and early 1990s Marty Whelan hosted a popular talent search called ''GFI: Go For It''. In the mid-1990s RTÉ co-produced a talent series with BBC Northern Ireland called ''Let Me Entertain You'' hosted by Gerry Ryan, a 16-year-old Samantha Mumba was one of the finalists. *RTÉ One has also several documentaries about Irish Country Music and the Showband era entitled ''A Little Bit Country/Showband'', hosted and produced by Shay Healey. In 2009 they broadcast ''All Ireland Choir Competition 2009''.


Reality TV

Since the start of the 2000s RTÉ have produced several
Reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...
programmes for RTÉ One. In 2001, RTÉ One broadcast the successful
Popstars ''Popstars'' is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the ''Idol'' franchise, '' Popstars'' first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl gr ...
format to find Ireland's next top pop band. The eventual winners were the band members of Six, including on
Nadine Coyle Nadine Elizabeth Louise Coyle (born 15 June 1985) is an Irish singer. In 2002, she was selected as a member of Girls Aloud, a Pop music, pop girl group created through ITV (TV network), ITV's reality competition show ''Popstars: The Rivals''. T ...
, however due to her age at the time she had to be dropped from the band, and went on to appear in '' Popstars: The Rivals'' on
ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...
becoming a member of the girl band
Girls Aloud Girls Aloud are a British-Irish pop music, pop girl group that was created through the ITV (TV network), ITV talent show ''Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The line up consisted of members Cheryl (singer), Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, N ...
. Due to the success in the Popstars format RTÉ set about looking for a new series for 2002, '' You're a Star'' was a similar show to ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
'' and ''
The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'', running from 2002 to 2008, during which they select acts to go to the
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...
. In 2008 it was replaced by the '' All Ireland Talent Show''. The '' All Ireland Talent Show'' has since been replaced by the international Singing format '' The Voice of Ireland'' which begins on RTÉ One in January 2012. In 2010 they broadcast '' Fame: The Musical'' a reality TV talent search for stars of the stage version of the highly successful film and TV series '' Fame''. Other reality shows include two seasons (2001 and 2002) of '' Treasure Island'' similar in format to ''
Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...
''. Senator Mark Daly appeared in the second series, coming third overall. '' Cabin Fever'' (2003) which had a group of people set sail around the Irish coast, this caused controversy when the ship ran aground halfway through the series. RTÉ One has also produce
celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...
versions of their reality TV shows. '' Charity You're a Star'', '' Celebrity Farm'' and '' Fáilte Towers'' have all gained respectable audiences but critics have been less than impressed. RTÉ's most successful celebrity reality TV is '' The Restaurant''.


Factual

'' Garda Patrol'' ran for a number of years on RTÉ One. It was a fifteen-minute weekly show asking for help with crimes from the public. In the early 1990s RTÉ revamped the show as a monthly hour-long show called '' Crime Line'', hosted by David Harvey and
Marian Finucane Marian Finucane ( ; 21 May 1950 – 2 January 2020) was an Irish people, Irish broadcaster with RTÉ. Finucane began working with the national broadcaster in 1974, starting as a continuity announcer. She went on to host ''Women Today'' (1979– ...
(Towards the end of the series was hosted by Anne Doyle). In the mid-2000s RTÉ replaced CrimeLine with a similar show '' Crime Call''. '' Crime Call'' is presented by Anne Cassin and Con Murphy. * '' Radharc'' (an Irish term for view, vision, spectacle or sight) aired from the 1960s and the 1990s. They were documentaries filmed by
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
priests. The series produced 400 documentaries which focused on some regional stories but mainly international stories about Catholic
Missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...
around the world and world events. The series came about during the 1950s as public discussion centred on the new television services. The documentaries all took a religious angle on events. The Irish Film Institute (IFI) are the custodians of the Radharc documentaries. *'' To the Waters and the Wild'' *'' Waterways'' *'' Who Do You Think You Are?'' *'' Blood of the Irish''


History

* '' Reeling in the Years'' is one of RTÉ most popular history strands, it provides a history of Ireland from 1962 to 2009, it began as part of RTÉ Autumn 1999 schedule as Reeling in the Years 1980s, 1990s in 2000, 1970s in 2002, 1960s in 2004, 2000s in 2010, 2010s most recently in 2021 it's possible a future series on the 2020s will be made in 2030. It was archive clips from Irish and international archives showing the big events of the world from an Irish perspective including 2 Eurovision wins, 3 Irish general elections in one year, the Recession, Migration, DeLorean Motor Company, GUBU,
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
's visit to Ireland, All Ireland Championship wins etc. 1960–1969, 1970–1979 and 1990–1999 were all broadcast, events included the Dublin/Monaghan bombings, U2's first TV appearance, Slane Concerts, the axing of '' The Riordans'',
Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions J ...
, Miley and Fidelma's hay shed love in '' Glenroe'', ''Twin Peaks'' to more serious news such as the
Omagh Omagh (; from , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. Northern Ireland's c ...
bombings, The Good Friday Agreement, The resignation of the Minister for Foreign Affairs Ray Burke and the inauguration of president
Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first female president. Robinson had previously served as a senato ...
etc. *'' True Lives'' *'' Hidden Histories''


Arts

*'' Arts Lives'' is a series of arts documentaries produced by independent producers for RTÉ. They may also be co-funded by other broadcasters from around Europe. Some of the documentaries include: '' The Riordans: Tea, Taboos & Tractors'' about the successful rural soap opera, '' John O'Conor's Beethoven Boot Camp'', '' Hugh Leonard: Odd Man In'', '' Patrick Collins: Through Sligo Eyes'', '' Graham Linehan – Funny Business'' and '' Ronnie Drew – September Song''. *'' The View'' was a weekly arts and cultural review programme broadcast each Tuesday night up until 2011. It was original broadcast on RTÉ Two as '' Later on 2''.


Young people's programmes

Up to 1988 the majority of RTÉ's children's programmes were aired on RTÉ One. In the early years these shows included Dáithí Lacha an Irish Language animated series about a duck. In the 1970s they produced '' Wanderly Wagon'' which was developed for RTÉ by Eugene Lambert and a spin-off show in the 1980s called '' Fortycoats & Co.'' however Eugene Lambert is on the record as saying that he was not involved and that RTÉ just rehashed old ''Wanderly Wagon'' stories. The 1980s saw RTÉ's first Saturday morning children's strand called '' Anything Goes'', this was followed by ''Action Station Saturday'' and '' Pajo's Junkbox''. In the 1990s their Saturday mornings included ''Pajo's The Whole Shabang'' and ''Scratch Saturday'' which included ''The
Fanta Fanta () is an American-owned brand of fruit-flavored carbonated soft drinks created by Coca-Cola Deutschland under the leadership of German businessman Max Keith. There are over 200 flavors worldwide. Fanta originated in Germany as a Co ...
Roadshow Chart'' with Andy Ruane, various changes took place on Saturday mornings during the 1990s with the final RTÉ One children's morning strand coming from RTÉ Cork called ''The Swamp''. In the late 1990s all children's weekend programming was fully moved to Network 2 with ''T/X'' and ''The Disney Club''. '' Dempsey's Den'' aired on the channel from 1986 to 1988, Zig and Zag made their debuts on RTÉ One. Since 1988 the majority of RTÉ's children programming airs on its sister channel RTÉ Two. RTÉ Two provide different strands of programming tailored at different age groups these include: RTÉjr (1- to 6-year-olds), TRTÉ (7- to 15-year-olds), TwoTube (16- to 22-year-olds). Since 2011 RTÉ has a dedicated service for preschoolers called RTÉjr. Every Saturday night RTÉ One at 18:30 airs The Big Big Movie this strand features movies which a tailored towards a family audience.


Daytime

In the early 1980s, RTÉ began testing daytime television for audiences on RTÉ One. This was a major commitment since RTÉ Two was failing to gain audience that it required. Their first daytime show was hosted by Thelma Mansfield – one of their regular continuity announcers – '' Good Afternoon'' was a mix of live interviews, music, children's television and soap operas. In 1986, RTÉ debuted its new afternoon show which featured a mixture of daytime chat and children's television. In September the channel aired Live at 3 broadcasting from 15:00 each weekday. This was followed by a new children's series Dempsey's Den. Live at 3 was presented by Derek Davis and Thelma Mansfield from 1986 to 1997. It included a broad range of topics (healthcare, cookery, DIY, fashion and culture). It was a major departure for the daytime schedule and in an interview with TV Now Derek Davis described how many other European broadcasters were travelling over to Ireland to visit this mix genre daytime TV chat show. In 1997 with the departure of Derek Davis, Live at 3 was merged with another TV series called ''12 to 1''. ''12 to 1'' was similar in style to ''Live at 3'' only it concentrated on Light chat with hosts Marty Whelan and Ciana Campbell. Ciana Campbell had prior to this tested out a live afternoon phone in show (called ''Over to You''), similar in format to RTÉ Radio's successfully
Liveline ''Liveline'' is an Republic of Ireland, Irish radio interview and phone-in chat show broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 each weekday afternoon between 13.45 and 15.00. The programme, which has been presented since 1999 by Joe Duffy, and is known for its ...
, this eventually led to ''12 to 1''. In the late 1990s Marty Whelan, Ciana Campbell and Thelma Mansfield all remained as part of the daytime TV line-up and featured on ''PM Live''. In 1999, Thelma Mansfield retired from RTÉ to concentrate on her art career. This later led to the demise of ''PM Live'', which was replaced in September 1999, with '' Open House''. ''Open House'' was the first time that RTÉ had an independent producer produce their daytime TV service. Tyrone Productions produced the show in the RTÉ studios and it was hosted by Mary Kennedy and Marty Whelan from 1999 to 2003. In 2004, RTÉ revamped their daytime schedule and axed ''Open House'' and replaced it with two new shows, '' The Afternoon Show'' and The Big Bite. The Big Bite was an unusual departure for RTÉ's daytime schedule as it had heavier content than previous shows which aired in this time-slot, it was hosted by economist David McWilliams. The Big Bite was replaced with '' Seoige and O'Shea'', which was also produced by Tyrone Productions. Joe O'Shea and Grainne Seoige presented the show together for 2 seasons until Joe O'Shea left in 2007, he was replaced by Grainne's sister Síle Seoige and the show was rename Seoige. '' Seoige'' lasted one season and was replaced by an extended version of ''The Afternoon Show'' produced by Green Inc Productions for RTÉ. The Afternoon Show was first presented by Anna Nolan, Blathnaid Ni Chofaigh and Sheana Keane. Anna Nolan left the show after a year to focus on more serious TV such as RTÉ's '' Would You Believe'' series of documentaries. Blathanid and Sheana both worked on the show together for a number of years until 2008 (when it was reported they had had a falling out), various presenters stepping into either Blathanid's or Sheana's shoes, with the final series being presented by Sheana and Maura Derrane (former ''
Ireland AM ''Ireland AM'' is an Irish morning television show on Virgin Media One. 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, f ...
'' presenter). In 2010, RTÉ One revamped its afternoon schedule, which will debut in September 2010. RTÉ set about seeking tenders from independent producers, as a consequence of this process RTÉ axed ''The Afternoon Show''. Two new afternoon shows began in September 2010, '' 4 Live'' and ''
The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...
''. ''4 Live'' was presented by Maura Derrane (former co-presenter of ''The Afternoon Show''), while ''The Daily Show'' was presented by TG4 Weather Man
Dáithí Ó Sé Dáithí Mícheál Ó Sé (; born 2 June 1976) is an Irish television presenter. He currently hosts RTÉ One's ''Today (Irish TV series), Today'', alongside Maura Derrane. He is also the current host of the Rose of Tralee (festival), Rose of Tral ...
and former '' TV3 News'' presenter Claire Byrne. Both shows were broadcast from 16:00 to 17:45 GMT. Both new daytime shows are produced by Green Inc. for RTÉ. The programmes were axed in March 2012. In October 2012 RTÉ moved their main afternoon programmes to Cork. ''Today'' is hosted by Maura Derrane and Dáithí Ó Sé, while Claire Byrne moved to
Prime Time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
and RTÉ Radio 1's ''Saturday with Claire Byrne''. On Friday's Blathnaid Ni Chofaigh and Norah Casey (''Dragon's Den Ireland''). In January 2013 RTÉ launched their first morning TV news service on RTÉ One and RTÉ News Now ''
Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 a ...
'', the programme airs from 9 am to 11 am Monday to Friday. ''Morning Edition'' is presented by Keelin Shanley. In 2017 Stellify Media produced Goodbye House, a property show in which three siblings compete to find the perfect home for their parents.


Lifestyle

In the 1980s RTÉ One's lifestyle programming consisted of shows such as *'' Check Up'' – A weekly health show *'' Head 2 Toe'' – A weekly fashion series *'' See Here'' – A weekly consumers show *'' Family Matters'' – A weekly issue based show for parents, hosted by Eamon Lawlor and Caroline Murphy. Much of RTÉ's lifestyle output was produced in-house until the 1990s when Independent Producers began producing shows such as: - *'' About the House'' – An Educational/Lifestyle show about home renovations *'' Ear to the Ground'' – A weekly Agricultural magazine show *'' Beyond The Hall Door'' – A studio based Interior design show by the 2000s it had left the studio to do up homes *'' Bon Voyage'' – A travel show *'' Darina Allen'' – A cookery Show Most of RTÉ's Lifestyle programming is air Monday to Friday between 19:00 and 21:00, and repeated on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Their current set of lifestyle programmes include ''About the House'', ''Showhouse'', ''Heat'' and ''Rachel Allen: Bakes''.


Imported programming


1961–1969

RTÉ One has always relied on a certain amount of programming from abroad and they have also always been under pressure from UK TV channels to provide programming from other countries. The 1960s on RTÉ is characterized by American and British imports such as ''
Annie Oakley Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American marksman, sharpshooter and folk heroine who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West. Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoveris ...
'', ''
Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of flooded grasslands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the K ...
'', '' Have Gun Will Travel'', '' The Donna Reed Show'', ''
The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Epic film, epic swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and written by Norman Reilly Ra ...
'', ''
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
'', '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'', '' The Andy Williams Show'', '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'', ''
Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' ( ) is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. Written with a combination of Epistolary novel, epistolary, Confessional writing, confessional, and Didacticism, didactic forms, the ...
'', '' Lucy Show'', ''
Dr. Finlay's Casebook ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fiction ...
'', '' The World Around Us'', '' The World of Wooster'' and ''
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
''. Children's programming at this time consisted of such shows as ''
The Road Runner Show ''The Road Runner Show'' is an American Saturday morning animated anthology series which compiled theatrical Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner cartoons from the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'', which were produced by Warner Bros. Cartoo ...
'', ''
The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...
'', '' Skippy'' and '' Quick Draw McGraw''. In 1963 they also broadcast Italian lessons ''Parliamo Italiano''.


1970–1979

RTÉ began expanding its schedule during the 1970s with educational and children's programming being broadcast from 11 am. Children's shows imported for the channel included ''
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...
'', '' Modern Madcaps'', ''
The Road Runner Show ''The Road Runner Show'' is an American Saturday morning animated anthology series which compiled theatrical Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner cartoons from the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'', which were produced by Warner Bros. Cartoo ...
'', '' Land of the Giants'', '' Apple's Way'', '' Babar'', '' Noddy'', ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
'', '' Gemini Man'', '' Clue Club'' and ''
Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...
'', while educational programming included ''Education: Zarabanda'', ''First Steps in First Aid'' and ''German Lesson'' other daytime shows included '' South Riding'', '' The Pallisers'' and '' Thrill Seekers''. Prime time imports included '' Lights Out'', ''The Spanish Farm'', ''
The Brady Bunch ''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired five seasons from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family of six children, with three boys and three gir ...
'', '' Bridget Loves Bernie'', ''
Fawlty Towers ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, originally broadcast on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a dysfunctional fictional ...
'', ''
Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books comprise a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adulthood in the Midwestern United States, Americ ...
'', "The Waltons", "Poldark" ''
The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with ru ...
'', '' Anne of the Thousand Days'', ''Midnight Is a Place'', ''
Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British television sitcom that was broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was created and written by David Croft (TV producer), David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. Croft also served as executive producer and television directo ...
''. In 1978 RTÉ One began broadcasting many UK TV show such as ITV's '' Sale of the Century'' and ''
Match of the Day ''Match of the Day'' (abbreviated to ''MOTD'') is a Association football, football highlights programme, typically broadcast on BBC One on Saturday nights during the Premier League season. ''Match of the Day'' is one of the BBC's longest-runn ...
'' which was simulcast with the BBC. RTÉ Two began broadcasting on 2 November 1978.


1980–1989

During the 1980s many of the language courses on during daytime hours moved to the weekend, children's was presented first as ''Good Afternoon'' with many adult daytime shows mixed in, until 1986 when '' Dempsey's Den'' started to broadcast, imports for Children included ''The World of Jules Verne'', '' Ludwig'', '' Yogi's Treasure Hunt'', '' Danger Bay'', '' Arthur and the Square Knights of the Round Table'', '' Supergran'', ''European Folk Tales'', '' Kaboodle'' and '' The Real Ghostbusters''. Other daytime shows included '' Upstairs Downstairs'' and '' Emmerdale Farm''. Prime time imports included American shows such as ''The
Cheryl Ladd Cheryl Ladd (born Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor; July 12, 1951) is an American actress, singer, and author best known for her role as Kris Munroe in the ABC television series '' Charlie's Angels'', whose cast she joined in its second season in 1977 ...
Special'', ''
Here's Lucy ''Here's Lucy'' is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball. The series co-starred her long-time comedy partner Gale Gordon and her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. It was broadcast on CBS from 1968 to 1974. It was Ball's third ...
'', ''Ride on Stranger'', ''
Falcon Crest ''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera created by Earl Hamner Jr. that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Cha ...
'', ''
Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...
'', '' Benson''", Dallas", '' Magnum, P.I.'', ''The
Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...
Show'', '' Remington Steele'', ''
Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...
'', '' Spenser for Hire'', ''
The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...
'', ''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...
'', '' The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd'', '' Evening Extra'', ''Turning Point'', ''On the Town'', '' Our House'', '' The Ray Bradbury Theatre''. British imports included ''
Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British television sitcom that was broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was created and written by David Croft (TV producer), David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. Croft also served as executive producer and television directo ...
'', '' Codename Icarus'', '' The Paper Lads'', ''
Dempsey and Makepeace ''Dempsey and Makepeace'' is a British television crime drama made by LWT for ITV, created and produced by Ranald Graham. Lead roles were played by Michael Brandon (Lieutenant Dempsey) and Glynis Barber (Sergeant Makepeace), who got married ...
'', '' Tomorrow's World'' and '' Executive Stress''. In 1988 RTÉ Two re-branded as Network 2 which saw RTÉ move many of its children's and imported shows over to Network 2.


1990–1999

Children's shows remained on RTÉ 1 on Saturday morning for most of the 1990s imports included ''
DuckTales DuckTales refers to: Film and television * ''DuckTales'' (1987 TV series), original TV series ** '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'' * ''DuckTales'' (2017 TV series), reboot TV series Video games * ''DuckTales'' (video game) ...
'', ''
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
'', '' Family Ties'', ''The
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
Hour'', '' Katts and Dog'', '' Nellie the Elephant'' and '' The Pink Panther Show''. Daytime TV consisted of repeats and daytime soaps such as ''
Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books comprise a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adulthood in the Midwestern United States, Americ ...
'', '' The New Adventures of Black Beauty'', '' CHiPs'', '' Delia Smith's Cookery Course'', ''
Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...
'', ''
Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American primetime television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas (TV series), Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially cente ...
'', '' A Country Practice'', '' Perry Mason'', '' Carson's Law'', ''
The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...
'', '' G. P.'', '' The Sullivans'', '' Santa Barbara'', ''
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' is a British private detective television series, starring Mike Pratt (actor), Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope respectively as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk. The series was created by Denn ...
'', ''
Take the High Road ''Take the High Road'' (renamed ''High Road'' from 1994 to 2003) was a Scottish soap opera produced by Scottish Television, which started in February 1980 as an ITV (TV network), ITV daytime programme, and was broadcast until 2003. It was set in ...
'', '' Forever Green'' and '' Highway to Heaven''. American prime time show imported at the time included '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', '' Mancuso, F.B.I.'', ''
The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...
'', '' St. Elsewhere'', ''
MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the MacGyver (1985 TV series), 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in Mac ...
'', '' Masquerade'', ''
Father Dowling Mysteries ''Father Dowling Mysteries'', known as ''Father Dowling Investigates'' in the United Kingdom, is an American mystery television series first aired from January 20, 1989, to May 2, 1991. The series was preceded by the 1987 television movie ''Fat ...
'', ''
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
'', '' Midnight Caller'', ''
Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...
'', '' Space: Above and Beyond'', '' JAG'', '' Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'', ''
RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen (actress), Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Dani ...
'', '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', '' ER'' and ''
The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...
''. British shows broadcast included '' Bergerac'', ''
Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'', or simply ''Poirot'' (), is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2020. The ITV show is based on many of Agatha Christie's famous crime fiction series, wh ...
'', '' After Henry'', '' The Ruth Rendell Mysteries'', '' An Audience with... Victoria Wood'', ''
Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery fiction, mystery series, based on the Lovejoy (novel series), novels by John Grant (Lovejoy), John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six ser ...
'', '' Hearts and Minds'', '' Ballykissangel'' and from 1992 to 2001 ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
''. Educational programming at the time moved to Sunday morning including ''Espana Viva'', ''A Vous La France'' and ''Russian Language and People''. 28 January 1991 saw the last episode of cult favourite ''
Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...
'' broadcast on RTÉ 1.


2000–2009

Since the late 1990s RTÉ One's prime time schedule is made up of nearly 100% Irish programming, some exceptions include ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
'', ''The Midweek Movie'', ''The Big Big Movie'' and with a few classic repeats intermittently such as ''
Fawlty Towers ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, originally broadcast on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a dysfunctional fictional ...
'' and ''
Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses'' (titled onscreen as ''Only Fools and Horses....'') is a British television sitcom that was created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Ki ...
''. RTÉ One's other daytime imports are made up of soap operas (such as the Australian soaps ''
Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...
'' and ''
Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip to Kangaroo Point, N ...
'', the New Zealand soap ''
Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand Prime time, prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital. The show was first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992 and is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, be ...
'', the British soaps '' Doctors'' and ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
''), American detective dramas (including the highly repeatable ''
Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...
'') and since 2001 they have broadcast American daytime chat shows (including '' The Doctors'' and '' Dr. Phil'', they also broadcast '' Oprah''). American dramas broadcast from 2000 to 2009 included '' ER'', ''
Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...
'', ''
The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...
'', ''
Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series revolves around two brothers: Lincoln Burrows (Dominic P ...
'', ''
Damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at ...
'', ''
Shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...
'', ''
Two and a Half Men Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn that aired on CBS for 12 seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. The series originally starred Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper, a hedonis ...
'', '' Medium'', ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...
'', and ''
The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where t ...
''. British dramas '' Spooks'' and '' Waking the Dead'' have also aired on the channel. During the 2000s RTÉ broadcast the ITV soap
The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...
over two half-hour episodes Monday to Friday at 17:30, rather than the original hour-long episodes. RTÉ One also broadcast the revived ITV soap, '' Crossroads''.


2010–2019

RTÉ One launched its 2010 schedule with ''
The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, t ...
'' as a replacement for the long running Sunday night drama '' ER''. Other imports included ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' both the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
and American versions which coincided with their broadcast of the Irish version. On 4 August 2010, RTÉ launched its schedule which included imports ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...
'' and ''
Masterchef Australia ''MasterChef Australia'' is an Australian competitive cooking reality show based on the original British ''MasterChef (British TV series), MasterChef''. It is produced by Endemol Shine Australia and screens on Network 10. Restaurateur and ch ...
''. RTÉ One also broadcast ''
Packed to the Rafters ''Packed to the Rafters'' is an Australian family-oriented comedy drama television program which premiered on the Seven Network on Tuesday 26 August 2008 at 8:30 pm. The show continued on Tuesdays in this timeslot for its entire run. The dr ...
'', ''
The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...
'', '' Medium'' and '' McLeod's Daughters''. Daytime repeats now include ''
Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Marc Cherry, and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a tota ...
,'' ''The Good Wife'' and ''Brothers & Sisters''. New episodes of The Good Wife move to RTÉ One in 2013. A&E's ''Longmire'' began airing in 2013. Late night TV consists largely of imported programming such as Australian drama serials '' Rush'', ''
Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for twelve years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted th ...
'' and '' Tangle''.


2020–present

Mainly
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
to start the new decade. New look planned for Autumn 2022. New idents for the 1st time since November 3, 2006 on April 25, 2023.


On-air identity

In 1966, the radio and television stations adopted the common brand ''Radio Telifís Éireann'' in line with the renamed broadcasting authority, and the ident used the
acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...
RTE, with no
síneadh fada Irish orthography is the set of conventions used to write Irish. A spelling reform in the mid-20th century led to , the modern standard written form used by the Government of Ireland, which regulates both spelling and grammar. The reform re ...
diacritic A diacritic (also diacritical mark, diacritical point, diacritical sign, or accent) is a glyph added to a letter or to a basic glyph. The term derives from the Ancient Greek (, "distinguishing"), from (, "to distinguish"). The word ''diacrit ...
over the E of ''Éireann''. The 1995 logo was the first to read ''RTÉ'' rather than ''RTE''. A new appearance and ident of RTÉ One (including the "ONE" in a new font) launched on 1 January 2014. The channel is now referred to as 'RTÉ ONE HD' on
Saorview Saorview ( ) is the national digital terrestrial television (DTT) service in Ireland. It is owned by RTÉ and operated by 2RN. The service began operation on 29 October 2010 on a trial basis with a full launch on 26 May 2011. By legislation i ...
.


References


Sources

* McCaughren, Samantha (9 February 2006)
”Irish Viewers to get a '6' Sense Soon!”
''
Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...
'', Business p. 10. Accessed 10 December 2009.


External links


RTÉ One
at RTÉ.ie {{DEFAULTSORT:RTE 1
One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
Television channels and stations established in 1961 1961 establishments in Ireland Donnybrook, Dublin