2015 in Irish television

The following is a list of events relating to television in Ireland from 2015.

Events

January

• 1 January – UTV Ireland, the country's first new commercial broadcaster since the launch of TV3 in 1998, goes on air at 7.25pm. The opening night includes an hour-long episode of Emmerdale and a New Year special presented by Pat Kenny. With the channel's launch, programmes such as Emmerdale, Coronation Street and The Graham Norton Show have moved from TV3 after UTV Ireland secured their broadcasting rights from its rival.^[1][2]
• 4 January – Charlie, a drama about the private life of former Taoiseach Charles Haughey, debuts on RTE One. The first episode is watched by an audience of 724,000.^[3]
• 5 January – UTV Ireland's national news service, Ireland Live, launches.^[4][5]
• 7 January – New soap Red Rock begins on TV3.^[6]
• 8 January – The Guarantee, Colin Murphy's film about the Irish banking crisis, receives its world television premiere on TV3 at 9.00 p.m.^[7]
• 10 January – New National Lottery game show hosted by Nicky Byrne, The Million Euro Challenge, starts on RTÉ One.^[8]
• 12 January – Figures indicate that RTÉ broadcast the 20 most watched television programmes of 2014.^[9]
• 15 January – Figures indicate RTÉ broadcast the 20 most watched sports programmes of 2014.^[10]
• 18 January – The Sunday Independent reports that the decision by Sky and UPC Ireland to increase their prices may have had a negative impact on UTV Ireland's launch because price rises coincided with the launch. UPC's decision to allocate UTV Ireland the same channel formerly occupied by Northern Ireland's UTV may also be affecting the channel because some of the content available through UTV is not shown by its counterpart.^[11]
• 21 January – Sean Haughey, the son of the late Taoiseach Charles Haughey, criticises the portrayal of his father in RTÉ's drama Charlie.^[12]
• 27 January – The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland publishes a new code of programme standards designed to promote responsible broadcasting.^[13]
• 28 January – John Whelan, chair of the support group Advic, criticises TV3 for what he feels to be a juvenile press release about State Pathologist Marie Cassidy's appearance in an edition of the channel's The Restaurant. The press release begins by suggesting that Cassidy "hopes to knock 'em dead on TV3's 'The Restaurant'", which Whelan feels is inappropriate when her office deals with cases of murder and manslaughter.^[14]
• 28 January – In Cork, an edition of Vincent Browne's Peoples Debate descends into uproar when a member of the audience miss-chooses his words while discussing the upcoming same-sex marriage referendum, then goes into a rant about the morals of Ireland's political parties when his error is pointed out to him. Footage of the debate subsequently becomes popular on YouTube.^[15]
• 30 January – TV3 axes its afternoon show Late Lunch Live in favour of an evening chat show. The 7 O'Clock Show will air from 16 February, and will be presented by Late Lunch Live presenters Lucy Kennedy and Martin King.^[16]
• 30 January – UTV Ireland secures a deal with ITV to show Good Morning Britain after complaints from viewers who had watched the show on UTV via UPC. The programme had been absent from the platform since UTV Ireland's launch.^[17]

February

• 1 February – Stephen Fry appears as a guest on RTÉ One's religious affairs programme The Meaning of Life during which he makes controversial comments about God, of whom he says is "utterly evil, capricious and monstrous".^[18]
• 2 February – Good Morning Britain debuts on UTV Ireland, but viewing figures give it an average audience of 2,700, compared to 61,000 for TV3's Ireland AM.^[19]
• 4 February – Sky reports an increase of more than 200,000 customers in the UK and Ireland in the second half of 2014, its highest growth for nine years.^[20]
• 4 February – The National Lottery midweek draw is postponed until the following day because of a computer glitch that stopped the ticket machines working.^[21]
• 4 February – It is announced that Jeff Ford will leave his role as TV3's Director of Content in April to take up the position of General Manager at Fox International Channels UK.^[22]
• 4 February – Viewing figures for TV3's new soap Red Rock have halved from 323,000 to 165,000 during its first three weeks of broadcasting. However, TV3 remains pleased with the soap's performance, saying that its viewership has surpassed expectations.^[23]
• 4 February – TV3 presenter Sybil Mulcahy announces she is leaving the channel after 16 years.^[24]
• 5 February – RTÉ2 confirms it will air Eurovision's Greatest Hits, a concert celebrating 60 years of the Eurovision Song Contest, which will be shown throughout Europe over the Easter weekend.^[25]
• 9 February – Setanta Sports announces that it has gained exclusive live broadcasting rights to Champions League and Europa League football for three years from 2015–16. However, RTÉ has retained the television and online rights to show Wednesday Champions League matches, while TV3 will show Tuesday Champions League matches.^[26]
• 9 February – A man who appears in the TV3 documentary series Prison Families is given a suspended sentence at Dublin's Circuit Criminal Court after his trial was told that a robbery and an attempted robbery he committed took place at the time of other offences, and should have been considered at a previous trial.^[27]
• 12 February – Viewing figures released by Tam Ireland and Nielsen indicate UTV Ireland had an average audience of 5.5% through January, with an episode of Coronation Street featuring a storyline involving a bus crash having the most number of viewers, with 597,000.^[28]
• 13 February – UTV Ireland announces its intention to air highlights of the Ireland cricket team's 2015 World Cup campaign, beginning with their opening match against the West Indies on 16 February.^[29]
• 14 February – Vodafone unveil plans to launch a TV service to compete with UPC, Sky and Eircom.^[30]
• 15 February – UTV Ireland considers a move for its 6.30pm bulletin of Ireland Live to take on TV3's TV3 News at 5.30pm because of poor viewing figures, which were as low as 2% for the first two weeks of January.^[31]
• 18 February – The BBC Northern Ireland current affairs series Spotlight wins "Scoop of the Year" at the Royal Television Society Awards for its programme A Woman Alone With The IRA, an investigation into how the IRA handled sexual abuse allegations against a suspected member.^[32]
• 18 February – UTV Ireland confirms it will be showing Carl Frampton's prize fight against Chris Avalos on 28 February after UPC viewers, whose access to UTV ended with the launch of its all-Ireland counterpart, expressed concerns it would not be available.^[33]
• 19 February – Taoiseach Enda Kenny uses Prime Time to submit to a rare live television interview but must wait as an episode of British soap opera EastEnders concludes.^[34][35]
• 20 February – Ryan Tubridy's tone and choice of questions when interviewing Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy in relation to the campaign against the implementation of a water tax on The Late Late Show is much criticised.^[36][37][38]
• 23 February – Undecided on whether to renew The Voice of Ireland for a fifth series, RTÉ are looking for an alternative to replace the programme for its Winter 2016 schedule.^[39]
• 25 February – Paramount Pictures Ireland announce a collaboration with the Gaelic language television channel TG4 that will see The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water made available in the Irish language in cinemas, the first collaboration of its kind.^[40]
• 26 February – The TV3 Group confirms plans to launch TV3 HD on both UPC Ireland and Sky Ireland in August.^[41]
• 26 February – TV3 confirms its intention to air all 48 matches from the 2015 Rugby World Cup.^[42]
• 27 February – Singer–songwriter Molly Sterling is selected to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Playing with Numbers".^[43]

March

• 1 March – The Sunday Independent reports that RTÉ and TV3 are allowing representatives of commercial brands to appear on daytime chat shows to sell their products as part of package deals ranging from €1,000 to €15,000 per appearance. The sale of "editorial airtime" is prohibited by the broadcasting regulations.^[44]
• 1 March – Writing in the Sunday Independent, GAA analyst and former All-Ireland winner Joe Brolly expresses his concern over the 2014 deal that allows Sky Sports to air some matches on a pay-per-view basis, saying that it “exemplifies the disregard for the lifeblood” of the GAA.^[45] However, speaking to RTÉ the following day, the new president of the Association, Aogán Ó Fearghail says that the deal has not hurt viewing figures and broadened the reach of Gaelic football by allowing it to be aired to a greater audience, but suggests that now there may be too many televised matches and the number may have to be reduced.^[45]
• 4 March – TV3's Red Rock tackles the issue of arranged marriage with the arrival of two Asian characters, a father and daughter in conflict over the topic.^[46]
• 4 March – RTÉ launches RTÉ Player International, an online service making the broadcaster's content available to international viewers.^[47]
• 5 March – As figures reveal that audience figures for UTV's Ireland Live dropped from 1.5 million in January to 1.3 million in February, Kevin Bakhurst, the managing director of news and current affairs at RTE, tells the Evening Herald UTV face a "hard slog" to improve their audience numbers.^[48]
• 5 March – John Martin, a member of the New Land League, says he will make an official complaint to gardai following a confrontation with broadcaster Vincent Browne outside a repossessed property in Killiney the previous day. Gorse Hill Manor has been occupied by the group since it was seized by the High Court. Brown was accompanied by a camera crew and journalists, and used footage of his visit on that evening's edition of his show, Tonight with Vincent Browne.^[49]
• 5 March – TV3 announces it is axing the live element of its entertainment series, Xposé, which will return to being pre-recorded. The decision will allow the broadcaster to develop The 7 O'Clock Show as a live show with a similar format to BBC One's The One Show.^[50]
• 7 March – The Irish Independent reports that the Commercial Court is to hear a case brought against TV3 by RTÉ for non-payment of transmission tariffs through 2013 and 2014. The tariffs relate to unpaid fees to 2RN, a subsiduary company of RTÉ that manages the transmission system. The case is scheduled for Monday 9 March.^[51]
• 7 March – A group of 150 protesters gather outside RTÉ's Donnybrook headquarters to demonstrate against their coverage of water protests and austerity measures.^[52]
• 8 March – The US drama American Crime debuts on RTÉ2, just three days after making its US television debut on ABC.^[53]
• 8 March – Mary McAleese narrates a documentary about the women's organisation Cumann na mBan on TG4.^[54]
• 9 March – At the Commercial Court, RTÉ is seeking €1m from TV3 for the non payment of digital transmission tariffs through 2013 and 2014.^[55]
• 10 March – In celebration of St Patrick's Day, UTV Ireland launches its "Bringing U Home" campaign, which encourages Irish people living overseas to submit greetings videos to friends and relatives, with entries having a chance to win return air tickets to Ireland from wherever they are currently living.^[56]
• 11 March – Analysis of All-Ireland matches from the past five seasons has indicated that Sky Sports succession as second provider of GAA games has had little impact on the majority of supporters as many county matches are not shown live.^[57]
• 14 March – Brendan O'Connor confirms that the current series of The Saturday Night Show will be the last. O'Connor will return with a new show in 2016, while Ray D'Arcy will present a replacement show for The Saturday Night Show from the autumn.^[58]
• 18 March – UTV Media confirms it expects UTV Ireland to report £6m in losses over 2015, double its original forecast. The company cites the length of time the channel took to receive its public service status as a major contributing factor, since it could not fully engage with advertisers and viewers until it was established.^[59]
• 18 March – TV3 will host two Irish Film and Television Awards ceremonies this year. The first in May will focus on film and television, while the second in October will award achievements in the television industry.^[60]
• 18 March – GAA USA, a four part series presented by Dara Ó Cinnéide that tells the story of Gaelic football in the United States, debuts on TG4.^[61][62]
• 19 March – Lynda McQuaid is appointed Director of Content at TV3, replacing Jeff Ford.^[63]
• 20 March – Broadcaster Joe Duffy is making a television version of his popular radio programme, Liveline, a pilot of which will be aired by RTÉ over the summer.^[64]
• 22 March – The Sunday Times reports that TV3 believed the decision to grant UTV Ireland public service status was a "fait accompli" that had been decided weeks before its announcement as documents released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal the extent of TV3's objection to the decision.^[65]
• 22 March – RTÉ screens Ireland's 2015 Women's Six Nations Championship match against Scotland live from Cumbernauld.^[66] The game sees Ireland beat Scotland 37-3, meaning Ireland have secured both the 2015 Men's and Women's Six Nations titles.^[67]
• 24 March – TV3 announces the launch of its new nightly news programme, TV3 News at 8, a 30-minute bulletin showing at 8.00pm, following a similar format to nightly newscasts across Europe. The programme goes on air from Monday 30 March, and will be presented by Colette Fitzpatrick.^[68]
• 26 March – BBC Director-General Tony Hall signs a deal with Northern Ireland Screen which will see an increase in network spending in Northern Ireland. The agreement will also enable an extra £200,000 a year to be invested in drama development, and a £2m annual investment in children’s content.^[69]
• 27 March – TV3 has announced the establishment of a strategic distribution partnership with Sky Vision, which will see its content distributed on the international market.^[70]
• 29 March – Minister for Communications Alex White will include the Six Nations Championship on a list of sporting events that must be made free-to-air on live terrestrial television, it is reported.^[71] White confirms to Cabinet his intention to add the coverage of the tournament to the free-to-air list two days later.^[72]
• 30 March – Sky Sports have secured the rights to Ireland's 2015 Rugby World Cup warm-up games against Scotland on 15 August, and Wales on 29 August.^[73]
• 30 March – Former RTÉ presenter Sheena Keane makes her return to television five years after leaving The Afternoon Show with a series on TV3 titled Get the Numbers, Write.^[74]
• 30 March – Following a case brought by three music companies, the High Court orders UPC Ireland, the country’s second largest internet service provider, to take measures to stop the illegal downloading of content.^[75]
• 31 March – David McGovern, a fireman based in West Florida, is announced as the winner of UTV Ireland's "Bringing U Home" competition, and wins return tickets to visit his friends and relatives in Ireland.^[76]

April

• 1 April – In an April Fools' Day hoax RTÉ News reports the launch of Fur TV, a channel aimed specifically at pets.^[77]
• 2 April – RTÉ have issued a memorandum to their staff reminding them not to publicly express any opinions about the forthcoming 22 May referendum during the campaign period, including via posts on social media, it is reported.^[78][79]
• 2 April – SIPTU general secretary Jack O'Connor walks off the set of TV3's Tonight with Vincent Browne following a heated argument with Brown. O'Connor exited the studio because he believed his presence legitimised TV3's policy of not respecting the rights of its staff in collective bargaining, but Browne described the union leader's actions as a "stroke".^[80]
• 3 April – Pat Cowap, the director of RTE's soon to end The Saturday Night Show, is recruited by UTV Ireland to work on Pat Kenny's new show In The Round, which begins filming shortly.^[81]
• 3 April – Eurovision's Greatest Hits airs on RTÉ2.^[82]
• 4 April – RTE One arts programme The Works is to be "reformatted" as part of RTE's autumn schedule, the broadcaster announces.^[83]
• 4 April – Shane Ritchie and Jessie Wallace, who play EastEnders couple Alfie and Kat Moon, are to film a six-part spin-off series as the characters which will be set in Ireland and air in 2016.^[84][85]
• 5 April – The mother of broadcaster Brendan Courtney voices her support for marriage equality in a series of online videos.^[86]
• 5 April – Irish television premiere of the War of Independence film A Nightingale Falling, which airs on UTV Ireland at 10.00pm.^[87]
• 5 April – TG4 airs Louise Ni Fhiannachta's award winning short film Rúbaí, a drama about an atheist girl who refuses to take part in her First Holy Communion.^[88]
• 6 April – RTE's Road to the Rising, an event marking the anniversary of the Easter Rising, is held in Dublin's O'Connell Street. The occasion includes a screening of Insurrection, the broadcaster's eight-part drama that was commissioned for the Easter Rising's 50th anniversary.^[89]
• 7 April – The Irish Language Broadcast Fund announces its latest round of funding for television and film projects, which includes finance for Piobairí Ard Mhacha, a series for BBC Northern Ireland about the Armagh Pipers, and Lomax in Éirinn: The Album That Saved Irish Music, a series about the field collectors of folk music Alan Lomax for TG4.^[90]
• 8 April – Viewers are invited to apply for tickets for Pat Kenny In The Round, which goes on air in May.^[91]
• 8 April – TV3 Group announce that the timeshift channel TV3 +1 is launching on Sky Channel 117 after they agreed a deal with Sky to carry the channel.^[92]
• 9 April – The Unemployables, which aired as a pilot in 2014, returns to RTÉ2 for a full series. The programme sees Darren Kennedy and Jennifer Maguire helping young unemployed people to find work.^[93]
• 9 April – French international distributor, Lagardère Entertainment has secured a deal to distribute TG4's Gaelic language thriller, An Bronntanas on the international market.^[94]
• 9 April – The first edition of Pat Kenny in the Round is filmed at Dublin's Mansion House. The programme takes the form of a one-hour interview with a notable figure, with the first guest being Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. It is the first in a series of thirteen interviews, though an airdate for the series is yet to be confirmed.^[95]
• 12 April – An article in the Sunday Independent highlights some of the shows that ceased being available to many Irish television viewers following the launch of UTV Ireland. They include ITV's News at Ten and Championship League football coverage, both of which have been replaced with homegrown programmes, as well as dramas such as Foyle's War and Arthur & George.^[96]
• 15 April – Debut of Wild Ireland, a six-part series presented by Christine Bleakley in which she travels the Wild Atlantic Way, the longest continuous coastal route.^[97]
• 15 April – Islanders, a four-part series looking at life in the island communities on the Irish coast, debuts on TV3.^[98]
• 16 April – It is reported that a number of private equity groups, including The Carlyle Group, have held preliminary discussions with TV3's owners, Doughty Hanson about a possible takeover.^[99]
• 16 April – TV3 begins airing Paramedics, a six-part documentary looking at the work of Ireland's emergency medical service.^[100]
• 20 April – Premiere of Dáil on the Dole, a four-part TV3 series that sees TDs spending time with constituents on social welfare in order to gain insight into the issues affecting them.^[101][102]
• 21 April – Minister of Communications Alex White confirms that the TV licence will not be replaced by a public service broadcasting charge until there is "public understanding and support" for the change.^[103]
• 24 April – A University College Dublin medical student who punched TV3 cameraman Ronan Quinlan in an unprovoked attack at a Dublin bar in August 2014 has his case adjourned for 12 months by a judge at Dublin District Court, and is warned that he must not come to the attention of the Garda during that time.^[104]
• 24 April – UTV Ireland have signed Lorraine Keane to do a one-off interview with singer Josh Groban on 3 May, it is reported.^[105]
• 26 April – The Sunday Independent reports that TV3 have signed a deal with Endemol to air Big Brother, the first time the franchise has aired on an Irish television channel.^[106]
• 26 April – Patrick Donoghue wins the fourth series of The Voice of Ireland.^[107]
• 28 April – Caroline Morahan is to star in Fir Bolg, a new bilingual drama to air on TG4.^[108]
• 30 April – It is reported that businessman Denis O'Brien is seeking an injunction to stop RTÉ airing a story about his private banking details. The case will be heard before the High Court on 1 May.^[109]
• 30 April – RTÉ announce that Henry Shefflin has signed up as a pundit on RTÉ2's The Sunday Game.^[110]

May

• 1 May – The High Court places a temporary injunction on the broadcast of an RTÉ story about businessman Denis O'Brien until 12 May, while a full hearing on the issue takes place.^[111]
• 1 May – After agreeing a deal with Endemol, TV3 announce they will broadcast Big Brother UK, the sixteenth series of which begins airing on TV3 and 3e from 12 May.^[112]
• 1 May – The Late Late Show stages a debate on Marriage Equality ahead of the 22 May referendum on the issue.^[113]
• 11 May – Pat Kenny in the Round debuts on UTV Ireland.^[114]

Debuts

RTÉ

• 4 January – Charlie on RTÉ One
• 10 January – The Million Euro Challenge on RTÉ One
• 26 January – Claire Byrne Live on RTÉ One^[115]
• 2 February – OCD and Me on RTÉ2^[116]
• 9 April – The Unemployables on RTÉ2

TV3

• 7 January – The Restaurant – was previously shown by RTE.
• 7 January – Red Rock
• 16 February – The 7 O'Clock Show
• 30 March – TV3 News at 8
• 30 March – Get the Numbers, Write
• 15 April – Islanders
• 16 April – Paramedics
• 20 April – Dáil on the Dole

UTV Ireland

• 5 January – Ireland Live
• 5 April – A Nightingale Falling
• 15 April – Wild Ireland
• 11 May – Pat Kenny in the Round

Ongoing television programmes

1960s

• RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock (1961–present)
• RTÉ News: Six One (1962–present)
• The Late Late Show (1962–present)

1970s

• The Late Late Toy Show (1975–present)
• RTÉ News on Two (1978–present)
• The Sunday Game (1979–present)

1980s

• Fair City (1989–present)
• RTÉ News: One O'Clock (1989–present)

1990s

• Winning Streak (1990–present)
• Prime Time (1992–present)
• Nuacht RTÉ (1995–present)
• Nuacht TG4 (1996–present)
• Ros na Rún (1996–present)
• TV3 News (1998–present)
• Ireland AM (1999–present)
• Telly Bingo (1999–present)

2000s

• Nationwide (2000–present)
• TV3 News at 5.30 (2001–present) – now known as the 5.30
• Against the Head (2003–present)
• Other Voices (2003–present)
• Saturday Night with Miriam (2005–present)
• Capital D (2005–present)
• Would You Believe (2005–present)
• Activity Breaks (2006–present)
• Aifric (2006–present)
• Anonymous (2006–present)
• One to One (2006–present)
• The Week in Politics (2006–present)
• Tonight with Vincent Browne (2007–present)
• Xposé (2007–present)
• At Your Service (2008–present)
• Bog Stop (2008–present)
• Championship Live (2008–present) – Now rebranded as GAA on 3
• Midday (2008–present)
• Monday Night Soccer (2008–present)
• news2day (2008–present)
• Operation Transformation (2008–present)
• The Big Money Game (2008–present)
• 3e News (2009–present)
• Dragons' Den (2009–present)
• Midweek (2009–present)
• The Morning Show with Sybil & Martin (2009–present)
• Republic of Telly (2009–present)
• Traffic Blues (2009–present)
• Two Tube (2009–present)

2010s

• The Daily Show (2010–present)
• Do the Right Thing (2010–present)
• Four Live (2010–present)
• Jack Taylor (2010–present)
• Mission Beach USA (2010–present)
• The Saturday Night Show (2010–present)
• Mrs. Brown's Boys (2011–present)
• Come Dine with Me (2011–present)
• The GAA Show (2011–present)
• MasterChef Ireland (2011–present)
• Paul Connolly Investigates (2011–present)
• Put 'Em Under Pressure (2011–present)
• The Social (2011–present)
• Celebrity Come Dine with Me (2012–present)
• Celebrity Mastermnd (2012–present)
• Championship Matters (2008–2010)
• Family Fortunes (2012–present)
• Today (2012–present)
• The Mario Rosenstock Show (2012–present)
• The Voice of Ireland (2012–present)
• The Works (2012–present)
• The Great Irish Bake Off (2013–present)
• The Hit (2013–present)
• Celebrity MasterChef Ireland (2013–present)
• Second Captains Live (2013–present)

Ending this year

• 6 February – Late Lunch Live (2013)
• 30 May – The Saturday Night Show (2010)

Deaths

• 9 February – Daphne Carroll, 91, actress^[117]

References