RTÉ Radio
RTÉ RADIO 1’S THE TUBRIDY SHOW ANNOUNCE CURRENT TOP TEN GREATEST IRISH
This morning on RTÉ Radio 1’s The Tubridy Show, Ryan announced the current top 10 in an online poll to select the greatest Irish figures in this country’s history. The poll opened on RTÉ’s Ireland’s Greatest website www.rte.ie/tv/irelandsgreatest at the end of The Tubridy Show on Monday 22 March and the public will be able to cast their votes until noon on Friday 2nd April.
After one week of public voting, from the 40 Irish figures shortlisted through an Ipsos/MRBI poll, the following figures have received the most votes (in alphabetical order) :Bono, Michael Collins, James Connolly, Stephen Gately, John Hume, Phil Lynott, Pádraig Pearse, Mary Robinson, Adi Roche and Oscar Wilde.
This morning Ryan was joined by Myles Dungan to discuss the Ireland’s Greatest, which will cross RTÉ Television, Radio and online. Of the current top 10 in the poll, four out ten are currently living, three are musicians (Bono, Stephen Gately and Phil Lynott) and three were prominent figures in the Irish Independence struggle (Michael Collins, James Connolly and Pádraig Pearse)
Reacting to the current top 10, which features two of the three women in the top 40, Myles Dungan said:
“The main headline is that there are no sportsmen. None have made it this far, halfway through….There was also only three women nominated in the top 40 and to compensate two of those have made it through to the current top 10.”
The Top 5, as nominated by voters, will then become the subject of one of five brand new hour-long documentaries, each charting the individual’s impact and contribution to Irish life, as interpreted and championed by a well-known personality. This series of documentaries will be broadcast this September on RTÉ One. Once these documentaries have aired, the public will again be given the opportunity to reassess which person actually deserves the accolade of Ireland’s Greatest. The winner will be announced on The Late Late Show in October.
Listen back to today’s RTÉ Radio 1’s The Tubridy Show from http://www.rte.ie/radio1/thetubridyshow/
In order to select the top five greatest Irish, the public can vote for their choice from www.rte.ie/tv/irelandsgreatest.
Date: 29 March 2010
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For further information please contact:
Denise Sammon, RTÉ Radio Press and Publicity Officer, 01 2082312, denise.sammon@rte.ie
Rayna Connery, RTÉ Television Press and Publicity Officer, 01 208 3169/ 087 9862902, rayna.connery@rte.ie
More about Ireland’s Greatest:
The premise for the show is based on the BBC series Great Britons. Ireland’s Greatest will be a quintessentially Irish interpretation of this format and will provide a platform for the Irish public to engage and participate in debate, discussion and analysis in determining who is, to their mind, Ireland’s Greatest
Editor’s Notes: Please note that more detailed biographies and photos of the 40 people listed below are available from the RTÉ TV Press Office
* Please note that the list does not include serving office holders or RTÉ personalities.