''RTÉ Does Comic Relief'' was an Irish

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause. Most telethons f ...

event that took place on 26 June 2020, in the midst of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Raidió Teilifís Éireann Raidi (; ; also written Ragdi; born August, 1938) is a Tibetan politician of the People's Republic of China. He served as a vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2003 to 2008, and the highest ranking Tibeta ...

(RTÉ) hosted the four-hour telethon "RTÉ does Telethon" in aid of the Community Foundation for Ireland, a trust with a target of distributing funds to over 4,000 non-profit organisations at a national, regional, and local level throughout Ireland.

Background and origins

RTÉ last held a telethon in 2007, in aid of

The People in Need Trust The People in Need Trust was a charity in Ireland. It was deregistered in 2016. Its main fundraiser, the RTÉ People in Need Telethon, was broadcast by RTÉ from 1989 until 2007 and supported by Eircom (formerly Telecom Éireann), raising mor ...

. Subsequent telethons had been cancelled following the economic crash in 2009. From March to May, weekly appeals during '' The Late Late Show'' raised hundreds of thousands of Euro for various charities. RTÉ also broadcast the global '' One World: Together at Home'' television event in April. The show developed from an annual St. Patrick's Day comedy show in Dublin's

3Arena The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 December 2008. It was built on the site of the former Point Theatre, a smaller music ...

, created by comedian

Deirdre O'Kane use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , education ...

and TV producer Darren Smith, the 2020 edition having been cancelled.

Main event

€5 million was raised on the night, including donations matched by the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

, with a number of Irish and international companies donating large sums of money towards the fund. Unlike People in Need campaigns, due to the

lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...

restrictions, no community fundraising (such as bucket collections, sponsored activities, or merchandise sales) took place in the days leading up to the main event. These restrictions were also a big cause of the need for such a fundraiser, as many charities were unable to run their own annual events.

Presenters

The show was hosted by

Baz Ashmawy Bazil Ashmawy, commonly known as Baz Ashmawy, is an Irish radio and television personality, whose TV show ''50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy'' won the International Emmy Award for Best Non-Scripted Entertainment award. In summer 2017, he hosted ''Th ...

Nicky Byrne Nicholas Bernard James Adam Byrne Jr. (born 9 October 1978) is an Irish pop singer, songwriter and radio and television presenter, best known for being a member of the pop group Westlife; he is the band's oldest member. Westlife has since rele ...

and

Jennifer Zamparelli Jennifer Zamparelli (née Maguire) (born 9 April 1980) is an Irish comedian and television presenter. She is known for her role on the TV show ''Republic of Telly'', where she was a primary writer, and as co-host of the 2FM morning show ''Breakf ...

, and

Eoghan McDermott Eoghan McDermott (born 15 April 1983) is an Irish television and radio presenter. He most recently presented ''The RTÉ 2fm Breakfast Show'' on radio and has hosted ''The Voice of Ireland'' and Ireland's Junior Eurovision Song Contest selectio ...

as a group, with a pause for '' RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock''.

Sketches and features

Because of the lockdown, sketches were all recorded in advance, recorded content for the show included a short episode of ''

Normal People ''Normal People'' is a 2018 novel by the Irish author Sally Rooney. ''Normal People'' is Rooney's second novel, published after '' Conversations with Friends'' (2017). It was first published by Faber & Faber on 30 August 2018. The book became a ...

'' with

Paul Mescal Paul Mescal (; born 2 February 1996) is an Irish actor. Born in Maynooth, he studied acting at The Lir Academy and subsequently performed in plays in Dublin theatres. Mescal rose to fame with his role in the miniseries '' Normal People'' (2020), ...

and

Daisy Edgar-Jones Daisy Jessica Edgar-Jones (born 24 May 1998) is a British actress. She began her career with the television series '' Cold Feet'' (2016–2020) and ''War of the Worlds'' (2019–2021). Edgar-Jones gained wider recognition for her starring role ...

reprising their roles of Connell and Marianne, and ''

Fleabag ''Fleabag'' is a British comedy-drama television series created and written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, based on her one-woman show first performed in 2013 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It was originally produced by Two Brothers Pictures for dig ...

s (hot) Priest played by Andrew Scott.

Michael McElhatton Michael McElhatton (born 12 September 1963) is an Irish actor and writer. He is best known for playing the role of Roose Bolton in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. He joined the series as a guest star in the second season, and continued t ...

reprised his Raymond "Rats" Doyle from the 2000 show ''

Paths to Freedom ''Paths to Freedom'' was a popular comedy on the Irish television network RTÉ Two. The shows stars two characters, Jeremy (Brendan Coyle) and Rats (Michael McElhatton), who have both recently been released from a Dublin prison. The show takes ...

''.

Saoirse-Monica Jackson Saoirse-Monica Jackson (born November 1993) is an Irish actress, best known for portraying Erin Quinn on the Channel 4 sitcom ''Derry Girls'' between 2018 and 2022. Early life Jackson was born in Derry in November 1993. She split her time grow ...

Louisa Harland Louisa Clare Harland (born 1993 or 1994) is an Irish actress. She is best known for her role as Orla McCool in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Derry Girls''. Early life Born in Dublin to a Northern Irish father, Harland has two older sisters, Katie and ...

Nicola Coughlan Nicola Mary Coughlan (born 9 January 1987) is an Irish actress. She is known for her roles as Clare Devlin in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Derry Girls'' (2018–2022) and Penelope Featherington in the Netflix period drama ''Bridgerton'' (2020–presen ...

Jamie-Lee O'Donnell Jamie-Lee O'Donnell (born 4 March 1987) is a Northern Irish actress from Derry. She is best known for her role as Michelle Mallon in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Derry Girls''. Early life O’Donnell was born on 4 March 1987 to a large family in Derr ...

, and

Dylan Llewellyn Dylan John Llewellyn (born 10 September 1992) is an English actor, known for portraying Martin "Jono" Johnson in ''Hollyoaks'', James Maguire in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Derry Girls'' and Jack in ''Big Boys''. Early life Llewellyn was born in ...

, played ''

Derry Girls ''Derry Girls'' is a British teen sitcom created and written by Lisa McGee that premiered on 4 January 2018 on Channel 4. The channel's most successful comedy since ''Father Ted'', the series was inspired by McGee's own experiences growing up ...

''-versions of themselves in a sketch with

Saoirse Ronan Saoirse Una Ronan ( , ; born 12 April 1994) is an American-born Irish actress. Primarily known for her work in period dramas since adolescence, she has received various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations fo ...

. Peter McDonald and

Pat Shortt Patrick Shortt (born 12 December 1967) is an Irish actor, comedian, writer and entertainer. His role in the 2007 film ''Garage'' led to him receiving the IFTA for Best Actor. Career Shortt toured alongside Jon Kenny as comedy duo D'Unbelievab ...

contributed sketches and the

Home School Hub ''RTÉ's Home School Hub'', or simply ''Home School Hub'', and its companion show ''Home School Extra'', was an educational television programme which was created in response to the closure of all schools during the COVID-19 pandemic in the R ...

team performed

shout-out Name-dropping (or name-checking or a shout-out) is the practice of naming or alluding to important people and institutions within a conversation,. story, song, online identity, or other communication. The term often connotes an attempt to impress ...

s to some of their viewers.

Donncha O'Callaghan Donncha O'Callaghan (born 24 March 1979) is an Irish retired rugby union player. He spent most of his career with his home province Munster, spending 17 seasons with the province and winning five major trophies, before finishing his career with ...

beat

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came during ...

and Hilary Rose in a ''How Cork are You?'' quiz. Others included

Aisling Bea Aisling Clíodhnadh O'Sullivan (born 16 March 1984), known professionally as Aisling Bea ( ), is an Irish comedian, actor and writer. She created, wrote and starred in the comedy series '' This Way Up'' on Channel 4. As a stand-up comedian, she ...

, Hozier,

Samantha Mumba Samantha Tamania Anne Cecilia Mumba (born 18 January 1983) is an Irish singer-songwriter, dancer, actress, fashion model and TV presenter. In 2000, at the age of 17, she shot to fame with the release of her debut single "Gotta Tell You", which ...

Amy Huberman Amy Huberman (born 20 March 1979) is an Irish actress and writer, which is known for her role as Daisy in the RTÉ drama series '' The Clinic''. In 2018, she began writing and starring in the comedy series ''Finding Joy''. Early life Huberman g ...

Chris O'Dowd Christopher O'Dowd (born 9 October 1979) is an Irish actor and comedian. He received wide attention as Roy Trenneman, one of the lead characters in the Channel 4 comedy '' The IT Crowd'', which ran for four series between 2006 and 2010. He has ...

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...

and host of other Irish and international celebrities, comedians, actors, and musicians.

Ray D'Arcy Raymond Michael D'Arcy (born 1 September 1964) is an Irish television and radio presenter currently on his second stint at state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). He once presented a self-titled weekday morning radio programme on th ...

Dustin the Turkey Dustin the Turkey, a character performed by John Morrison is a former star of RTÉ television's ''The Den'' between 1989 and 2010 and from 2020. He has been described as "the most subversive comedy force on Irish television". A turkey-vulture w ...

, Zig and Zag had a ''

Den Den may refer to: * Den (room), a small room in a house * Maternity den, a lair where an animal gives birth Media and entertainment * ''Den'' (album), 2012, by Kreidler * Den (''Battle Angel Alita''), a character in the ''Battle Angel Alita' ...

'' reunion. This segment was followed by the announcement of a full reunion series beginning in November. A

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

on the history of '' The Panel'' featured interviews from its presenter

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 panellists Ed Byrne,

Neil Delamere Neil Delamere ( ; born 1979) is an Irish comedian. He is a regular on the BBC Northern Ireland television show '' The Blame Game'', and the reigning BBC Fighting Talk Champion of Champions. Early life and education Delamere is from Edenderry, ...

Mairead Farrell Mairead, Máiréad or Mairéad, is a feminine name and the Irish variation of the given name Margaret, which is believed to mean "pearl". Another spelling variation is Maighread, which is the dominant Scottish Gaelic spelling of the name. It may ...

Andrew Maxwell Andrew Maxwell (born 3 December 1974) is an Irish comedian and narrator, known for narrating the MTV reality series ''Ex on the Beach''. Career In 1992, Maxwell tried stand-up comedy for the first time at the Comedy Cellar at The Internationa ...

and

Colin Murphy Colin Murphy may refer to: * Colin Murphy (comedian) (born 1968), Irish comedian * Colin Murphy (ice hockey) (born 1980), Canadian ice hockey player * Colin Murphy (footballer, born 1950) Colin Murphy (born 21 January 1950) is an English for ...

as well as guests

Adam Hills Adam Christopher Hills (born 10 July 1970) is an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter. In Australia, he hosted the music quiz show '' Spicks and Specks'' from 2005 to 2011, and again in 2021 onwards, and the talk show ''Adam Hi ...

and David Mitchell. Westlife conducted a raffle to win a performance at a venue to be chosen by the winner.

References

External links