The following is a list of events relating to

television in Ireland Television in the Republic of Ireland is available through a variety of platforms. The digital terrestrial television service is known as Saorview and is the primary source of broadcast television since analogue transmissions ended on 24 October ...

from 1981.

Events

*April – The Working Party on Women in Broadcasting presents its report to the

RTÉ Authority (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

. *4 April – Ireland hosts the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

from the RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion, Dublin, after winning the previous year. The contest is won by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

with the song ''

Making Your Mind Up "Making Your Mind Up" is a song by the British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was the winner of the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, representing the , and was composed by Andy Hill and John Danter. Released in March 1981, it was Bucks Fizz's debut si ...

'', performed by the group

Bucks Fizz Bucks Fizz were a British pop group that achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comp ...

. *17 June –

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

broadcast seventeen continuous hours of coverage of the 1981 General Election. *30 June –

Patrick Cooney Patrick Mark Cooney (born 2 March 1931) is a former Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a government minister in the cabinets of Liam Cosgrave (1973–1977) and Garret FitzGerald (1981–1982 and 1982–1987). He served as a Member of the ...

is appointed

Minister for Posts and Telegraphs The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs ( ga, Aire Poist agus Telegrafa) was the holder of a position in the Government of Ireland (and, earlier, in the Executive Council of the Irish Free State). From 1924 until 1984 – when it was abolished � ...

. *11 November –

RTÉ Television RTÉ Television is a department of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), the Republic of Ireland's state controlled national broadcaster. Its first channel was Teilifís Éireann, which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961. Since the 1960s, RT ...

begins airing the Irish language adult education programme ''Anois 's Arís''. *Undated – RTÉ is given special government permission to broadcast two television programmes that are part of a series jointly produced with the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

titled ''The Troubles''. The programmes include interviews with organisations banned from the media by Section 31 of the Broadcasting Authority Act. *Undated – 1981 is thought to be the air date of Channel D, a pirate television station in Dublin.

Debuts

RTÉ 1

*14 January – ''

Brendon Chase ''Brendon Chase'' is a children's novel by Denys Watkins-Pitchford, writing as 'BB'. It was published in 1944 but is set at an earlier date. The novel is about three boys living wild in an English forest. It was later made into a 13-part TV ser ...

'' (1980) *20 March – '' Dennis the Menace'' (1959–1963) *7 October – ''

3-2-1 Contact ''3-2-1 Contact'' is an American science educational television show produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It aired on PBS from 1980 to 1988 and later ran on Noggin (a joint venture between the CTW ...

'' (1980–1988)

RTÉ 2

*15 May – ''

Palmerstown, U.S.A. ''Palmerstown, U.S.A.'' (shortened to ''Palmerstown'' in March 1981) is a Drama (film and television), television drama series that aired on CBS from March 20, 1980 to June 9, 1981. It was created by Norman Lear and Alex Haley, whose childhood was ...

'' (1980–1981)

Ongoing television programmes

1960s

*'' RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock'' (1961–present) *'' RTÉ News: Six One'' (1962–present) *'' The Late Late Show'' (1962–present) *''

Wanderly Wagon ''Wanderly Wagon'' is an Irish children's television series which aired on RTÉ from Saturday 30 September 1967Hourihane, Anne Marie''Sunday Tribune'' 11 August 2002. until 1982. Plot ''Wanderly Wagon'' followed human and puppet characters as t ...

'' (1967–1982)

1970s

*''

Sports Stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

'' (1973–1997) *''

Trom agus Éadrom Trom agus Éadrom (; meaning "Heavy and Light") was an Irish television variety show which was broadcast bilingually in Irish and English by Raidió Teilifís Éireann between 1975 and 1985. The show was presented by Liam Ó Murchú and was one ...

'' (1975–1985) *''

The Late Late Toy Show ''The Late Late Toy Show'' is an annual, special edition of the Irish chat show '' The Late Late Show''. Airing annually on RTÉ One near the end of November or early December to coincide with the holiday shopping season, the ''Toy Show'' showca ...

'' (1975–present) *''

RTÉ News on Two ''RTÉ News on Two'' was a late night news programme that aired each Monday to Thursday on Irish public service broadcaster RTÉ Two. The transmission time of this programme varied each night. It generally aired between 10:45pm and 11:30pm. It ...

'' (1978–2014) *''

The Live Mike ''The Live Mike'' was an Irish television comedy, variety, and chat show presented by Mike Murphy. It was first broadcast on RTÉ 1 on 9 November 1979. The programme featured a candid camera pieces by Murphy himself, with parody songs and co ...

'' (1979–1982) *''

Bosco Bosco may refer to: People Given name Bosco * Bosco (drag queen) (born 1993), Drag Queen * Bosco Lin Chi-nan (born 1943), Taiwanese bishop * Bosco Frontán (born 1984), Uruguayan soccer player * Bosco Hogan (born 1949), Irish actor * Bosco Lo ...

'' (1979–1996) *''

The Sunday Game ''The Sunday Game'' is RTÉ's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ2 every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ2's longest-running shows, having been on air since 197 ...

'' (1979–present)

1980s

*''

Bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells (eggs ...

'' (1980–1982)

Ending this year

*Undated – ''

Quicksilver Quicksilver may refer to: * Quicksilver (metal), the chemical element mercury Arts and entertainment Music * Quicksilver, a bluegrass band fronted by Doyle Lawson * "Quicksilver" (song), a 1950 hit for Bing Crosby * ''Quicksilver'' (sound ...

'' (1965–1981)

Births

*26 January –

Colin O'Donoghue Colin Arthur O'Donoghue (born 26 January 1981) is an Irish actor and musician, best known for portraying Captain Killian "Hook" Jones on the ABC TV show ''Once Upon a Time''. He appeared in the 2011 horror thriller film '' The Rite'' (2011 ...

, film, television and theatre actor *8 March –

Glenda Gilson Glenda Gilson (born 3 March 1981) is an Irish people, Irish former Model (person), model and television presenter. Career Beauty Gilson represented Ireland in the Miss Hawaiian Tropic in 2002 in Oahu and went on to win the title for Europe. Her ...

, model and television presenter

References

{{Years in TV by country, 1981 1980s in Irish television