Today Tonight (Ireland)

Today Tonight
Genre	News and current affairs
Presented by	Brian Farrell Barry Cowan Olivia O'Leary Pat Kenny John Bowman
Country of origin	Ireland
Original language(s)	English
Production
Editor(s)	Joe Mulholland
Location(s)	RTÉ Television Centre, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, Ireland
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Distributor	RTÉ
Release
Original network	RTÉ One
Original release	6 October 1980 – 27 August 1992
Chronology
Followed by	Prime Time

Today Tonight was an Irish news and current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis, robust cross-examination of senior politicians and investigative reporting. The programme was broadcast on RTÉ One for the first time on Monday 6 October 1980.^[1]

Brian Farrell, Barry Cowan and Olivia O'Leary were the three original presenters. They were subsequently joined by others such as Pat Cox, John Bowman and Pat Kenny. All of these presenters later went on to hold other positions in RTÉ Television. Today Tonight was broadcast from Monday to Thursday on RTÉ One after the main evening news and restored the station's reputation for current affairs broadcasting following the demise of 7 Days in 1976.^[2] The last edition of the programme was broadcast on 27 August 1992 and was replaced by Prime Time.^[3]

It won a number of Jacob's Awards.

An in-depth report into the 14 February 1981 Stardust fire broadcast by Today Tonight on 16 February 1981 led to a senior adviser of Taoiseach Charles Haughey accusing RTÉ of undermining the Stardust Tribunal.^[4]

References

1. "RTÉ outlines winter programme changes", The Irish Times, 4 September 1980
2. "RTÉ expected to drop Today Tonight", The Irish Times, 1 April 1992
3. "Prime Time's first Thursday this week", The Irish Times, 12 September 1992
4. "RTÉ accused over Stardust tragedy". Evening Herald (Independent News & Media). 30 December 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2011.