2019 in Irish television

List of years in Irish television (table)
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The following is a list of events relating to television in Ireland from 2019.

Events

• 2 February – The second series of Ireland's Got Talent debuts on Virgin Media One.
• 15 February – To coincide with the launch of RTÉ2 +1, RTÉ One +1 begins broadcasting 24 hours a day. Previously it had only broadcast from 7pm to 2am. ^[1]
• 19 February – Launch of the timeshift channel RTÉ2+1. ^[2]
• 8 March –
  • Sarah McTernan is announced by RTÉ as the Irish representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel, where she will perform the song "22".
  • The Friday evening edition of Virgin Media One's The 6 O'Clock Show is replaced by Xposé .
• 24 March – Mairead Ronan and dance partner John Nolan win the third series of Dancing with the Stars .
• 27 March – Virgin Media announces that its partnership with Sky's AdSmart will to go live in Ireland in the final quarter of the year. ^[3]
• 7 April – BSD win the second series of Ireland's Got Talent .
• 16 May – Sarah McTernan becomes the fifth Irish act in six years to not reach the Eurovision Song Contest final, when she is among the semi-finalists who are not selected for the final. ^[4]
• 23 June – The Sunday Independent reports that the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland has recommended that on-demand television services broadcasting in Ireland should pay a levy to do so. ^[5]
• 25 June – Pensioners stage a protest outside the BBC studios in Belfast and Derry following the BBC's decision to end universal free UK television licenses for those aged 75 and over, a decision that will affect those living in Northern Ireland. ^[6]
• 28 June – Veteran presenter Gay Byrne is honoured with the Ireland-US Council's Lifetime Achievement Award at a ceremony at Dublin Castle, but is unable to attend the event due to a broken wrist and chest infection. ^[7]
• 15 August – Eir Sport and Virgin Media Sport contract a deal to show Virgin Media Sport on eir Vision and eir Sport 1 on Virgin Media Ireland. ^[8]
• 12 September – Virgin Media Sport HD launches on Sky on channel 422.
• 4 October – Virgin Media One launches a new weekday schedule, which sees Ireland AM extended by an extra hour, running from 7.00am – 11.00am, replacing the simulcast of ITV's This Morning . Ireland AM is followed by Elaine. ^[9]
• 4 November – The death is announced of veteran broadcaster Gay Byrne, who presented The Late Late Show for 37 years. ^[10]
• 7 November – It is announced that Aertel will be shut down as part of cost-cutting measures at RTÉ. ^{[11] [12]}
• 12 November – It is confirmed that Pasquale La Rocca will join the fourth series of Dancing with the Stars as a professional dancer. ^{[13] [14] [15]}
• 14 December – Golfer Shane Lowry is named the 2019 RTÉ Sports Person of the Year. ^[16]
• 15 December – The McSharry family from County Sligo, coached by Donncha O'Callaghan, win season seven of Ireland's Fittest Family . ^[17]
• 31 December – Rob and Marian Heffernan and their family win the 2019 Christmas celebrity special of Ireland's Fittest Family together with €10,000 for their charity of choice. ^[18]

Debuts

• 6 January – Resistance on RTÉ One (miniseries) ^[19] (2019)

Changes of network affiliation

Shows	Moved from	Moved to
Fireman Sam	RTÉjr	Virgin Media Three

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)
• The Sunday Game (1979–present)

1980s

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

1990s

• Would You Believe (1990s–present)
• 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)
• news2day (2003–present)
• Other Voices (2003–present)
• Saturday Night with Miriam (2005–present)
• The Week in Politics (2006–present)
• At Your Service (2008–present)
• Operation Transformation (2008–present)
• 3e News (2009–present)
• Dragons' Den (2009–present)
• Two Tube (2009–present)

2010s

• Jack Taylor (2010–present)
• Mrs. Brown's Boys (2011–present)
• MasterChef Ireland (2011–present)
• Today (2012–present)
• The Works (2012–present)
• Celebrity MasterChef Ireland (2013–present)
• Second Captains Live (2013–present)
• Claire Byrne Live (2015–present)
• The Restaurant (2015–present)
• Red Rock (2015–present)
• TV3 News at 8 (2015–present)
• Ploughing Live (2015–present)
• First Dates (2016–present)
• Dancing with the Stars (2017–present)
• The Tommy Tiernan Show (2017–present)
• Striking Out (2017–present)

Ending this year

• 4 October – Xposé (2007–2019)

Deaths

• 14 March – Pat Laffan, 79, actor ^[20]
• June – Tom Jordan, actor ( Fair City ) ^[21]
• 11 July – Brendan Grace, 68, comedian and singer ( Father Ted ) ^{[22] [23]}
• 14 July – Karl Shiels, 47, actor ( Fair City ) ^[24]
• 23 July – Danika McGuigan, 33, actress ^[25]
• 4 November – Gay Byrne, 85, broadcaster ( The Late Late Show ) ^[10]

See also

• 2019 in Ireland

References

1. "Saorview | News | Brand new RTÉ2+1 service and extended 24 hour RTÉ One+1 available on Saorview". www.saorview.ie.
2. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "RTÉ 2+1 Launching 19th February On Saorview" – via YouTube.
3. "Virgin Media sets date to run addressable TV ads through 'game changer' Sky AdSmart". The Drum. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
4. "Eurovision 2019: Ireland knocked out in second semi-final". BBC News. BBC. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
5. McCaughren, Samantha (23 June 2019). "Apple TV faces Irish levy under new BAI rules" . The Sunday Independent. Independent News and Media. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
6. "TV licence: Protest at BBC for over-75s decision". BBC News. BBC. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
7. "Gay Byrne honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award". RTÉ News. RTÉ. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
8. Croke, Ruaidhrí. "Eir Sport and Virgin Media agree deal to share sports packages". The Irish Times.
9. Costello, Emma (25 September 2019). "This Morning and Loose Women AXED from Irish TV as Virgin Media TV shake-up schedule". Extra.ie.
10. "Gay Byrne: Veteran Irish broadcaster dies aged 85". BBC News. BBC. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
11. "TV Wrap – A requiem for Aertel and Page 220". The 42. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
12. "Widespread RTÉ cuts: 200 jobs to go, digital stations scrapped and top presenters hit with 15% pay cut". The Journal. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
13. "Dancing with the Stars reveals new pro dancers after Curtis Pritchard's exit". RTE. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
14. Gallagher, Katie (14 November 2019). "Dancing With The Stars changes as four professional dancers to be swapped out". irishmirror. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
15. Townsend, Michelle (13 November 2019). "Pictures: Dancing With The Stars Ireland professionals 2020". rsvp. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
16. "Shane Lowry is RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year 2019". RTÉ News. RTÉ. 14 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
17. "Sligo family named the winners of Ireland's Fittest Family 2019". 15 December 2019.
18. "Heffernans complete 'obstacle course from hell' on Ireland's Fittest Family to win €10k for Cork charity". www.irishexaminer.com. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
19. "Resistance review: 'It isn't nearly as vital or as thrilling as it needs to be – but there is something here'". Irish Independent. 6 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
20. "Father Ted actor Pat Laffan – best known as 'Pat Mustard' – has passed away aged 79". Irish Independent. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
21. "Veteran Fair City star Tom Jordan dies". RTÉ News. RTÉ. 29 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
22. "Comedian Brendan Grace has died". RTÉ News. RTÉ. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
23. "Brendan Grace: Irish comedian and Father Ted actor dies". BBC News. BBC. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
24. "Karl Shiels: Irish TV and theatre star dies at 47". BBC News. BBC. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
25. "Danika McGuigan: Actress and daughter of ex-boxer dies aged 33". BBC News. BBC. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.

External links

• List of 2019 Irish television series at IMDb