Unions in RT╔ are seeking an urgent meeting with the Minister for the Arts, S∅le de Valera, to discuss the current situation at the State broadcaster. The meeting was sought after RT╔ management revealed details of how it plans to implement cuts of £23 million in its annual budget. RT╔'s largest unions - SIPTU and the NUJ - are furious that management announced these proposals without consultation with unions. Union leaders say this constitutes a breach of the partnership agreements between unions and management, and that it's now "back to the trenches". They have spent the past week consulting their members about how to respond to the management's proposed cost-cutting measures.
Union sources describe the mood in RT╔ as "confrontational" and warn that any attempt by management to impose compulsory redundancies will meet fierce resistance. Notice has already been served on a number of journalists and the NUJ has written to management demanding that notice be lifted, at least until details of redundancy packages are revealed. The unions are due to give their response to management and put forward counter proposals early next week.
Production on a new series from the team behind last year's spoof documentary, Paths to Freedom, has just finished and the series looks set to air early in the new year. Produced by Grand Pictures, Paths to Freedom was a major critical success for RT╔. The new six-part series - Fergus' Wedding - follows the adventures of Fergus (Michael McElhatton) as he plans his big day with his fiancΘe, Penny (Julia Ford). Sounds straightforward, until you take into account the wedding organiser from Hell (Deirdre O'Kane), the death of the best man and the Knocklyon Swinging Club . . .
Yep, apparently a lot of the action takes place in a suburban swinging club where respectable members of society lounge around in boxer shorts and dog collars taking a break from their activities in the group room. Stamped with a "This is not a PC Production" warning, Fergus' Wedding promises to be another welcome surreal offering from Grand Pictures.
The impressive cast includes Peter MacDonald, Conor McPherson, Anna Healy and Kathy Downes. The series was written by Ian Fitzgibbon and Michael McElhatton and is directed by Ian Fitzgibbon.
RT╔'s drama and entertainment departments have been scoring highly of late with their Monday night comedy line-up on Network 2. Although The Cassidys sitcom got a poor reception from critics, it averaged ratings of around 155,000 viewers an episode. The drama, Bachelors Walk, has received unusually high praise from all quarters and has been achieving ratings in the region of 240,000 viewers a week. The final episode of the eight-part series will be broadcast on Monday at 9.30 p.m. A co-production between RT╔ and BBC, Bachelors Walk will be broadcast on the digital channel, BBC Choice, in January. No decision has been made yet on whether to commission a second series of The Cassidys or Bachelors Walk.
The current climate in RT╔ means that any major budgetary decisions are "on hold" for the moment.
It's almost 40 years since RT╔ television went on air as Telif∅s ╔ireann on New Year's Eve, 1961. RT╔ will broadcast a half-hour programme on New Year's Day to mark the occasion.
Television crews will be out and about across the country over the next few weeks recording memories and anecdotes from viewers about the beginning of Irish television. One woman has spoken about how her elderly aunt used to get dressed up when Charles Mitchell was reading the news, thinking he could see her from the screen. A man recalls how, when the first All-Ireland final was being shown in 1962, the sitting-room window of his neighbour's house had to be taken out to accommodate the crowds. The neighbour had the first TV set in the area after winning a "Gold Cup Tea" competition. Another viewer remembers his whole neighbourhood getting together every Sunday to eat cake, drink lemonade and watch the drama, Tolka Row.
Anyone who wishes to share their personal memories and reflections on television with RT╔ can contact the station on 01-2082931 or by e-mail at 40years@rte.ie
This week, 2 FM will broadcast a tribute to Uaneen Fitzsimons on the first anniversary of her death. The 29-year-old radio and television presenter died in a car crash on November 22nd last year. In March this year, friends, colleagues and fans gathered at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin for a tribute concert: A Wee Night for Uaneen. The three-hour concert was hosted by Uaneen's colleagues, Dave Fanning, John Kelly, Tony Fenton and Mike Edgar. Performers included Sinead O'Connor, The Frames, Gavin Friday, Bell-X1, The Blue Nile and Paddy Casey. The full concert can be heard on 2FM on Thursday, between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m.
mkearney@irish-times.com