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RTÉ HAS, IN its own words, lined up some “Christmas crackers” for the festive period with programmes it hopes will suit everyone over the holidays.
Entertainment will come in the form of a Christmas special of Brendan O’Carroll’s Mrs Brown’s Boys along with the start of a new series of the hit programme. There is also a new series of Sgt Mattie starring D’Unbelievable Pat Shortt.
Also in the mix are Christmas specials of homegrown favourites Wagon’s Den and Republic of Telly as part of a wide-ranging schedule over the December and January period.
If you’re a Jedward fan you will be happy to know that they will making dreams come true for children from all over Ireland on their first ever Irish television series OMG! Jedward’s Dream Factory.
There is sure to be drama in Fair City over the Christmas period as we wonder whether Bob’s plans for romance with Rebecca materialise. We can also reveal that a fugitive will return to Carrigstown – but who is he and will he get caught out?
Music-wise The Dubliners will join Gay Byrne for For One Night Only while viewers can also look forward to celebrating Daniel O’Donnell’s 50th birthday in Daniel at 50.
For those interested in current affairs Now That’s What You Called News will reveal the top 20 biggest, most interesting, colourful and bizarre news stories we explored online over the past twelve months.
While, The Queen’s Speech will tell the inside story behind the planning of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland in May. Also on the agenda is The RTÉ News Review of the Year where Bryan Dobson will look back at what has been an extraordinary year in Ireland and the world.
Here is a little bit more of what is on offer over the festive season on the national broadcaster:
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She’s useless but I don’t know who would do a better job. England are going to be fecked no matter who is in charge.
@Sorcha Hendry instagram: @SorchaHendry86:
Corbyn. Ignore the naysayers, the doom mongers and the Sun readers.
@Harry Whitehead: Corbyn is an old commie fool. I should know :-)
Corbyn was always leaning the Brexit direction.
In any event, this is a Conservative Party mess and so no other political party will want to take the poisoned chalice away from the Tories. May is poor but what would follow her would be even worse.
@Sorcha Hendry instagram: @SorchaHendry86: And then who do you want to step in? With the like of Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Jacob Rees-Mog no thanks, after the brexit talks and everything is finalised after May 19 2019 then the Brits can do what they like with their own downfall, can’t wait. As they the brexiters deserve everything whats coming to them.
@Harry Whitehead: If Corbyn was any good Labour would have destroyed the Torys in the local elections and Labour would be 20 points up in polls, instead they are level with the most incompetent and dangerous Tory government. Corbyn has been terrible the most incompetent government has matched by the most incompetent opposition, for the UK it is terrible.
@Ossi Fritsche: i doubt it will be finalised for a long time. or at least it will be as finalized as the border with NI has been for the last century.
@Sorcha Hendry instagram: @SorchaHendry86: May resigning would complicate matters even more. Any new PM selected by the Conservative Party would immediately be under pressure to call a general election if they wanted to claim a mandate to do anything much different from May. The time required for an election (or even just internal party selection) would be against the ticking clock of the October summit and March 2019 exit. With both the main UK parties deeply split at least two ways on Brexit, it’s not clear that a general election would provide any more certainty. It would be easy to laugh at this mess if the consequences for Ireland were not so serious.
@Sorcha Hendry instagram: @SorchaHendry86: why just England? Scotland, Wales and NI will be fecked too
@ktsiwot: Corbyn is true labour. not tory labour like blair.
They’ve spent the last few weeks putting tohether a proposal that is not acceptable to us and will be rejected.
They are clearly playing for a scenario where they don’t get what they want and try to blame the EU.
I suspect they aim to fall into a never-ending transition period from where they can continue to try to derail the project.
Either way they will never be happy.
@Danny Rafferty: This is really not good news for us.
It’s a monumental mess….. is there anything to be said for a another mass…?
@Kevin Conway: Another mass is as good a proposal as they have come up with.
The lunacy of Brexit stands exposed.
The Referendum result was manipulated through a weaponised social media and the lies of Farage, Johnson and their ilk.
And in all of this, the political careerists stand ready to pick at the political carcass of May.
Brexit was always going to be a nightmare.
Ireland is now facing a much enhanced risk of a hard Brexit which will have immensely damaging long term impact on Ireland.
@Paul Laing: This should be a lesson to the rest of Europe. Be vigilant for external interference in elections and referendums.
It’s obviously going on elsewhere.
@Paul Laing: Don’t forget that the Russians had a hand in this also with fake account popping up like wildfire in the last week before the voting began.
@Paul Laing: if this was scotland voting for independence or NI voting for unification and the vote was similarly narrow, would we be complaining with such force about it?
@Dublin Northsider: but this is actually about Brexit, secession from the European Union. Scotland did not vote for independence and Northern Ireland has not voted for a united Ireland.
I don’t believe that Brexit was a legitimate result. It was based on naked lies, foreign interference and a massively sophisticated campaign of interference not only by Russia but also by the Merver family in the US using AggregateIQ.
@Danny Rafferty: are you talking about Obama’s interference for the Remain side? Or the efforts of the Irish government in trying to stop a Leave vote? Doubt it. Thankfully Brits don’t roll over as easy as we do when a referendum result isn’t what was deemed acceptable
@Paul Laing: utter nonsense. It was a democratic result. Pathetic what people will do to undermine the will of the people.
https://www.ft.com/content/2f91721d-9512-3c2a-9e0f-4453897183c8
@Valthebear: i don’t agree with that either. it certainly seems possible that there were russian links although i don’t think anything has been proven. however it seems more clear that the us election was influenced by cambridge analytica and russians – if are to call the brexit vote undemocratic then surely we should also say there should be another us election
@Valthebear: the will of the people was manipulated. The result was valid but it was illegimtate. The result was democratic but it was externally influenced by a variety of agents.
@Paul Laing: Where is Nigel Farage now?Was his party not the main promoters of the Brrxit referendum?What is his stance now at this critical juncture in British economic and political history?He appears to be very quiet on this matter since the referndum result and has put forward little or no input to resolve the situation the uk are now in.
@Valthebear: __ The will of the people? Horse manure, it was the will of the lying media barons and a few others who stand to gain out of it. The average Brit will get zilch out of it.
@Ossi Fritsche: Panama, Granada, chile and Iraq. I think someone may have influenced these results
David Cameron should be made to return to clean up his mess and the impossible position he has now put Theresa May in you can only have sympathy for her for taking on the impossible Task !
@Johnny Mason: Can’t be sorry for her because she only became in favour of brexit to become prime minister after Cameron resigned
@Dave Harris: She became in favour of Brexit because the majority of the UK voted for it after a very ill conceived referendum that turned out to be refuge oriented
@Dave Harris: Am I being too cynical to say she has got her way by Fecking Brexit up from within the government.
@Vincent O’Halloran: its also to do with the eu not wanting to create the moral hazard of the uk getting a good outcome and so encouraging others. l
“look what happened to the others” they say, pointing to the corpses of greece and the uk
But only by 4 per cent
@Dave Harris: she’s probably still not in favour of brexit but sees it as her job to implement the will of the people. She’s also smart enough to know a hard brexit will be a disaster for British business.
David Davis did absolutely nothing in 16 months.
That was the plan all along however.
That is one of many reasons she should resign.
@Cheryl Mellett: the handling of the Grenfell disaster; the Windrush scandal; historic police budget cuts (look where that got us); the cynical and pisspoor attempt at a power grab GE which backfired and left HM Government’s balls in the hands of Arlene and her band of wee dafties…
@Harry Whitehead: She’s a good example of many things that are wring with humanity.
TM will go down in history as one of the weakest PMs to ever hold office. She is a disgrace. Hugh Grant in Love Actually, would do a better job.
@Peter Cavey: __ She’s the “Patsy”, only some thick-skinned hard core Tory Brexitic would want to take her place. The Patsy will be blamed for anything that goes wrong, and will disappear into oblivion like Chamberlain pre WW2.
@Peter Cavey: no. That honour will go to that fool Dave the Rave Cameron.
@Peter Cavey: she’s in an impossible position though, as regards Brexit.
David Davis was a dreadfully poor negotiator. A more pragmatic negotiator is now required. Britain is in a weak bargaining position and it needs a pragmatist to recognise that hard and unpleasant reality.
Why is the journal polling us ?
@FartyTowels: because a hard Brexit will be potentially hugely damaging for the Irish economy.
@Paul Laing: agreed, but we cannot do anything about the leadership of a foreign government.
@FartyTowels: but that is not what the poll is about. Britain is committed to Brexit however destructive the impact.
@FartyTowels: We can have an opinion about the leadership of a foreign government.
Who would replace May? Rees Mogg?
@Paul Laing: Just put me off my Porridge !
The British first past the post system cannot deal with Brexit.
They can elect Labour with Corbyn, or the Tories with a fudge, flag-waver or a pro EU candidate or have a hung parliament, and the result is the exact same, a shambles.
The sad thing in mess is all these brexiters are all Eton educated toffs so they really don’t give a shite who or what they do, as they have no sympthaty for the workers in the front line jobs.
@Ossi Fritsche: and that is the reality of it.
Why should she have to resign, she’s acting on a mandate from the electorate while at the same time deal with a very difficult back bench, anyway we’re Irish so why should we care if she should or shouldn’t.
@Charles Coughlan: She has no mandate. The Conservative government is being propped up by the DUP, they never got a majority. For all the talk about social media, it was The Sun and The Mail that delivered the Brexit vote.
Why she has nothing to do with Ireland .. UK is a foreign Country
@Christopher Doyle: do you really think we won’t be effected by any of this mess?
So who will takeover? Boris or Rees-Moggs? Eh no thanks.
@Deborah Behan: Bono.
Couldn’t give a shite
@The Slug Brothers: You really should. It will arguably effect you, and all of us in Ireland, significantly.
@David Hickey: But you can give a shite comment?
@The Slug Brothers: I’d have thought burying your head in the sand would be mighty uncomfortable in this weather. Still, whatever makes you happy…
Should not resign, yet. Should call a “reconfirm brexit” referendum and resign if she loses
@Ronan Fahy: Brexit is a fact accompli. The Referendum result was not a fair battle but the result is democratically fixed. Now it is about damage limitation and trying to avoid the worst consequences of a decision taken by a manipulated public.
@Paul Laing: @Paul Laing:They should not have had the referendum in the first place
@Ronan Fahy: It kills me to say this but I completely agree.
@Paul Laing: You mean a ~fait accompli~.
The resignation of David Davis May have saved May from having to revoke his appointment. Davis was becoming a stumbling block.
They’re heading for a second vote and that’ll sort it for once and for all. It’ll be stay or a hard Brexit. We’ll then see who’ll stand over the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs for a dream.
@Gerry Ryan: surveys of British public sentiment indicate that a second Vote will increase support for Brexit, even a hard Brexit. It’s about the plucky British spirit, Dunkirk, an island nation, Britain for the British. Any MP strong,y advocating for stay at this point would face immense public hostility. The UK media is strongly pro Brexit at any cost and jingoistic sentiment has hugely increased sine the Referendum result in 2016.
Although I would dearly love to see Brexit reversed, the hard reality Is that Britain is committed to embarking on a hard road and it is the poorest who will suffer most.
I spend time in Britain and I have seen the strong animosity to Europe. Remainers depicted as traitors, as anti-British to be punished. The battle for the public mind is well and truly over.
Doesn’t matter whoever takes over will still make a dogs dinner of it. At the end of the day Britain has to trade with the eu and will have to meet eu rules to do so.
Cameron made a huge mistake in calling for a referendum. It backfired; he resigned.
May made a huge mistake in calling a general election in 2107 It backfired; she should have resigned then.
The hard-Brexiters are recklessly over reaching themselves. May was close to a reasonable and sensible compromise arrangement which most UK voters would probably be happy with. Now, there is much more likely to be an abortive attempt at a no-deal Brexit which will be stopped by Parliament. The pro-leave voters will thereby be left with nothing to show for their mandate.
@Richard Barrett: a fair analysis but I don’t think that the UK Parliament has the bottle to stop a no-deal Brexit. It draws immense hostility whenever remainer MPs question the wisdom of Brexit in the form of a full Brexit. Remainer MPs have to keep the head down.
The debate is between soft and hard Brexiteers.
Sorry is this Ireland or the UK? Why are we voting on whether the PM of another country should resign. Leave the British to their own fate.
Yes and she should free tommy Robinson while she at it
This is the kind of story the Daily Express or Daily Hail would run about Ireland whenever Leo or Simon say something that pierces their fantasy.
Yes but there’s nobody that could replace her in the Tory’s to make it any better. Brexit no matter what they do is going to hurt Britain for a long time.
Better the Devil ya know..
Boris be better !
I think she could a cabaret singer in benidorm before the end of the summer.
Never mind that sh!t here comes Mongo ….;)
Imagine Boris Johnson being pm. UK in turmoil
She wants a soft Brexit which is good for ireland. The public school boys who are resigning want a hard brexit which would be bad for ireland. May staying in power is better for ireland than having rees-mogg or johnson in power.
I don’t think she should resign. Who would replace her? The Brits cant decide if they want a soft or hard brexit, until they can decide that, then who ever is prime minister doesn’t stand a change.
There is no “I Don’t Care” option
The Labour Party should have taken the principled position and oppose Brexit because reasonable Ukers will by now realise that Brexit is a slow motion train wreck and that the
only way out of the impending wreck is another referendum.
The woes of the Tories at present reflect the pucker they are putting the country in regardless of who the train driver is.
Hmm, have your resign and risk getting someone in who knows what they are doing…
Leave her in, can only get funnier…
Divide and conquer failed for once
She should go to the Queen and disolve the gov
BoJo just gone!!!!
And the fxxk does her handling of Brexit matter to us here in Ireland. Where she handles it well or not it with impact us. Stupid poll.
She should resign because she’s a horrible person and how she managed to get one person to ever vote for her is a mystery to me.
: doesn’t bear thinking about
May is bowing to pressure from brexiteers dispite the damage it will do to Britain’s economy! She is not a good leader but a puppet who really doesn’t know what she is doing!
I am sure she will say NO, I am not resigning. That’s what all politicians say.
At the end of the day someone will have them all rounded up and charged with treason for conspiring to take the UK down the toilet. After a short show trial there will be a public hanging.
have your say