RTÉ will join in the national and international celebration of St. Patrick’s Day with a schedule of programming and content covering the major festivities as well as the big cultural and sporting highlights of the day. From Dublin to Dubai and beyond, RTÉ will green the globe with a vast array of content on RTÉ One, RTÉ Two, RTÉ Radio 1, 2fm, lyric fm and Raidio na Gaeltachta. RTÉ’s dedicated St. Patrick’s Day website www.rte.ie/stpatricksday will offer users a one-stop-shop for all things Patrick’s Day, and services and content can be accessed online on RTÉ.ie, via the RTÉ Player and the RTÉ Radio Player on mobile and online, and via Saorview.
Audiences everywhere are invited to join RTÉ in celebrating St. Patrick’s Day; on Twitter (using the hashtag #howtobeirish); on Facebook (across the full suite of RTÉ Facebook pages) and on RTÉ’s dedicated You Tube channel.
So, however and from wherever people choose to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, RTÉ will be there. Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig.
TV, Radio & Online Highlights:
RTÉ Television | 17th March
Download the RTÉ Player App to enjoy online content at home or abroad
? RTÉ’s live coverage of the St. Patrick’s Festival Parade in Dublin starts at 12.30pm on RTÉ One, and on News Now on SAORVIEW, online and mobile, when we join Blathnaid Ni Chofaigh, Aidan Power and Des Cahill on the parade route.
? Viewers can sample the annual parade round-up on the Six-One News and News Now on SAORVIEW, mobile and online.
? How To Be Irish (RTÉ One, 7:30 pm) will be RTÉ’s first global user-generated documentary, created via the Digital/TV/Radio project #HowToBeIrish, a worldwide Twitter conversation led by Rick O’Shea of RTÉ 2fm. The #HowToBeIrish conversation will focus on Twitter, joining in as St Patrick’s Day trends worldwide.
? Patrick (RTÉ One, 4:40pm) takes a dramatic look at one of the least-understood icons of world religion, and features the voices of two of Ireland’s leading actors: Liam Neeson and Gabriel Byrne.
? Saturday Night Show – St. Patrick’s Day Special ( RTÉ One, 9:35pm) Brendan O’Connor will join in the national celebration with Voice of Ireland coach Bressie, Damien O’Reilly and Ella McSweeney on successes in the agri-foods sector, and Crystal Swing, performing a new song written by John Waters.
? RBS Six Nations Rugby, England v Ireland (RTÉ Two, from 12:00- 7:30pm)
? RBS Six Nations Rugby, Wales v France (RTÉ Two, from 12:00- 7:30pm)
? RBS Six Nations Rugby Italy v Scotland (RTÉ Two, from 12:00- 7:30pm)
? Highlights of AIB GAA All Ireland Club Championships (RTÉ Two, 10:45pm)
? Bernard Dunne’s Brod Club (Monday 19th March, RTÉ One, 7.30pm) Bernard continues his mission to motivate people to revisit the Irish language
RTÉ Radio | 17th March
Download the RTÉ Radio Player App to enjoy online content at home or abroad
? The Hamilton Scores (RTÉ lyric fm, 9.30 am) George comes live from Rome ahead of the day’s international.
? Highlights and analysis of the AIB GAA All Ireland Club Championships (RTÉ Raidio na Gaeltachta, 1:15 pm)
? Green Tea St. Patrick’s Day Special (RTÉ Radio 1, 1.30 pm) Oliver Callan inserts a humourous half honour into the Patrick’s Day proceedings
? Saturday Sport (RTÉ Radio 1, 1.30pm) Coverage of England v Ireland, Wales v France and Italy v Scotland (RTÉ Radio 1, from 12:00- 7:30pm)
? Céilí House Live (RTÉ Radio 1, 8.00pm) A three-hour extravaganza of the best Irish music and song live from the National Concert Hall.
RTÉ.ie | From 15th March
• www.rte.ie/stpatricksday is a dedicated St. Patrick’s Day homepage, showcasing the best Irish content from RTÉ.ie.
• Highlights include a once-off web only “Morning Ireland” especially for and about the Irish abroad.
? In addition, viewers can join the conversation, by commenting on the St. Patrick’s Day page and on the news section of our website where you can follow the parade.
? www.rte.ie/newsnow .
? A dedicated 24 hour St. Patrick’s Day News Now Channel will allow everyone at home and abroad to access the festivities online anytime and anywhere via Mobile, iPhone, iPad, iPodTouch, Laptops, Tablets, PCs, or Gaming Consoles.
? RTÉ News Now will broadcast Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Festival parade, along with nationwide and world-wide parade coverage, including reports from the New York City parade and “Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening” programme. The London Eye, the Empire State Building in New York, the Chicago and San Antonio Rivers, the famous White House fountains – and for the first time ever, Niagara Falls– are just some of the iconic buildings and attractions around the world which will ‘go green’ this year to mark St Patrick’s Day.
? www.youtube.com/rte.
? How To Be Irish is RTÉ’s first ever entirely user generated documentary, hosted by Twitterato Rick O’Shea of RTÉ 2fm and simulcast with RTÉ One Television on RTÉ’s YouTube channel.
? RTÉ’s YouTube channel will be themed for St. Patrick’s Day, with specially sourced clips including rare archive news footage from the 1952 St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
? www.rte.ie/player.
RTÉ TV50 Classics on RTÉ Player will feature “Irish Classics”, part of an on-going RTÉ TV50 Classics series, which captures the rich tapestry of ordinary everyday Irish life. This treasure trove of documentaries spans a wide range of topics which will appeal to all ages. The series includes programmes such as Hands” a documentary on Rathborne Wax Chandlers, who still make church candles in the centuries old method that they first used when founded in 1488.
• Apps
You can also download the RTÉ News Now and RTÉ Player apps to enjoy content at home or abroad
ENDS
Photos available to download on Presspack in Week 12 (user: release, password: moonwalk)
For further information contact:
Sheena Madden
Press Officer, RTÉ Radio
Phone: +353 1 208 2452
Mobile: +353 87 245 8046
Email: sheena.madden@rte.ie
Twitter: @RTERadio1
Karen Fitzpatrick
Senior Press Officer, RTÉ Television
Phone: +353 1 208 2667
Mobile: 086 814 9290
Email: karen.fitzpatrick@rte.ie
Caroline Stephens
Communications, RTÉ Publishing
Phone: +353 1 208 4159
Mobile: +353 86 842 2151
Email: caroline.stephens@rte.ie