Bull Island was an Irish television and radio satirical comedy show broadcast on RTÉ One and later on RTÉ Radio 1 from 1999 until 2001.
Featuring a cast of seven Irish comedians and impressionists, the show, which aired for half an hour weekly, satirised many aspects of Irish life.
Bull Island was created by RTÉ Producer/Director John Keogh who brought Michael Sheridan, Alan Shortt & Gary Flood together to devise & co-create the format.
Some of the notable women in power at the time, such as the then Cabinet Minister, Mary O'Rourke, and the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's partner Celia Larkin were played by a man, and there were regular depictions of deception and skulduggery in the Dáil bar. The opposition were usually portrayed as bumbling incompetents.
Other sketches included a regular pastiche of Paddy O'Gorman and his shows which consist of interviewing people at random - Bull Island's Paddy O'Gormless would do similar, but with ever more inane interviews.
A favourite sketch, which be
Five Women Go Back to Work is an Irish television series broadcast on RTÉ One. The series follows five mothers, of differing professional backgrounds, as they make their return to the workforce after several years spent at home rearing their children. The five are employed by the publishing house, Ashville Media, with their mission being to compile a glossy magazine aimed at working women. The five have twelve weeks to complete their task. The series was filmed between October 2008 and January 2009. It is a creation of Vision Independent Productions.
How Long Will You Live? is an Irish television series broadcast on RTÉ One. Presented by Mark Hamilton, it has so far run for a total of four series. Each week Hamilton examines a different individual with an unhealthy lifestyle, estimates their lifespan and attempts to increase that lifespan by implementing his own techniques into a plan to improve that person's lifestyle. The fourth series began airing on 7 January 2009. The series is sponsored by Flora.
Use It Or Lose It is a weekly Irish television series broadcast on RTÉ One. Each episode features a well-known sportsperson who revisits their old youth team and sets about reforming them for one final game within six weeks. Eight former athletes featured in the eight-part series broadcast in summer 2008. The athletes are equipped with personal trainers, nutritionists, coaches and physios to aid the players, health problems are explored and professional coaches conduct regular weigh-ins, blood pressure and lung capacity testing and suggest workouts and diets suited to the individual physiques of each team member. Each programme also focused on a particularly unhealthy individual, typically one who was clinically obese, had high blood pressure and some other extreme health issues. Their journey to a healthier lifestyle became the focus of the show. The series is produced by Stirling.
Kenny Live is an Irish weekly chat show on RTÉ that was hosted by Pat Kenny. The show debuted in 1988 and aired every Saturday night, except during the summer months, directly after the main evening news. In 1999 Kenny Live came to an end when Kenny succeeded Gay Byrne as host of The Late Late Show.
Ballet Chancers is an Irish television programme broadcast on RTÉ One in late 2008. Featuring the ballerina, Monica Loughman, it began on 16 November 2008. In the show Loughman attempts to turn six streetwise hip hop dancers into elegant ballet dancers over a period of four months. At the end of the show they may, if successful, partake in a performance of The Nutcracker with Loughman's own company, The Irish Youth Russian Ballet Company which took place in the 21 December finale.
The Late Late Tribute Shows are a series of special editions of the world's longest-running chat show, The Late Late Show broadcast on RTÉ One in Ireland each Friday evening. Over decades the shows has featured a broad range of well-known public figures including Micheál Mac Liammóir, Joe Dolan, Maureen Potter, Michael O'Hehir, Brian Lenihan, Jimmy Magee, Christy Moore, Mike Murphy and Paul McGrath. In 1999, there was a special programme marking six months since the Omagh bombing and there was also a special show in the wake of 9/11. There were also tribute shows celebrating Irish music and a Late Late Show special devoted to Irish comedians. Individual bands and musicians to have been given a tribute show include The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, The Chieftains, The Dubliners, U2, Westlife and, most recently, Ronnie Drew himself.
The Tribute Shows, along with the Toy Show, tends to be one of the few editions of The Late Late Show to require advance preparation before the week of broadcast.
Oireachtas Report is an Irish political television programme broadcast on RTÉ One. Presented by Conor Hunt, Joe MagRaoillaigh and Sandra Hurley one per edition, it transmits nightly highlights of that day's proceedings in the national parliament of Ireland, known as the Oireachtas.