Would-be millionaire survives Red Devils but is floored at £32,000 by `Guys and Dolls'

The first question on the Irish Who Wants to be a Millionaire? concerned the nickname of Manchester United. Luckily Des O'Connor, a teacher from Celbridge, didn't have to ask the audience.

Members of the "Anyone But United" (ABU) club might have nominated the "Pink Pansies" from the choices offered, but Des chose the "Red Devils" and was on his way.

He was still in the foothills of his assault on the £1 million, however, when he had to turn back. Even hardened competitors on this show need breathing apparatus above £64,000.

But at a mere £32,000, Des met an insurpassable question about the musical Guys and Dolls.

He had asked the audience for the correct name of the National Car Test, phoned a friend for the voice behind Bart Simpson, and the final "life-line" - the 50-50 option - was no help.

So he stuck on £16,000 - enough for his planned house extension if not for the Gold Cup-winning horse Ted Walsh was going to train. And £16,000 was as high as it got. Dunnes Stores was one of the interval advertisers on the debut show; and when it comes to making people millionaires overnight, the National Lottery is still the company's only rival.

Ironically the second contestant was an Englishman, Robert Pashley from Bray via Scarborough, but a series of culturally-loaded questions did him down.

He had to ask the audience which of four Noras was the wife of James Joyce (3 per cent nominated the Fine Gael deputy leader, Nora Owen), and his luck ran out on which church the Rev Ian Paisley founded.

Yet again Dr Paisley bedevilled Anglo-Irish relations, and Mr Pashley (no relation) had to make do with £8,000.

That was still more than Dubliner Rachel Brennan, who went home with £1,000 and a bunch of flowers from Gaybo to mark her 22nd birthday today. With the help of her mother, she negotiated a £500 question about Ireland's biggest crop ("Grass" was the sneaky answer), but came a cropper on the colour of a Government policy paper. "It was great," she told The Irish Times last night, "but when you get that far you couldn't help be disappointed."

Viewing figures will not be available until today. But an indication of RTE's confidence was that 30-second advertising slots were sold for £7,000, the top of the current price-range.

A spokesman for the media agency MCM said the price was "probably very good value". RTE would agree: from November the top price will be £10,000.