Tag Archives: RTE

A talented Cratloe jockey, who enjoyed a “fairytale” Cheltenham victory, features in a new television series on RTE One. Mark McDonagh (22), who rode a winner at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival, appeared on the fourth episode of “My Uni Life”, and will return on the seventh episode on Friday, March 29. This new series shines a spotlight on a diverse range of students and staff with interesting subject matters. The programme-makers contacted the Sports Department at the University of Limerick where Mark was studying Accountancy and Finance and the sports scholarship student was put forward by Noreen O’Connell. Filming took place at UL, Michael Hourigan’s yard in Patrickswell, and a race in Wexford Racecourse. Mark rode his first winner at the Cheltenham Festival on the Joseph O’Brien-trained Banbridge in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle, the last race on the final day of the 2022 meeting. His success meant that all seven races on the day were won by …

THE popular TV series Raised by the Village is back on RTE 1 and episode 2 features troubled Dublin teen Alex come to stay on a dairy farm in Tulla with the Hayes family. It airs this Sunday night, March 31, and Maureen Hayes says she got her family got involved after she saw a post on Facebook, looking for participants. “I had seen the previous shows and I thought it was a lovely thing to do for a city kid to bring them down and give them a baptism of fire on a dairy farm,” she said. “I always thought when I was younger that I’d like to be an emergency foster mother. It never materialised but I have four children of my own and I thought this would be an opportunity to give a child an opportunity and a different perspective on life.” Her own children range in age from 12 to 19, and they had a few …

The premier of a new documentary film about North Clare’s finest, The Stunning, will will take place on RTÉ 1 television this coming Sunday, December 17, at 11.40pm. Ennistymon brothers Steve and Joe Wall have spent the past two years working on this film, which will feature some of the most talent people in music in Ireland including Máirtín O’Connor, Camille O’Sullivan, Faye O’Rourke from Soda Blonde, Niwel Tsumbu, Zoë Conway, Mundy and Shobsy. It also features North Clare bassist and regular collaborate with Steve and Joe Wall, Jon O’Connell. ‘We Come Alive’ was produced independently by The Stunning and Wonderbread Films and licensed to RTE.

A PROTEST at RTÉ’s studios in the Midwest demonstrated the anger of rank and file staff at so-called “sweetheart deals” for top star, Ryan Tubridy.  The station has been mired in controversy since news broke that Mr Tubridy received €345,000 in additional payments between 2017 and 2022. As representatives of RTÉ’s top brass got set to appear before two Oireachtas committees this week, staff took to the picket line. They voiced concerns over precarious contracts, low pay and cuts that have deepened at RTÉ in recent years. With no licence fee increase for 17 years and growing competition, RTÉ has been bidding for greater State support and aiming to prove that it could make reign in spending. Against that backdrop, news of the payments to Mr Tubridy pushed staff anger to boiling point.  The mood among journalists was described by one RTÉ worker as a “mix of despondency and anger”. The staffer spoke to The Champion on condition of anonymity. …

A MAGICAL world created for a new television show was inspired by walks in Ennis’s Lee’s Road and Ballybeg alongside other places of natural beauty in Clare, the studio behind the show have revealed. ‘The Wee Littles’ preschool series, developed by Ennis-based Magpie Media, is now airing on RTÉjr weekdays and all the episodes are also available on the RTÉ Player. The series was created and produced by wife and husband team, Christina O’Shea and Clifford Parrott. This original animation series for pre-school children is about the world of small creatures of the forest floor, under the ‘regular’ humans’ sight. The world of the story is unique, inspired by County Clare’s flora and fauna, and is inhabited by a friendly family, which creates a very cute, cozy atmosphere. Christina told The Champion, “The series was inspired from our walks in Lees Road. It’s such a magical place that we knew we wanted to make this The Wee Littles home. “We …

HAVING spent years pampering pooches, Ennis dog groomer and trainer Deirdre Ryan will this week be getting some style tips of her own when she appears on national television. Deirdre, who runs D.R. Dogcare, will be treated to a makeover on the popular RTÉ daytime entertainment show Today this Friday. She tells us she is looking forward to her new look, which she is planning on showcasing at the upcoming launch of her new book and online dog training course. Explaining how her appearance on the show came about she says, “I saw a Facebook post asking for applications for their popular makeover segment. I am approaching 20 years in business and will have a celebration in December to mark it. “I know I’ll have no time to get an outfit or make much of an effort so I thought, why not?  Getting professional advice on hair, makeup and styling is something I have never experienced. “I am used to …

VIEWERS tuning into Friday’s return of the Late Late Show to our screens were in for a big surprise when some very familiar faces were beamed to the nation. The popular Ennis Brass Band played a starring role in the opening sequence of the first show of the new season, playing its famous theme tune along with two other bands surrounded by dancers. Grainne Kearney of the Ennis Brass Band told The Champion they were sworn to secrecy about their involvement with the Late Late ahead of the broadcast, and they have been delighted with the reaction to their appearance. The filming was done in Limerick’s Na Piarsaigh GAA club with Grainne saying it was a fantastic experience for the band. Explaining how they got involved she said, “They got in touch and told us they wanted to do something to show that Ireland is up and running, that people are back doing their hobbies and enjoying themselves. I’m not …

STUNNING scenes from deep under the waters off the Clare coast, captured by a Lahinch-based film-maker, will be showcased on RTÉ next year.  As part of the national broadcaster’s new season, ‘North Atlantic’ will air early in 2023, providing what RTÉ described as “a reflective, insightful narrative … featuring blue-chip natural history scenes bringing the viewer into the actual moment of discovery of marine creatures”. The three-episode series follows Ken O’Sullivan’s highly-acclaimed, ‘Ireland’s Deep Atlantic’, which aired in 2018.  The new work, which has been in production for two-and-a-half years features scenes captured during the height of the pandemic when coastal areas were almost empty. “Our funding came through a week before the first lockdown,” Ken told The Champion. “We were listed as essential workers, but were very careful not to stick to the guidelines and to avoid going in among people in small coastal communities. I shot a lot of footage on my own in my kayak. There was …