The Late Late Gay Byrne Irish Television Thread

Does Ireland have a Bank Holiday on Oct 31?, I seem to recall flying there on that date, and wondering why the roads were so empty at 5pm

Nope, the bank holiday here was last weekend.

There is often talk about it - Trafalgar Day has been mentioned, which in reality would become a Bank Holiday Monday on the first day of the October half term. It may be promised in the forthcoming election, though Labour have I think previously suggested the 4 national saints days.

Our August bank holiday is earlier - first Monday, like Scotland, instead of last Monday like England and Wales/NI.

We also have a June bank holiday a week after your late May bank holiday, and St Patrick’s Day of course. Good Friday isn’t technically a bank holiday in Ireland but is effectively treated as one by a large chunk of the country, including the banks! The rest are the same.

I think New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Early May, Late May, Late August, Christmas Day and Boxing Day are the only bank holidays in England. I think we could do with one or two more.

We have Nine Bank Holidays in the Republic of Ireland, one more then in England. They are New Year’s Day, St Patrick’s Day, Easter Monday, the first Monday in May, June and August, the last Monday in October, Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day which is the 26th of December. As rdd said Good Friday isn’t a Bank Holiday here but it is an official holiday for public sector workers and the financial sector including our banks. Our pubs used to close on Good Friday but that stopped a couple of years ago.

I


You mean Monday 28th Oct was the bank holiday ? That makes sense, the day I was there was Mon Oct 31st

Glenda Gilson, a presenter for the now axed Xposé, has joined Ireland AM as a showbiz reporter.

200 jobs are to be lost at RTÉ and their Limerick studio is to close as part of a major financial restructuring in a bid to save €60m. 15% pay cuts also loom for their top presenters.
https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/rte-planning-200-job-cuts-20829124

Big changes ahead, Includes closure of DAB (the only multiplex in Ireland), all their digital only stations and Aertel.

Reading the news on the RTE site itself, it's not clear whether the DAB mux itself is being switched off, or whether just the 'non analogue' stations are ceasing. I suspect the former. I would have thought this also spells the end of the very expensive (in terms of cost per listener) LW service on 252 kHz?

Amazingly the TV side seems to remain relatively unaffected. Presumably the idea of moving sport to RTÉ One, though, is that it will more frequently pre empt home made prime time programming which won’t go out and that will save money to some extent. It could be a controversial move if followed to its conclusion (because it will inevitably hit the Nine and Prime Time on big football nights), though RTÉ One has always aired a certain amount of sport particularly in Olympic/World Cup/Euros years when both channels need to be used.

And RTÉ News Now survives?