2026 in Irish television
| List of years in Irish television |
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The following is a list of events relating to television in Ireland from 2026.
Events
[edit]January
[edit]- 1 January – RTÉ One's New Year's Eve celebrations included a special edition of The Late Late Show from 10.25pm presented by Patrick Kielty, with performances from David Gray, Lyra, Garron Noone and Sharon Shannon, and a live countdown from Dublin Castle with a performance from Inhaler. Irish athlete Kate O'Connor, Olympic rower Fintan McCarthy, architect Dermot Bannon and cast members from The Traitors Ireland also appeared on the show.[1]
- 5 January – Virgin Media One airs the Coronation Street/Emmerdale crossover episode Corriedale ahead of the launch of a new "Soap Power Hour" that will see Emmerdale airing at 8pm and Coronation Street at 8.30pm on weeknights.[2]
- 6 January – Virgin Media One begins showing the sitcom Friends at 7.30pm on weeknights.[2]
- 24 January – RTÉ and Virgin Media Television reveal their schedules for coverage of the 2026 Six Nations Championship.[3]
February
[edit]- 4 February – Guinness and Virgin Media Television announce they are collaborating for a second year to provide audio description and sign language for viewers of the Six Nations Championship.[4]
- 19 February – Former Coronation Street actress Beverley Callard makes her debut in Irish soap Fair City.[5]
- 20 February – The 22nd Irish Film & Television Awards take place at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre.[6]
March
[edit]- 15 March – Katelyn Cummins and professional dancer Leonardo Lini win series 9 of Dancing with the Stars.[7]
July
[edit]- 7 July – RTÉ confirms that Patrick Kielty will return as presenter of The Late Late Show in September, following speculation he would not do so.[8]
August
[edit]- 18 August – The Westmeath Rose, Caoilfhinn Ní Choiligh, wins the 2026 Rose of Tralee, which was shown on RTÉ 1 over two nights.[9]
September
[edit]- 17 September – RTÉ confirms it will not return to the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest, due to Israel's participation, the second occasion on which it has withdrawn from the contest.[10]
Debuts
[edit]Ongoing television programmes
[edit]1960s
[edit]- RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock (1961–present)
- RTÉ News: Six One (1962–present)
- The Late Late Show (1962–present)
1970s
[edit]- The Late Late Toy Show (1975–present)
- The Sunday Game (1979–present)
1980s
[edit]- Fair City (1989–present)
- RTÉ News: One O'Clock (1989–present)
1990s
[edit]- Would You Believe (1990s–present)
- Winning Streak (1990–present)
- Prime Time (1992–present)
- Nuacht RTÉ (1995–present)
- Nuacht TG4 (1996–present)
- Reeling In the Years (1999–present)
- Ros na Rún (1996–present)
- Virgin Media News (1998–present)
- Ireland AM (1999–present)
- Telly Bingo (1999–present)
2000s
[edit]- Nationwide (2000–present)
- Virgin Media News (2001–present) – now known as the 5.30
- Against the Head (2003–present)
- news2day (2003–present)
- Other Voices (2003–present)
- The Week in Politics (2006–present)
- At Your Service (2008–present)
- Two Tube (2009–present)
2010s
[edit]- Room to Improve (2007–present)
- Jack Taylor (2010–present)
- Mrs. Brown's Boys (2011–present)
- MasterChef Ireland (2011–present)
- Today (2012–present)
- The Works (2012–present)
- Second Captains Live (2013–present)
- Ireland's Fittest Family (2014–present)
- The Restaurant (2015–present)
- Red Rock (2015–present)
- First Dates (2016–present)
- Dancing with the Stars (2017–2020, 2022–present)
- The Tommy Tiernan Show (2017–present)
2020s
[edit]- The Style Counsellors (2020–present)
- The 2 Johnnies' Late Night Lock In (2023–present)
Deaths
[edit]- 20 March – Ben Keaton, 69, Irish actor (Emmerdale, Casualty, Father Ted).[12]
- 22 March – Michael Lyster, 71, sports broadcaster (The Sunday Game).[13] (death announced on this date)
- 3 May – Gary Lydon, 61, actor (The Banshees of Inisherin, The Clinic, War Horse).[14] (death announced on this date)
References
[edit]- ↑ "The Late Late Show reveals guests for New Year's Eve special". RTE News. 30 December 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
- 1 2 "RTÉ and Virgin Media announce new year schedules". Business Plus. 29 December 2025. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ↑ "RTÉ and Virgin Media Television kick off comprehensive free-to-air coverage of the 2026 Six Nations Championship". RTÉ. 24 January 2026. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
- ↑ "Guinness teams up with Virgin Media Television for a second year to provide live audio description and Irish sign language for the 2026 Guinness Six Nations". European Sponsorship Association. 4 February 2026. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
- ↑ O'Connor, Barry (14 January 2026). "Fair City: Corrie legend Beverley Callard joins cast of Irish soap". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
- ↑ Walsh, Andrew (20 February 2026). "Irish screen stars gather as Hamnet and Christy dominate IFTA awards night". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ↑ "Katelyn Cummins crowned Dancing with the Stars champion 2026". RTE News. 16 March 2025. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ↑ Quinn, Claire (7 July 2026). "Patrick Kielty: Host to return on RTÉ's The Late Late Show". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ "Westmeath Rose crowned winner of the Rose of Tralee". RTE. 18 August 2026.
- ↑ "Eurovision: Ireland boycotts contest for second year in a row". BBC News. BBC. 17 September 2026. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
- ↑ "These Sacred Vows starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Justine Mitchell and Jason O'Mara starts Sunday 1st February 2026 on RTÉ". RTE Entertainment. 1 February 2026. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
- ↑ Keady, Ava (22 March 2026). "Father Ted actor Ben Keaton has died". JOE.ie. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
- ↑ "Former RTÉ broadcaster Michael Lyster dies". BBC News. BBC. 22 March 2026. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
- ↑ "Shock at sudden death of 'Banshees of Inisherin' star and Ifta winner Gary Lydon (61)". Irish Independent. 3 May 2026. Retrieved 4 May 2026.