What to watch on TV this week
It’s a massive week for television viewing in Ireland, with this show among several flagship offerings being launched this week. Kian Egan and Bressie are back in the big red seats, and the departure of Dolores O’Riordan and Jamelia means two new mentors in Una Foden of the Saturdays and S Club 7’s Rachel Stevens. Among the contestants hoping to be picked on a team are 40-year-old James Birmingham, who has performed in the past as a a George Michael tribute act; and John Sheehy, a yoga instructor from Cork.
A look back at the sean-nós singing competition at Oireachtas na Samhna 2014 in Killarney which was won by Béal Átha’n Ghaorthaidh native Nell Ní Chróinín.
New series presented by Laura Woods in which charity organisations and community groups get their halls and other spaces revamped. First up is the aughters of Charity Disability Services in Limerick where 300 volunteers attempt to transform a little-used old orchard into a inspiring space with wheelchair accessible pathways and ample seating areas.
New four-part series on youth crime in Ireland. The first episode had MacIntyre returning to Limerick at a time when the imprisonment of some of the major gangland figures seems to have led to a reduction in major crimes. But can the poverty and crime cycle really be broken in the city?
After a phenomenally successful opening series in the UK, David Tennant and Olivia Colman are back for a second season of the crime drama. ITV has been keeping details of the new plot under wraps, but creator Chris Chibnall has promised even more shocks and twists than last year. New faces in the cast include Charlotte Rampling.
China has become a hugely-important market for Irish farmers, and Darragh McCullough is in the world’s most populous country to hear how dairy and other sectors in Ireland may be able to cash in. Helen takes a horse’s manhood in Tullamore vet Donal Lynch and helps in the gelding of a stallion. Ouch.
New two-part documentary series following six different puppies and their new owners over the course of their first year together.
Owned by Richard Branson, this Caribbean paradise in the Virgin Islands also operates as a luxury resort for the super-rich. People pay up to £40,000 a night to stay there, and this documentary hears about the experience from the perspectives of the guests and the staff.
Documentary on the remarkable life of Nancy Corrigan from Achill who blazed a trail for female aviators in the US in the 1940s.
Even the incredible storms of last year didn’t have the impact of the ‘night of the big wind’ of January 6, 1839. Given that many people still lived in clay dwellings with thatched roofs, it isn’t surprising that the hurricane-force winds resulted in several hundred deaths and the destruction of at least 20% of the homes in north Dublin. About 42 ships were also wrecked. This documentary looks back on that catastrophic night.
In 2009, a body was found near Rosses Point in Co Sligo. Over the next few days, gardaí would discover it was that of a man who had checked into a hotel under the name of ‘Peter Bergman’. A postmortem revealed he had a tumor in his stomach and it was presumed he had taken his own life. In the previous days, he had gone to great lengths to remove any traces of his true identity, even removing the labels from the clothes he had left on the beach. Despite a five-month investigation, gardaí never found out who he was, and the man – who had sounded European – remains buried in Sligo. This documentary follows the poignant tale.
Always one of the highlights of the TV year, the eighth series of Operation Transformation kicks off with five new people trying to improve their diet and lifestyle. There’s just one participant from Munster this year – Veronica Horgan from Dunmanway, Co Cork.
New documentary series following the Louet-Feisser family of the Cooley Peninsula in Co Louth as they run their oyster business and generally go about their lives. In episode one, Kian’s and Mary go house-hunting, and the early arrival of the head chef from Rick Stein’s seafood restaurant causes panic.
Episode two of the new Irish soap.
Documentary on the Cork woman who ended up as one of the most powerful woman in Paraguay in the 1860s, and bore six children for the South American country’s dictator.
Hozier provides the music, while guests include Meryl Streep and James McAvoy.
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