Irish Television

In relation to independent channels, it was mentioned above that there were no independent channels until 1998 with the launch of TV3. Well, what about T na G which later became TG4 (pronounced "Tee Gee Cat Her") I know the Nuacht is a co production with RTÉ but other than that isn't it the first independent channel in Ireland?

No. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of RTE (Serbhsi Telefis na Gaelige Teo.) when it was set up, because that was the only way it could be done without primary legislation.

The Broadcasting Act 2001 provided for the establishment of the seperate Telefis na Gaelige corporation, but concerns regarding funding led to further delays, meaning that TG4 did not ultimately fully seperate from RTE until 2007.

RTE still supplies it with one hour a day of license fee funded programmes.

Goodness only knows how RTÉ managed to stage four Eurovisions in five years (including an unparalleled three on the trot). I’ve heard that the BBC offered to co-host one in Belfast to ease the finances but they still managed to do them all on their own. And fine shows there were too - a bit old fashioned by today’s standards - but they certainly weren’t small theatre-set shows like Luxembourg’s were for example.

Would the EBU also have provided a grant to help out with costs as well?

Did they have any stake in the famous interval act "Riverdance"? Perhaps that bolstered the coffers a little?

RTE's funding of the Eurovision events came from their own pool of money, advertising, sponsorships, and part funding help from EBU, however RTE had to provide the most money.

The Irish Lottery was also a great help to them, as it funnelled much needed cash for the 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1997 events.

RTE executives were completely astonished at the proposal to bring the 1993 contest to Mill Street in County Cork. The amount of money to bring this huge event to a country town in Cork, and not the capital city Dublin was enormous.

Anyone remember the BBC asshole slimeball royal ass kisser in chief Nicholas Witchell saying it would be "held in a cowshed in Ireland"?

I remember that, and it was a great production - especially after the car crash of Rome 1991 and a rare vanilla effort from SVT in 1992.

Along with the four they put on in the 90s, don't forget they also hosted 1988, one of the truly great Eurovisions, if not the best ever all things considered - slick production, electronic scoreboard, superb interval act from Hothouse Flowers, a nailbiting voting finish and then the birth of an international superstar. But five Eurovisions in 10 years was a massive undertaking, even then.

The RTE shows of the 90s were superb. As has been said, although at the time the contest was a bit behind the curve with popular culture, they were incredibly slick productions. The 1997 show, however, was superb and bought the show bang up to date. I don't think RTE have ever done a bad show.

I really wanted them to go all the way this year, especially after their odds crashed in the betting - there's only SVT, the BBC and RTE who really innovate and we need another of those shows soon.

I know WItchell apologised for this but it was very much the narrative of the whole contest, not just his reporting.

Come on, don't hold back, tell us what you really think about him.

Whatever one might think of Witchell today (and I too think he absolutely worships the Windsors), it can't be denied that an era will well and truly pass into history when he finally leaves the BBC.



And it hardly needs to be said that SVT is by far the most willing of the three to host it at this moment in time.

Were RTÉ ever to host the Eurovision again, the 3Arena seems the most likely venue since it was built on the site of the smaller Point Theatre, the venue for the three most recent Contests held in Ireland.

Heaven knows who RTÉ's biggest names would be by that time - though if Tubs was still there, they'd probably turn to him first. Dustin probably wouldn't receive an invitation, though.

I'd be quite happy to see Ronan Keating return - interestingly the only three hosts to have done multiple shows are all female.

Alternatively would Graham Norton be allowed to do it? Rylan could commentate for the one year.

RTÉ did pull off an amazing technical feat staging the 1993 contest in a tiny rural town used to staging only (albeit prestigious) horse events in County Cork. By far the most interesting location for the Eurovision I think there’s ever been. It wasn’t without its limitations though - if you watch it now, there’s a hell of a lot of black expanse of roof in many shots — limitation that’s usually because of lack of ceiling height. It’s the same as the reason wide shots on Breakfat in Salford can look so dark and full of lights. AIUI they had to install a false platform full of lights and air conditioning which raised the height of the stage even further.

The Eurovisions at The Point, for me, are the images I think of when it comes to thinking of that particular era. The city skyline, wide oblique shots, grand sweeping shots of a Dinner Jacketed audience heartily applauding another Irish victory.

Brilliant stuff.