Big Brother’s Jedward represent a new stage in celebrity evolutionAs they make a mockery of the other contestants in the Big Brother house, I find my heart swelling with national prideWed Jan 11 2017 - 14:10
Patrick Freyne: Will 2017 be the year television finally fulfils its destiny?From the end of childhood (and possibly RTÉ) to the terrible hatching of a glowing orange homunculus, television is going to be great in 2017Wed Dec 28 2016 - 06:20
The Brexit diaries: Patrick Freyne’s travels in 2016 BritainThe week the United Kingdom voted for Brexit in June 2016, our reporter travelled from Wales to London, talking to voters. Here are his ‘Brexit diaries’ articles in fullMon Dec 26 2016 - 06:00
'Irish people largely see history as a detective story, not a tribal religion'Culture review 2016: Misogyny, classism and racism were all still evident on our television screensSat Dec 24 2016 - 05:00
Patrick Freyne: The queen’s 90th birthday party was every bit as bizarre as you would expect2016 Revisited: Behold the queen’s televised birthday bash, held in an enclosed section of her favourite garden, Britain, and featuring all of her favourite subjectsTue Dec 20 2016 - 15:53
A day in a hospice: ‘Will I last until Christmas?’There are many kinds of patients at Our Lady’s Hospice. Some have their funerals all planned. Others are in ‘absolute denial’. And all want to make the most of their last daysSat Dec 17 2016 - 06:00
Patrick Freyne: The 19 biggest TV moments of 2016It was a year of extraordinary events, shock departures, even more shocking arrivals, and loads of stuff that just wasn’t funny - who says TV isn’t just like reality?Wed Dec 14 2016 - 14:59
Do you see danger everywhere? Well you should, says Docter Noel ZonePatrick Freyne nabs a rare interview with the famous dangerologist. His advice for a safe season? ‘Make sure your Christmas stocking isn’t an actual giant’s sock. They may come back to get it’Mon Dec 12 2016 - 06:00
Punched and kicked while pregnant: when violence is ‘part of the job’As workers at a child-detention centre prepare to strike, social care workers describe the attacks and trauma that are seen as ‘part of their job’Sat Dec 10 2016 - 06:00
There ain’t nothing like a dame called FreyneI am being turned into a panto dame by Sammy Sausages of the Tivoli TheatreThu Dec 08 2016 - 00:00
Patrick Freyne: Kids TV just ain’t what it used to be ... thank GodWorried by RTÉ’s cessation of children’s TV production, I look back at the kids shows that shaped the man I am today. Who, now, will scar our children for life?Wed Dec 07 2016 - 14:25
Patrick Freyne: The Late Late Toy Show is coming, there’s no need to be afraidAccept no substitutes, especially those made by TV3 – The Toy Show is the alpha and omega of Irish cultureFri Dec 02 2016 - 17:11
Al Porter: ‘After wild sex with a priest, I realised the priesthood was not for me’A stand-up who has seen the darkness talks frankly about depression, sexuality and classThu Dec 01 2016 - 11:00
The invisible people who live very public lives on our streetsRough sleepers deal with death, illness, violence and humiliation day in, day outSat Nov 26 2016 - 10:19
Patrick Freyne: The new true meaning of Christmas? I found it on the tellyIt’s that time of year again when TV ads pull out all the stops and sentimentally bludgeon us till we cry, rage and (hopefully) go shoppingWed Nov 23 2016 - 10:03
Late Late Toy Show video: Tubridy sings for the ‘RTÉ board’Patrick Freyne: This promo for the December 2nd show seems to be based on a recurring nightmare Ryan Tubridy hasFri Nov 18 2016 - 11:30
Maser the street artist: I did the Brown Thomas windows for the wedgeHaving earned his stripes with political murals, the street artist is taking to the garretFri Nov 18 2016 - 05:00
I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Finally, some sweet relief from realityIn the nick of time, Ant & Dec return to pointlessly torture celebs for our pleasure and distractionWed Nov 16 2016 - 15:31
Piecing my broken childhood together, one document at a timeShane Griffin grew up in residential units and in foster care. Now he’s investigating his own past by seeking access to dozens of official records about his emotional state, his behaviour, his relationships and his familySat Nov 12 2016 - 06:00
Roger Moore: ‘I was too smooth, before time rolled its evil tracks across my gob’The ex-007 talks movies, marriages and how Aidan Turner would look good as BondThu Nov 10 2016 - 06:00
Patrick Freyne: The unthinkable as it happened on TVA misogynistic racist liar has defeated all predictions to become president of the USWed Nov 09 2016 - 08:17
Ireland’s Fittest Family: tomorrow belongs to them - not to people like youThis week, RTÉ showed us the calibre of individuals who should rightfully be leading us... and gave us a portrait of Enda KennyWed Nov 02 2016 - 14:39
Patrick Freyne on the return of The Walking DeadSpoiler alert: Series seven has begun and we now know who Negan killed – but did he go too far? Has the series gone too far?Mon Oct 24 2016 - 21:59
Donald Trump is going for absolute broke - will America follow his lead?Watching Donald Trump debate Hillary Clinton is like watching the last 25 minutes of Fight Club - and not at all like that film about the rise of HitlerWed Oct 12 2016 - 11:04
Pat Kenny: ‘I’m not sensitive to criticism anymore’As he gets an IFTA lifetime achievement award, Pat Kenny talks about work, fame and being an underdog againSat Oct 08 2016 - 06:00
Westworld review: grapples with big ideas and shoots from the scientific hipThe robots in Sky Atlantic’s new sci-fi thriller want to bring the love, unlike the Baby Animals on BBC1, who are just bastardsThu Oct 06 2016 - 21:20
Patrick Freyne: Masculinity in crisis? It’s more of an opportunityHow to Be a Man: Now more than ever, who we are is not a matter of X or Y chromosomesFri Sept 30 2016 - 06:00
Most homoerotic experience in rural Ireland? 15 men naked in a GAA dressing roomHow to be a Man: Patrick Freyne talks to Ronan Brady, Roscommon GAA footballer turned acrobat star of recent Dublin Fringe production, RiotFri Sept 30 2016 - 06:00
Now that the end is nigh, it’s finally time to review Donald TrumpThe final season of ‘America’ began on Monday night, and the sense of apocalyptic dread was palpable right from the offThu Sept 29 2016 - 17:21
Fr Peter McVerry: The priesthood should not be reserved only for malesHow to be a Man: Patrick Freyne talks to the social justice campaigner about gender equality, masculinity and the masks we wearThu Sept 29 2016 - 06:00
What type of man are you? Take our quizHow to be a Man: Quizmaster Patrick Freyne has the answers to all your problems...Wed Sept 28 2016 - 16:20
Stephen Donnelly: I am a very proud feminist ... to me it's a no-brainerHow to be a Man: Patrick Freyne talks to the Independent TD about gender diversity, parenting, digging potatoes and feminismWed Sept 28 2016 - 06:00
Matt Cooper: I hated that you proved yourself as a man by your ability to be violentHow to be a Man: Patrick Freyne talks to the Today FM broadcaster about fighting, housework, crying and his new puppyTue Sept 27 2016 - 06:00
Al Porter: ‘The most manly thing I’ve done lately? Sleeping with a woman’How to be a Man: Patrick Freyne talks to comedian Al Porter about being the son of a sergeant, growing up gay and what it means to be ‘manly’Mon Sept 26 2016 - 06:00
Fintan O’Toole: 'The worst masculine trait is violence … men hit people more than women do'How to be a Man: Patrick Freyne talks to The Irish Times columnist about boyhood, feminism and balancing family and work lifeSun Sept 25 2016 - 06:00
Bressie: ‘Sobbing uncontrollably is liberating ... and so is admitting you are vulnerable’How to be a Man: Patrick Freyne talked to Niall Breslin (Bressie) about masculinity, crying and the pressureSat Sept 24 2016 - 06:15
How friendship keeps the championship ploughing onDancing in the mud and high fives at the entrance are part of last-day high spiritsFri Sept 23 2016 - 01:00
Hooten & the Lady - two names that scream adventure (and racism)Hooten & the Lady is filled with nostalgia for the good old days, when stealing golden monkey skulls from spear-waving tribesfolk was just fineWed Sept 21 2016 - 16:01
‘Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope’: the making of RTÉ’s dark new comedy drama2016 Revisited: Too much TV glamorises ‘going out for the night, having sex with people, then dissecting it the next day over avocados’. Stefanie Preissner set out to be more realisticSat Sept 17 2016 - 04:00
The 80s: when men were men and TV shows were once a weekBack when once a week was often enough, our TV screens were filled with stunt-men, novelists, fugitives, sexy millionaires and astronauts lost in time. It truly was a golden ageWed Sept 14 2016 - 17:28
‘Red Rock’ returns: So who killed Brian McGonigle?As TV3’s hit soap returns to reveal who killed its principal baddy, its creators talk about the show, its future and keeping their audience engrossedSat Sept 10 2016 - 06:00
Patrick Freyne: ‘I do not know whether I want to destroy Poldark or kiss him’Handsome, wilful, charismatic, brooding, honourable, frequently shirtless... why, oh why, is everyone so obsessed with this Poldark guy?Wed Sept 07 2016 - 15:49
Electric Picnic day three: covered in mud still humming LCDPatrick Freyne on the final, smiling day of Electric PicnicSun Sept 04 2016 - 19:50
Electric Picnic begins with day of artistic tomfooleryThousands wander around looking hungunder while under Drunk Police surveillanceFri Sept 02 2016 - 20:39
Roald Dahl: the bad influenceIn the early days, he was a lone anarchist on a rampage and there were angry letters from librarians, but we learned to love his strange storiesFri Sept 02 2016 - 10:20
Nicole Scherzinger is right on the money. It is the era of the arseIn search of the meaning of life/pop music, Patrick Freyne stumbles through the wastelands of X Factor and the VMAsWed Aug 31 2016 - 15:38
Patrick Freyne: the TV ads I’ve grown to loveAdvertisements replace my recurring anxieties about death with impulses to buy stuff. Here are some of my favourites from the recent pastWed Aug 24 2016 - 15:30
‘Politicians are concerned with fame, re-election and keeping their expenses’The writer of political sitcom Yes, Minister, Antony Jay, recalls in a 2013 interview the series’ devastating dissections of policy-making within Kafkaesque bureaucracyWed Aug 24 2016 - 13:00
A very Irish history of festivalsTake a walk through a history of Irish festivals, from mass and Feile to the Beat on the StreetThu Aug 18 2016 - 06:00
Patrick Freyne’s Guide to the Rose of Tralee2016 Revisited: The Roses' job is to float around smiling and wearing a sash, which resembles a bandolierTue Aug 16 2016 - 10:00
