''Echo Island'' is an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
television programme for children and young adults, shown on
RTÉ Network 2. It was shown at 17:00 during ''
The Den
The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in New Cross, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter of a mile from the Old Den, which i ...
'', after which programmes like ''
The Legend of the Hidden City
''The Legend of the Hidden City'' was a South African action adventure series, directed by David Lister, which was broadcast by SABC and SABC2 between 1996 and 1998 as two series with a total of 39 episodes. It was also shown by Sky1 and Fiv ...
'' would air. The show effectively took over from ''
Jo Maxi
''Jo Maxi'', named after Dublin slang for a taxi, was an Irish teenage entertainment show which would report on teenage issues. The presenters would discuss issues relating to teenagers through reports and studio discussions. They would also re ...
'', which had been aimed at the teenaged youth of Ireland.
Birth
''Echo Island'' began broadcasting in 1994 with two episodes a week. This was extended to four episodes the following year with two of these being
Irish language
Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...
editions. The series ran for six seasons; in later years it proved a useful showcase for some of the best young rock bands in Ireland. Many of the presenters were chosen for their bilingualism, including
Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain ( , ; born 4 February 1972) is an Irish comedian and television presenter based in the United Kingdom. He is noted for performing stand-up comedy shows all over the world and for hosting topical panel shows such as ''Mock the We ...
.
A similar format show called ''Stream'' replaced it, splitting up each day with a different topic such as Gaming, Sports and other types of activities and did away with ''Echo Islands "Make and Do" and "Pet" sections. ''Stream'' did not air as in Irish, because by that stage TG4 was providing an Irish-language children's service.
Presenters
Many current presenters either began, or spent part of, their early careers on ''Echo Island'', including
Derek Mooney
Derek James Mooney (born 4 March 1967) is an Irish radio and television presenter, as well as a radio producer. Until January 2015 he presented a weekday afternoon programme called '' Mooney'' on RTÉ Radio 1. He is the current executive produce ...
and
Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh
Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh (; born 12 November 1970) is an Irish TV presenter, she has presented ''Echo Island'', ''The Afternoon Show'' and ''Charity ICA Bootcamp''. She was a judge in ''The All Ireland Talent Show'' and participated in ''Celebrity ...
,
Carrie Crowley
Caroline Anne Crowley (born 23 May 1964) is an Irish actress, Gaeilgeoir and former radio and television presenter.
She appeared on television shows such as ''The Morbegs'' and '' Echo Island'' for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). She also h ...
,
Mary Kingston
Mary Kingston (born 29 May 1970 in Inchydoney, County Cork), is an Irish children's television presenter and philanthropist. She presented ''The Disney Club'' on RTÉ Two. She also presented ''Scratch Saturday'' and '' The Works''.
Early life ...
,
Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain ( , ; born 4 February 1972) is an Irish comedian and television presenter based in the United Kingdom. He is noted for performing stand-up comedy shows all over the world and for hosting topical panel shows such as ''Mock the We ...
and
Peter O'Meara,
Danann Breathnach,
Sinéad Chaomhánach,
Christine Ní Chearraláin,
Tom O'Brannigan and
Pádraic Ó Neachtain
Pádraic Ó Neachtain (born 1973) is an Irish television presenter, director, and journalist.
He works for Telegael in Spiddal and presents feature programmes for the TG4 channel. He is a native of Inverin, County Galway. He is the eldest of f ...
.
Format
Similar in format to the BBC's ''
Blue Peter
''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Tel ...
'' (but with a desert island setting and design), ''Echo Island'' featured a resident Moluccan Cockatoo called Rocco, who provided the series with a constant stream of noisy background chatter.
[ Each episode was based around an interview in "The Shack" with an adult guest, who was asked to bring along some items of significance from their childhood. U.S. ambassador ]Jean Kennedy Smith
Jean Ann Kennedy Smith (February 20, 1928June 17, 2020) was an American diplomat, activist, humanitarian, and author who served as United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1993 to 1998. She was a member of the Kennedy family, the eighth of nine c ...
, for instance, appeared on the 15 November 1994 episode to promote a Christmas card competition. President Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ga, Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer and former politician who served as the eighth president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. She is an academic ...
appeared on the programme on the 19 December 1997 episode, while the Australian didgeridoo
The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...
player Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian entertainer whose career has encompassed work as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, comedian, actor, painter and television personality. He often used unusual instruments in his performan ...
was a guest on the 13 October 1998 episode.
Competitions, items on art and cookery, fundraising campaigns, the "Echovision Song Contest" for young performers and the "Pet Clinic" where TV Vet, Pete Wedderburn, answered viewers calls about their pets were some of the features. Each Friday edition featured young "stringers" who reported from all around Ireland on events happening in their locality. This item contained an apparently live two-way video link between the presenter in studio and the children on location and was an advanced production technique in its day.
Since
* Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain ( , ; born 4 February 1972) is an Irish comedian and television presenter based in the United Kingdom. He is noted for performing stand-up comedy shows all over the world and for hosting topical panel shows such as ''Mock the We ...
appeared on a number of other RTÉ programmes including '' The Panel'', '' Don't Feed The Gondolas'' and ''It's A Family Affair''. He has since become one of the best known Irish comedians in 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 ...
, having appeared on many of the BBC's top programmes such as ''Mock The Week
''Mock the Week'' is a British topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. The programme was present ...
'' and ''Three Men in a Boat
''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)'',The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' published in 1889, is a humorous account by English writer Jerome K. Jerome of a tw ...
''.
* Derek Mooney
Derek James Mooney (born 4 March 1967) is an Irish radio and television presenter, as well as a radio producer. Until January 2015 he presented a weekday afternoon programme called '' Mooney'' on RTÉ Radio 1. He is the current executive produce ...
has since become one of Ireland's best known TV and radio presenters. He currently has his week day radio show on RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926.
The total budget for th ...
. He presented ''Winning Streak
A winning streak, also known as a win streak or hot streak, is an uninterrupted sequence of success in games or competitions, commonly measured by at least 4 wins that are uninterrupted by losses or ties/draws. Although sometimes claimed as a ...
'' for a number of years. He was then host of RTÉ's search for the cast of '' Fame: The Musical'' reality TV show.
* Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh
Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh (; born 12 November 1970) is an Irish TV presenter, she has presented ''Echo Island'', ''The Afternoon Show'' and ''Charity ICA Bootcamp''. She was a judge in ''The All Ireland Talent Show'' and participated in ''Celebrity ...
has since become one of Ireland's best known TV presenters. She presented ''The Afternoon Show
''The Afternoon Show'' is Raidió Teilifís Éireann's former live flagship daytime show. It ran from 2004 until May 2010. The programme was dropped by RTÉ as part of its new season of television in 2010, to be replaced by two afternoon prog ...
'' on RTÉ One
RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...
and is a judge on ''The All Ireland Talent Show
''The All Ireland Talent Show'' was a Raidió Teilifís Éireann television series which was billed as Ireland's biggest-ever talent contest. It was first announced in November 2008 and the first series commenced broadcasting on 4 January 2009, ...
''.
* Tom O'Brannigan has since worked for both RTÉ and TG4
TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond.
TG4 was formerly known ...
. He was a judge on TG4's talent competition ''Glas Vegas''.
* Carrie Crowley
Caroline Anne Crowley (born 23 May 1964) is an Irish actress, Gaeilgeoir and former radio and television presenter.
She appeared on television shows such as ''The Morbegs'' and '' Echo Island'' for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). She also h ...
hosted Eurovision Song Contest 1997 alongside Ronan Keating
Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career start ...
, presented several shows on both radio and TV but was soon over exposed being on TV and radio nearly seven days a week. She has since worked on her acting career, starring in many TG4 drama productions.
* Mary Kingston
Mary Kingston (born 29 May 1970 in Inchydoney, County Cork), is an Irish children's television presenter and philanthropist. She presented ''The Disney Club'' on RTÉ Two. She also presented ''Scratch Saturday'' and '' The Works''.
Early life ...
also presented ''The Works''. She also presented The Den
The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in New Cross, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter of a mile from the Old Den, which i ...
's ''Disney Club'' for several seasons and appeared on ''Celebrity Farm
''Celebrity Farm'' was a 2003 Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) reality television show, based on the international TV format '' The Farm'', produced by Strix. Held along similar lines as '' I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'', ''Celebrity Fa ...
'' in 2003.
* Danann Breathnach went on to present ''FISH'' (Friday It Starts Here) and then moved to MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
in the early 2000s.
* Pádraic Ó Neachtain
Pádraic Ó Neachtain (born 1973) is an Irish television presenter, director, and journalist.
He works for Telegael in Spiddal and presents feature programmes for the TG4 channel. He is a native of Inverin, County Galway. He is the eldest of f ...
has since presented a number of programmes with TG4. He worked with RTÉ Radio and as an editor with RTÉ Nuacht. He is the voice of Elmo and Bert in the Irish-language version of ''Sesame Street''.
References
{{reflist
External links
Clip from RTÉ Archives shown by the BBC
1990s Irish television series
The Den (TV programme)