''Celebrity Bainisteoir'' was a prime-time

reality programme Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

created by

Fiona Looney Fiona Looney is an Irish columnist, playwright, scriptwriter and media personality. Personal life Looney was brought up in a Catholic family in the Greenhills region of south Dublin. She has spoken about having been sexually assaulted on two o ...

and first broadcast in 2008 by

RTÉ (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, whil ...

. It involved a number of celebrities competing against each other as a

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

team coach. The title derived from the Irish word for manager: ''bainisteoir'' . The series ran successfully for five years. It was axed in 2013 and replaced with Ireland's Fittest Family.

Description

In the series, eight non-sporting Irish 'celebrities' (see references)
''The Irish Times'' (Saturday, 5 April 2008) Back to a familiar future Celebrity Bainisteoir reviewed by Conor O'Neill (31 March 2008) take the place of

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

''bainisteoirí'' and compete against one another as the managers of intermediate-level

teams. Each contestant managed a club from his or her home

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

. According to an RTÉ executive: Celebrity Bainisteoir'' is a refreshingly Irish take on reality television. Clashing the local passions of grass-roots GAA with the very different worlds of our eight celebrity team leaders, it looks like there'll be drama both on and off the pitch.' As described by one of the producers of the programme:

"Celebrity Bainisteoir is about showcasing and celebrating the passion, skill and commitment of grassroots GAA, but we're having a bit fun with it by throwing celebrities into the mix. At its heart it's a uniquely Irish family entertainment programme. For the clubs it's a rare chance to showcase club football to a national audience in an entertainment programme, while for the celebrities it's a chance to learn a brand new skill."

2008 series

Contestants

The eight ''bainisteoirí'' and the teams they managed in the 2008 series are: * Baz Ashmawy, television presenter from shows such as ''How Low Can You Go?'' and (after ''Celebrity Bainisteoir'') '' Fáilte Towers'', managed Ballymanus from Wicklow. ''The Irish Times'' reported him managing his team while wearing 'nicely polished footwear' * Glenda Gilson, a model and

TV presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garne ...

called 'one of Ireland's most photographed faces', managed the Crumlin club from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

* Jon Kenny,

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audienc ...

, and

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wr ...

, managed Galtee Gaels of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

. As part of his strategy, Kenny brought in a group of traditional Irish musicians to teach the team a song * Gerald Kean,

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

and 'bon vivant', managed

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

club side Mayfield *

Nell McCafferty Nell McCafferty (born 28 March 1944) is an Irish journalist, playwright, civil rights campaigner and feminist. She has written for ''The Irish Press'', ''The Irish Times'', ''Sunday Tribune'', ''Hot Press'' and '' The Village Voice''. Early li ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, civil rights campaigner and feminist, managed St Mary's Faughanvale from

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

. At one point she said she asked herself 'what it would be like to work exclusively with men,' and said it was 'so far, extremely difficult' * Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, former Rose of Tralee and regular member of '' The Panel'' on RTÉ Two, managed the Kiltimagh club of Mayo *

Mary O'Rourke Mary O'Rourke (; born 31 May 1937) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Leader of the Seanad and Leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad from 2002 to 2007, Deputy leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2002, Minister for Public ...

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

TD for Longford–Westmeath, managed Maryland of Westmeath. She was replaced during the competition by television host

Marty Whelan Marty may refer to: Names * Marty (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters, also includes stage names * Marty (surname), a list of people Places in the United States * Marty, California, a former settlement * Marty, Min ...

Maryland G (winners of Celebrity Bainisteoir) are heading for the dogs! - 16 July 2008 * Ivan Yates, bookmaker and former

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil É ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

, managed the Taghmon-Camross from

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

The contestants were each assigned an experienced mentor to assist them in training and managing their respective teams, but were responsible for team training and tactics. Glenda Gilson recounted her experiences as being extremely difficult, making her cry on the first day. She said 'I wasn't able for it at all and felt I was like a schoolgirl on a street corner trying to be cool in front of boys' and called the experience the most difficult of her life.

Tournament

The games featured in ''Celebrity Bainisteoir'' programme were officially sanctioned by the GAA and consisted of four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and the final. The competitive athletic aspect of the programme was taken seriously by club supporters. For a semi-final encounter with the Mayo team, for example, supporters from Cork urged their fellow Corkonians to attend by rallying ' People of Cork, your city and your county need your support again...If you care about Cork, You'll be there.' The final tournament was a 'thrilling encounter'
Maryland win Celebrity Bainisteoir (Athlone.ie Local News 2008) played at

Parnell Park Parnell Park is a GAA stadium in Donnycarney, Dublin, Ireland with a capacity of 8,500. It is the home of the Dublin GAA hurling, football, camogie and ladies' football teams at all levels of competition. The ground is used by Dublin's ...

Donnycarney Donnycarney () is a Northside suburb in the city of Dublin, Ireland, in the jurisdiction of Dublin City Council. It is mostly residential, around from the centre of Dublin. Dublin GAA's home stadium, Parnell Park, is located here. Locati ...

on Friday 16 May in front of over four thousand spectators. Of this final competition, one source praised "the much-anticipated meeting marked the conclusion of a tournament that captured the public imagination by combining the raw passion of the GAA grassroots with the glamorous world of celebrity." The captain for Maryland on the day was David Martin. The Maryland GAA team from Westmeath, under the direction of their replacement ''bainisteoir'' Marty Whelan, triumphed over the Mayfield GAA from Cork by 8 points the team that were led by Gerald Kean. Maryland then went on to win the Westmeath Intermediate Championship in 2008.

Christmas Challenge

Broadcast on 28 December 2008, this special edition sees Marty Whelan's winning Maryland team from the first series take on Patrick Kielty's

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

champions

Tír Chonaill Gaels Tír Chonaill Gaels Gaelic Football Club are a Gaelic football club based in Greenford, London. The club was formed in London in 1962, making it one of the oldest clubs outside Ireland. The club is one of the most successful in the London GAA, ...

. Tír Chonaill Gaels won this game 1–06 to Maryland's 0-07.

2009 series

Contestants

Series 3

Series 4

There was a fourth series in 2011. The eight celebrities were Dana, PJ Gallagher, Gillian Quinn, Tommy Fleming,

Amanda Brunker Amanda Brunker (born 12 June 1974) is a novelist, journalist and columnist for the Irish ''Sunday World'' tabloid newspaper, and former Miss Ireland. After attending Mount Temple Comprehensive School she turned to modelling, entering and winning ...

Paul Gogarty Paul Nicholas Gogarty (born 20 December 1968) is an Irish Independent politician who has served as a South Dublin County Councillor for Lucan since May 2014. He was previously a member of the Green Party, and served as a Green Teachta Dála (TD) ...

, Brenda Donohue and Tony Cascarino. Majella O'Donnell managed Lissan after Dana left to contest the

2011 Irish presidential election The 2011 Irish presidential election was the thirteenth presidential election to be held in Ireland, and was contested by a record seven candidates. It was held on Thursday, 27 October 2011. The election was held to elect a successor to Mary ...

. Cascarino ultimately beat Gogarty, with extra-time being needed in the final for the first time in ''Celebrity Bainisteoir''.Butler, Laura
"Soccer star Tony wins Celeb Bainisteoir title"
. ''Evening Herald''. 7 November 2011.

Series 5

Contestants

Matches

Quarter Finals

* Moy Davitts

Calum Best Calum Milan Best (born February 6, 1981) is a British-American television personality. He is the only child of footballer George Best. Early life Best was born in San Jose, California, the son of parents from the United Kingdom: Angie Best (bo ...

----v---- Paddy Doherty * St Patrick's

Tullow Tullow (; , formerly ''Tulach Ó bhFéidhlim/ Tullowphelim'') is a market town in County Carlow, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney where the N81 road intersects with the R725. , the population was 4,673. History There is a statue of ...

Mary Byrne (singer) Mary Byrne (born 3 November 1959) is a top 10 selling Irish singer and TV presenter based in Ireland and the UK. Mary rose to fame in 2010 after becoming a finalist on the seventh series of ''The X Factor''. Following her elimination in the live ...

----v---- Richie Hayes * Brian Ormond ----v---- Pippa Ormond * Jessica Lawlor ----v---- Roz Purcell

Semi-Finals

* Calum Best V Mary Byrne * Roz Purcell V Pippa Ormond

Final

* Roz Purcell V Calum Best * Venue:

* Date: Friday 26 October 2012 * Winner: Calum Best

References

External links

Official site
{{Celebrity Bainisteoir 2008 Irish television series debuts 2012 Irish television series endings