In an unprecedented move, a select number of radio presenters were invited to Government Buildings for a briefing on the proposed abortion legislation, the day after the Government revealed its plan to hold a referendum on the issue next year. RT╔'s ┴ine Lawlor, David Hanly, Sean O'Rourke and Ryan Tubridy, as well as Today FM's Sam Smyth attended the briefing, which was given by the Minister for Health, Micheβl Martin, the Attorney General, Michael McDowell and a number of senior Government officials. The briefing took the form of a presentation of the proposed legislation by the Government team, followed by questions from the assembled presenters.
Acknowledging this was an unusual step, a Government spokesperson said it was nothing more than a factual briefing for presenters who run frontline shows.
TG4's political correspondent, Cathal MacCoille, is to be the new presenter of Morning Ireland on RT╔ Radio, replacing Richard Crowley, who left the job earlier this month. MacCoille is no stranger to the Morning Ireland studios having presented the show from 1986-1990. In 1990 he won a Jacob's Award for his work on the programme. He then left RT╔ for a stint in the print media, working for the Sunday Tribune until 1995. He returned to RT╔ as a political reporter in 1995 before moving to take up the political correspondent's position at the then Teilif∅s na Gaeilge in 1996. MacCoille resumes his position with David Hanly and ┴ine Lawlor on Morning Ireland in four weeks' time.
RT╔ is for the first time attending next week's MIPCOM television trade show under the banner RT╔ International. An eight-strong delegation will attend the TV market to promote both in-house and independently produced programmes . Previously, the programme sales division in RT╔ was a section within the commercial enterprises department, but this has now been relaunched and rebranded as RT╔ International. It has a remit to identify proposals, formats and programmes with international appeal and take an active role in trying to sell them abroad. MIPCOM takes place from October 8th to 12th in Cannes, France, with more than 11,000 participants expected.
RT╔ International will be hoping to sell the as-yet-unscreened new drama series, On Home Ground, and Obsession: a six-part series on the phenomenon of celebrity stalking. One of the other programmes on offer is a recently screened documentary on U2 and the artist Guggi - the rather unfortunately named New York Tumble - which has now been renamed as Made in Manhattan. RT╔ will also try to sell some of its recent formats, such as The Fame Game and Get Flirting.
Reversing a usual pattern, Fair City may be going Down Under, as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation has expressed an interest in acquiring the Irish soap. A number of other Irish independent producers are expected to attend MIPCOM.
There are fears that the recent terrorist attacks in the US may prevent many of the American buyers and distributors from travelling and MIPCOM organisers are at pains to point out it's business as usual in Cannes. They say that during MIPCOM the city of Cannes will be taking additional security measures at the Palais des Festivals, in the hotels and throughout the city.
Sketches for The Jason Byrne Show are currently being filmed around Dublin, with the first show of the eight-part series set to go out on November 5th. The show will be a mix of stand-up comedy, interviews with guests, music from the house band, Spitroast, and the aforementioned sketches. Byrne will be joined in studio by regular sidekicks John Henderson, David O'Doherty and PJ Gallagher. The show will be pre-recorded in front of a live audience and a limited number of tickets are available for afternoon recordings next month. If you're interested in attending, you can e-mail your name, address and telephone number to jbshow@rte.ie
Tomorrow night, the AprΦs Match team takes to the stage at the Olympia as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival. This live show will be captured on tape for an RT╔ TV programme and a sell-through video. The show features Risteard Cooper, Barry Murphy and Gary Cook in a variety of roles - most notably RT╔ soccer pundits Eamon Dunphy, John Giles and Bill O'Herlihy. An hour-long highlights programme will be shown on RT╔ and a longer video version will be available in shops just in time for Christmas.
The first in a series of new short films will be broadcast on Network 2 at 10.25 p.m. on Wednesday, October 10th. The Marriage is a comedy based around the events of an Irish wedding. It was one of the five winners in the 2000 Short Cuts annual RT╔/Irish Film Board competition. Short Cuts is designed to promote new talent in the area of film production. The Marriage was directed by Darina Gallagher and Kieran McBride and produced by Sinead Murphy and Sorcha Fox of HiHo Productions. It took third prize in the First Irish Shorts category at the Galway Film Fleadh this summer. The other films by Short Cuts winners will be shown over the next four weeks: Bye Bye Inkhead, Coolockland, Day One and Life in the Fast Lane. Previous winners of the competition include Peter Sheridan, Kirsten Sheridan and Kevin Liddy.
mkearney@irish-times.com