Sky News Ireland was a programming block on

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...

broadcast in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It was a separate feed from the UK and international versions of Sky News. Sky News Ireland was broadcast from its studios 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 ...

. The service was also available in the UK and around the world on the Sky News Active ( Red Button) service.

Background

launched in Europe in February 1989. In May 2004, Sky News confirmed the launch of an Irish version of the channel; prior to this, Sky News was broadcast in Ireland with specific opt-out advertising and sponsorship. Specialized Irish news content aired for 30 minutes each night from 19:00 and 22:00. These special broadcasts were presented by Gráinne Seoige, news anchor Ray Kennedy and Brian Daly. On 24 October 2005, the 19:00h programme was moved to 18:30h, this put it in direct competition with RTÉ News: Six One. The bulletin was also available to international viewers via the Sky News Active service (red button) which proved quite popular with the Irish diaspora abroad. The channel was seen by European viewers with a DVB-S satellite receiver across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Sky News Ireland was the first Irish news service to be broadcast in widescreen, beating plans by

RTÉ News RTÉ News and Current Affairs (), also known simply as RTÉ News (''Nuacht RTÉ''), is the national news service provided by Irish public broadcaster (RTÉ). Its services include local, national, European and international news, investigative ...

and TV3 News. On 27 December 2005, it was confirmed Sky News Ireland's 18:30h bulletin was to be simulcast on Sky1 from 9 January 2006. Reporters for the service included Tadhg Enright, Jonathan Healy, Alison O'Reilly, Orla Chennnaoui, David Blevins, Eibhlín Ní Chonghaile, Geraldine Lynagh, Amanda Cassidy, Aisling Ni Choisdealbha, and John Sherwin. Weather on Sky News Ireland was usually presented by Lisa Burke. In October 2006, viewer ratings for the 10:00pm programme were 135,000 avg; the 18:30 programme received 65,000 avg. ( Neilsen).

Closure

On 31 October 2006, it was reported that the programme block would cease at the end of November 2006. From 3 November 2006, no further Sky News Ireland bulletins were broadcast when the staff walked out. Ray Kennedy presented the final programme at 10:00pm on 3 November, after which the staff left in protest at the handling of the closure by their British Sky News managers in London Although specific Irish programming has now ended,

continues to air an Irish opt-out advertising and sponsorship feed and continues to host studios and offices in

and

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

References

External links

* {{Sky Ltd Television stations in Ireland Sky News Sky television channels Defunct television channels 2004 establishments in Ireland 2006 disestablishments in Ireland Television channels and stations established in 2004 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2006