''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 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in 2020. Announced on 21 March, it began broadcasting on

RTÉ2 RTÉ2 (formerly branded as RTÉ 2 from 1978–88, Network 2 from 1988–97, N2 from 1997–2004 and RTÉ Two from 2004–14) is an Irish free-to-air television channel operated by public service broadcaster RTÉ. It was launched on 2 Novemb ...

on 30 March, aimed at children attending 1st–6th class of

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

(i.e. roughly 6/7–12/13 years of age). The first series ended on 19 June. A new series After School Hub began on 11 October, broadcasting in the afternoon to cater for children whose parents are working from home. The series finished on 19 March 2021.

Format

The hour-long main show, broadcast Monday-Friday at 11am, typically consisted of three

lessons A lesson or class is a structured period of time where learning is intended to occur. It involves one or more students (also called pupils or learners in some circumstances) being taught by a teacher or instructor. A lesson may be either one ...

, one from each of the main presenters, (qualified teachers ''Múinteoir''s Clíona, Ray and John). As is standard for primary school education in Ireland, the teachers gave their lessons bilingually through English and Irish. In place of

commercial break A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

s, the programme has smaller inserts from

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

-produced/commissioned educational programmes such as ''The Body Brothers'', '' I'm an Animal'', Pink Kong Studios' ''Urban Tails'' and Colm Tobin's ''Brain Freeze''. Comic book artist

Will Sliney Will Sliney is an Irish comic books artist. He is known as the co-creator of the ''Star Wars'' character Ren, and for his work on comic books such as the ''Marvel's Fearless Defenders'' series, the graphic novel ''Celtic Warrior: The Legend of ...

also presents short drawing lessons in the "We Will Draw" segment. A 15-minute-long compilation of material submitted by viewers relating to the content of recent shows, ''Home School Extra'', narrated by ''Múinteoir'' Ray, was shown after the main show, and repeated at 4.15pm.

Irish Sign Language Irish Sign Language (ISL, ) is the sign language of Ireland, used primarily in the Republic of Ireland. It is also used in Northern Ireland, alongside British Sign Language (BSL). Irish Sign Language is more closely related to French Sign Langu ...

signed version of a previous main show has broadcast at 1pm from April to July.

Presenters

* Ray Cuddihy – a puppeteer, actor and voice-artist, who had previously worked with

RTÉ Junior (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

* Clíona Ní Chíosáin – an actress and television presenter known for

TG4 TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...

's ''

Aifric ''Aifric'' () is an Irish-language TV series aimed at young adults, co-created and written by Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin and co-created and directed by Paul Mercier. The show has won multiple IFTA awards for "Best Children's/Youth Program". The fir ...

'' * John Sharpson – an actor, YouTuber and teacher * Emer O'Neill – a

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

teacher, activist, and a former basketball player * Séamus the dog – a puppet who has worked with

RTÉjr RTÉjr is an Irish free-to-air children's television channel operated by state-owned broadcaster RTÉ. The channel mainly targets a demographic of 2- to 7-year-olds, but some cartoons for older children also air. The channel is part of RTÉ ...

Cuddihy and Sharpson had previously worked together for their YouTube channel " Sharuf!", which features sketches, interviews and puppetry. Smaller segments were presented by: *

, "We Will Draw" teaches drawing techniques * Phil "Scientist Phil" Smyth, "Hub Lab" teaches science experiments to do at home *

Niamh Shaw Niamh Shaw is an Irish scientist, engineer, STEM communicator, writer, and performer. Shaw was the 2019–2020 Honorary Ambassador for the Irish Girl Guides in recognition of the trail she has blazed for girls and women in Ireland. Her first ...

, 'Space Hub' teaches space topics about planets, science and human missions past and present * Dale McKay, beat boxing

Guests

Guests on the show included: *

Lenny Abrahamson Leonard Ian Abrahamson (born 30 November 1966) is an Irish film and television director. He is best known for directing independent films ''Adam & Paul'' (2004), ''Garage (film), Garage'' (2007), ''What Richard Did'' (2012), ''Frank (film), Fra ...

, director * Dermot Bannon, architect and presenter of

's '' Room To Improve'' * Thomas Barr, Olympic hurdler *

Sinéad Burke Sinéad Burke (born 1990) is an Irish writer, academic and disability activist, known for her TED talk 'Why design should include everyone'. She is the director of the consulting organisation Tilting the Lens, which works to raise the baseline ...

, teacher, fashion-designer and disability campaigner *

Eoin Colfer Eoin Colfer (; born 14 May 1965) is an Irish author of children's books. He worked as a primary school teacher before he became a full-time writer. He is best known for being the author of the ''Artemis Fowl'' series. In September 2008, Colf ...

, author of ''

Artemis Fowl ''The Fowl Adventures'' is a series of eleven fantasy novels written by Irish author Eoin Colfer revolving around various members of the Fowl family. The first cycle, the eight-book ''Artemis Fowl'', follows elf Lower Elements Police Reconnai ...

'' *

Marita Conlon-McKenna Marita Conlon-McKenna (born 5 November 1956) is an Irish author of children's books and adult fiction. She is best known for her Famine-era historical children's book '' Under the Hawthorn Tree'', the first book of the ''Children of the Famine'' ...

, author of '' Under The Hawthorn Tree'' *

Gordon D'Arcy Gordon William D'Arcy (born 10 February 1980, in Ferns, County Wexford) is a retired Irish rugby player who was selected for two British & Irish Lions tours. He played most of his career at inside centre for Irish provincial side Leinster. He ...

, former Irish rugby player * Kenneth Egan, Olympic silver-medalist boxer * Maeve Flynn, Dogs Trust Ireland *

Kellie Harrington Kellie Anne Harrington OLY (born 11 December 1989) is an Irish retired amateur boxer. During her career she was double Olympic gold medalist, winning at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, and 2018 World champion. Harrington also won gold medals at t ...

, Amateur world-champion boxer * Claire Lambe, Irish rower * Rae Moore, award-winning architect * Sene Naoupu, rugby player * Shane O'Donoghue, Irish national team hockey player, olympian * Dave Rudden, writer of young adult fiction *

, scientist and space expert for RTE with an aim to go to space as communicator and writer * Allie Sherlock, YouTuber and busker, discussed busking, and played with the

RTÉ Concert Orchestra The RTÉ Concert Orchestra is a professional radio orchestra in Ireland and is part of RTÉ, the national broadcaster. Since its formation as the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra in 1948, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra has grown from a small studio-bas ...

as part of the final episode *

Greta Streimikyte Greta Streimikyte ( ; born 24 August 1995) is a blind Irish Paralympic athlete who competes in 1500 metres events in international level events. She moved to Ireland in 2010 and became an Irish citizen in 2015. Streimikyte is one of a set of ...

, Paralympic middle-distance runner *

Ryan Tubridy Ryan Tubridy (born 28 May 1973) is an Irish broadcaster. He currently presents the weekday mid-morning programme ''The Ryan Tubridy Show'' on Virgin Radio UK, as well as a weekend programme on Sundays. His broadcasting career with RTÉ spanned ...

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 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 the station in 2010 w ...

presenter and host of '' The Late Late Show'' and ''

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

'' * Iseult Ward, co-founder and CEO of Food Cloud * Sarah Webb, award-winning children's writer *

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...

* Children's Health Foundation, Crumlin * The

Dublin Fire Brigade Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB; ) is the fire and rescue service and ambulance service for County Dublin, including Dublin city, in Ireland. It is a local authority service, operated by Dublin City Council on behalf of that council and those of Fi ...

Dublin Zoo Dublin Zoo (), in Phoenix Park, is a zoo in Dublin, Ireland, and one of Dublin's most popular attractions. Established and designed in 1830 by Decimus Burton, it opened the following year. Today, it focuses on conservation projects, breeding p ...

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

Irish Naval Service The Naval Service () is the maritime component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and is one of the three branches of the Irish Defence Forces. Its base is in Haulbowline, County Cork. Though prece ...

Production

The show was produced by Dublin-Based Television and Film production company, Macalla Teoranta and shot in

Scoil Lorcáin Monkstown (), historically known as ''Carrickbrennan'' (), is a suburb on the southside of Dublin, Ireland, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. It is on the coast, between Blackrock and Dún Laoghaire while also bordering Sallynoggin and Dea ...

, a national school in

Monkstown, Dublin Monkstown (), historically known as ''Carrickbrennan'' (), is a suburb on the southside of Dublin, Ireland, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. It is on the coast, between Blackrock and Dún Laoghaire while also bordering Sallynoggin and Dea ...

''Cúla4 Ar Scoil''

, Ireland's Irish language television service launched its equivalent show '' Cúla4 Ar Scoil'' (" Cúla 4 at School") in April 2020. It was recorded in

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

, with teachers Caitriona Ní Chualain and Fiachra O Dubhghaill. The service continued in September for the new school year, with Ní Chualáin,

Orla Ní Fhinneadha Orla Ní Fhinneadha is an Irish singer, teacher, television presenter and former child actor. A gaeilgeoir she has been a weather presenter and teacher on the Irish-language station TG4. She is an accomplished Sean-nós singer. She was one of ...

, Micheál Ó Dubhghaill, Síle Ní Chonghaile, Caitríona McAtee and Joe Ó hEachtairn, though most schools had returned to operation.

Notes

References

External links

* * Sharpson & Cuddihy's * * * {{authority control 2020 Irish television series debuts 2020s children's television series Irish television shows featuring puppetry Television series with live action and animation Early childhood education Irish English-language television shows Irish-language television shows RTÉ original programming Children's education television series Television series about educators Television shows filmed in the Republic of Ireland Television shows set in Dublin (city)