| The All Ireland Talent Show | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Talent show |
| Created by | Tyrone Productions Simon Cowell |
| Directed by | John FD Northover |
| Presented by | Gráinne Seoige |
| Judges | John Creedon Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh Dana Dáithí Ó Sé Shane Lynch (2009–10) Amanda Brunker (2011) |
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 45 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Noleen Golding[1] |
| Production location | Ardmore Studios |
| Running time | 30–60 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Original release | |
| Network | RTÉ One |
| Release | 4 January 2009 (2009-01-04) – 27 March 2011 (2011-03-27) |
| Related | |
| Ireland's Got Talent | |
The All Ireland Talent Show was aRaidió Teilifís Éireann television series which was billed asIreland's biggest-ever talent contest. It was first announced in November 2008 and the first series commenced broadcasting on 4 January 2009, completing on 15 March 2009. Modelled onGot Talent,[2] it is produced by Tyrone Productions. Airing onRTÉ One, it was hosted byGráinne Seoige.[3]
Five judges take part and each regional judge, with the assistance of two other personalities who then disappear from the show, select five acts to be put forward to the live studio heats. In the second season this was changed to eight acts.Louis Walsh was approached to act as a judge before series one but refused to commit.[4] On the opening night of series one,The All Ireland Talent Show had over 500,000 viewers, with Ireland only having a population of over 4 million people.[a] The opening is similar to theGot Talent series. The twenty-five finalists in series one competed for a first prize of €50,000,[5] which was eventually won by theMulkerrin Brothers of theAran Islands.
A second series was announced in August 2009. It was scheduled to avoid competition with UK talent showThe X Factor which airs on competing channelsITV andVirgin Media One, andBBC One'sStrictly Come Dancing. The series was also extended with the addition of eight heats, awildcard show and two semi-finals. There was also the addition ofThe All Ireland Talent Show Backstage, a companion show presented byAidan Power andDustin the Turkey.[6] Series 2 was won byCounty Tyrone's Chloe Coyle.
A third series was announced in August 2010. The winner of the third series wasDaniel Furlong from Wexford. Furlong was the third child act to win the series.
The series was axed in July 2011 and replaced byThe Voice of Ireland, based on the hit Dutch TV seriesThe Voice of Holland.[7]
There were 5 stages to The All Ireland Talent competition:
The auditions took place in the North, the South, the West, the East and Dublin. Where an act auditions in front of their mentor and their selected advisors. Their mentor decided whether or not to put them through to the call-backs. At the start of the call-backs the mentor, with the help of their advisors, decides on the final 16 acts (final 10 in series 1). The advisors then leave and the mentor judges the rest of the call backs alone. The final 16 acts come back and perform again. They also give their reasons for why they should be put through to the live shows. The mentor then selects their final eight (final five in series 1) acts to put through to the live shows.
For the first eight (five in series 1) weeks, 5 acts performed representing each judge. After they performed each judge (except the acts mentor), gives the act a score out of ten. At the end of the show the act with the most votes got five points, and the next highest scoring act one point less. This system was applied to the televotes. The two scores were then added (in the event of a tie, the act with the more tele-votes takes higher ranking). The act who places first on the leaderboard makes it through to the semi-finals. (In season one this round was the semi-finals, so the act who placed first made it through to the final.) From the 2nd and 3rd placed acts there was a chance for one of them to become a wildcard. The three remaining judges vote on who deserves the wildcard. In season one from the wildcards picked the judges chose which one should progress through to the final, from season two this was decided in the wildcard show.
All the wild cards return and perform. This time the judges have no power over the final result and this decision is in the hands of the public. The acts who place first and second advance to the semi-finals, while the other acts are eliminated.
There are two semi finals. In each semi-final 5 acts perform and the judges again have no control over the vote. The top three acts in each semi-final advance to the final while the bottom two are eliminated. This round worked the same as the live heats in season one, and was the first round of the live shows.
The six acts return and perform again. The act who comes first wins the show and the prize of €50,000. However, in season 3 there was a twist. Each act performed once and the lines were frozen at the start of the results show. The three acts with the most votes performed again for the title while the three with the lowest votes were eliminated. The lines were then re-opened and the votes cast earlier carried forward. After the top three have performed again, the lines are closed and the act with the most votes is announced as the winner.
To date, three series have been broadcast, as summarised below.
| – Contestant from "south" |
| – Contestant from "west" |
| – Contestant from "east" |
| – Contestant from "north" |
| – Contestant from "Dublin" |
| Series | Winner | Runner-up | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| One | Mulkerrin Brothers | Jack Lynch | Bert & Victor |
| Two | Chloe Coyle | Na Fianna | Emma O'Sullivan & John O'Halloron |
| Three | Daniel Furlong | Don Stiff | Mad For Road |
During series one, Shane Lynch expressed his concern over the tactical voting of other judges, saying that he felt some of them were deciding upon their marks in what he viewed as an incorrect way. "It's going to affect me, don't get me wrong, it has affected me in fact", he toldRTÉ.ie.[8] Referring to the elimination of his dance act Raw Edge Crew, Lynch commented: "They should have done it (progressed)... and there was tactical voting involved".[8] Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh described herself as the "most honest" judge.[9] Judge Dáithí also reported his dissatisfaction with his fellow judges.[10] Judge Creedon reported his dissatisfaction with Judge Dáithí after the series.[11]
A second series ofThe All Ireland Talent Show was announced on 10 August 2009.[12]Aidan Power presented a companion show calledThe All Ireland Talent Show Backstage withDustin the turkey to which Aidan ended his career as co-presenter ofWinning Streak: Dream Ticket.[13][14] Gráinne Seoige returned as presenter in her only role on the channel following the scrapping ofSeoige.[15] The second season ofThe All Ireland Talent Show will be an extended one with more shows.[16] Judge Creedon has warned Dáithi Ó Sé to stop stealing acts from Munster, alleging that he invadedCounty Clare in series one and that he would be "answerable to me and to my gang" if he continued to persist.[11]
A third season was announced in August 2010. However,Boyzone singerShane Lynch announced his departure from the show due to touring and he was replaced byAmanda Brunker, although he wasAmanda's assistant judge at the Dublin auditions. The winner was Daniel Furlong, who was one of the wild cards.
Series 3 was the final series. In July 2011, the show was axed.
| Season | Host | Judges | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gráinne Seoige | John Creedon | Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh | Dana | Dáithí Ó Sé | Shane Lynch |
| 2 | ||||||
| 3 | Amanda Brunker | |||||
From series 1 and 2, The All Ireland Talent Show the judges were broadcasterJohn Creedon (South),Boyzone memberShane Lynch (Dublin), television personality and weather forecasterDáithí Ó Sé (West),1970Eurovision Song Contest winner and conservative politicianDana Rosemary Scallon (North) and television presenter and Irish language enthusiastBláthnaid Ní Chofaigh (East). In Series TwoEvelyn O'Rourke appeared as a replacement judge for the fourth live show afterShane Lynch's flight from London was delayed.
Shane Lynch left the show for the third series.Amanda Brunker became the new head judge. Lynch, however, served as one of Brunker's assistant judges during the Dublin auditions.
Gráinne Seoige is the current presenter on the show.Aidan Power andDustin the turkey are the current presenters on The All Ireland Talent Show Backstage.
| Series | Dáithí Ó Sé West | Shane Lynch Dublin | Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh East | John Creedon South | Dana North |
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| Series | Dáithí Ó Sé West | Amanda Brunker Dublin | Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh East | John Creedon South | Dana North |
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| The All Ireland Talent Show | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Talent show |
| Created by | Tyrone Productions |
| Presented by | Aidan Power Dustin |
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| Production | |
| Production location | Ardmore Studios |
| Running time | 30 mins |
| Original release | |
| Network | RTÉ Two |
| Release | January 2010 (2010-01) – March 2011 (2011-03) |
The All Ireland Talent Show Backstage is a companion show that airs onRTÉ Two from season two on Sunday at 7:30 after the main RTÉ One show.
The show was presented byAidan Power andDustin the Turkey. At the start of the show Power and Dustin talk to the judges about the comments/scores they gave and the comments/scores their act were given. A clip would be shown of Power and Dustin talking to the acts earlier that day before the show started. After the clip of the acts before performing they would talk to the acts live about their placing on the leaderboard and give them a chance to plead for votes. A comedy clip would follow, often of Dustin and Power spoofingJedward. However, in the 2010–2011 season, sometimes the clip would be an interview with a "celebrity" guest: as the clip was pre-recorded the performances by the acts during the RTÉ One show would not be discussed. A "celebrity" guest would come live into studio and talk about the acts and the judges scores.
RTÉ have cleverly scheduled their show to be over by 7.30pm so it's not in direct competition with the 8pmX Factor kick-off.