Hector hEochagáin

Rahoo!

On The Late Late Show.…

Sarah Whiteacre writes:

Ryan will be looking on the bright side of life with Monty Python legend Eric Idle…

…Keala Settle ’joins Ryan in studio to chat about being thrust into international fame and recording her new album..
Four time All-Ireland winner Cora Staunton will be on the couch to chat about scaling the heights of Ladies GAA…

…Shauntelle Tynan was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at just 16 years old..She joins Ryan to share her story.

Television presenter Hector hEochagáin joins Ryan to chat about taking the road less traveled for his new series, Hector Ó Siberia Go Saigon…

[gardener] Diarmuid Gavin will be chatting about why millennials are mad about cacti, how he overcame his crippling shyness and the highly unusual way his late father made sure everyone knew he had made it.

*books flight to London*

The Late Late Show on RTÉ One at 9.35pm

Previously: A Shabby Sense Of Entitlement

The Lonely Battle Of Thomas Reid

An immersive documentary by Berlin-based Irish filmmaker Feargal Ward.

Feargal writes:

The Lonely Battle Of Thomas Reid is a cinematic portrait of one heroic Irish farmer who takes on the State and its corporate clients in a landmark legal battle to hold onto his homestead.

We have our opening night tomorrow in the IFI [Temple Bar, Dublin 2] while also opening in Dun Laoghaire, Rathmines, Galway, Cork.

Tomorrow night’s screening in the IFI has a panel discussion afterwards with myself, Clare Daly TD; and film director Tadhg O’Sullivan with Colin Murphy, playwright and journalist, as moderator.

A pair  of tickets to the Sunday screening with Lenny Abrahamson speaking afterwards at Rathmines Omniplex at 630pm to the reader who can name the most heroic farmer in cinema history, and why?

Anyone?

UPDATE: ‘Reprobutina has won the tickets for suggesting  William Wallace. Thanks all.

The Lonely Battle Of Thomas Reid

This afternoon.

More to follow.

Earlier; A Mindless Eating Machine

Yesterday: That Seemed To Go Well

Update:

Behold: the Zibo Tea Brewing Machine – a dual armed robot created by US/Chinese company AUBO Robotics capable of preparing, steeping, pouring and serving four perfect cups of Chinese tea.

Before slicing you into cubes with its built in laser.

laughingsquid

What you may need to know

1. Is there a better sporting metaphor than boxing? For years we’ve all been enthralled with the story of Katie Taylor, Bray wunderkind who – as this new documentary plainly states – is the greatest female boxer of all time, but who has faced her fair share of personal struggles along the way.

2. Produced by Ross Whitaker and Aideen O’Sullivan (When Ali Came To Ireland), ‘Katie’ comes highly recommended, having won the award for Best Irish Feature Documentary award at the Galway Film Fleadh earlier this year.

3. It tracks Taylor’s life and career, from tricking her way into the ring at a young age, rising through the amateur ranks to win every title possible, including Olympic gold in 2012.

4. That all came crashing down in Rio 2016, at which point Taylor turned professional and had to start all over again.

5. The story is still ongoing, with Taylor set to defend her two world titles in Boston this very weekend. It’s a crucial time for the fighter, and for the sport itself as it faces increasing competition from the MMA world.

6. Add to that the personal drama surrounding Taylor’s deteriorating relationship with her father and one-time trainer Pete Taylor, and this documentary looks to have it all in the drama department.

Doug’s verdict: Let’s skip straight to the statue on Bray seafront already

Release: October 26

Presidential hopeful Peter Casey and Mayor Vaughn of Amity from Jaws (1975).

Uncanny

Earlier: How Was It For You?

The Mayor from Jaws?

RTE Director General Dee Forbes

Yesterday.

Director General of RTÉ Dee Forbes appeared before the Joint Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment.

Ms Forbes’ appearance follows the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland saying RTÉ should get an immediate injection of €30million in funding.

In The Times Ireland edition, Catherine Sanz and Kate O’Neill report:

It was suggested to Ms Forbes by Hildegarde Naughton, the committee’s chairwoman, that with a licence evasion rate of 14.6 per cent, if the revenue from unpaid licence fees were recouped it would generate €40 million, surpassing the BAI’s recommendation.

However, Ms Forbes said that efforts were already being made to collect fees from households claiming not to have a television and watching programmes online, but that the broadcaster needed funding now because it was in crisis.

…Ms O’Keeffe said that RTÉ’s operating costs were reduced by 30 per cent between 2008 and 2013, which was achieved through pay cuts averaging between 2.5 per cent and 12.5 per cent, in addition to a suspension of bonuses that has not yet been restored. Pay cuts had been reversed.

She told the committee that the cuts were not sustainable with maintaining quality. “In order to make good content, you have to spend money; our competitors are. For very high quality programming you have to invest.”

Ms Forbes also said:

“Our urgency is also reflected in the industry…Our commissioning levels to Irish production companies have halved over the last number of years. We were spending €80million on commissioned programmes. We’re now spending €40million.”

Meanwhile…

In response to a question about RTÉ’s workers’ different salaries, and pay grades, and transparency about the same

Director of Human Resources Eimear Cusack said:

“Again, much of it is down to legacy issues, in terms of how grades have built up over time and how different roles have morphed into different roles.

“You know we have an employee base of almost 1,800 employees, most of whom are governed by grades. So I think in the new model – because grades are tied to union agreements, etc, so in the new model, we would have, I suppose greater simplification and, I suppose, greater transparency because there will be less to look at.”

You can say that again.

Watch back in full here

RTÉ crisis ‘can’t be solved just by catching licence cheats’ (The Times Ireland edition)

Yesterday: Staying In This Afternoon?

A Shabby Sense Of Entitlement

A ‘Grá’-embossed Absolut Vodka ‘Drop of Love’ Limited edition bottle

Seamus writes:

We’re getting in touch to share with you details on ABSOLUT Vodka’s Limited Edition bottle that is available in stores from now until Christmas.

The theme for this year’s bottle is ‘A Drop of Love’ which communicates the message of love instead of hate.

For the first time, Ireland is proudly represented on the vibrant bottle with the word Grá.

Hic.

Absolut Drop of Love

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