Gay Byrne will be back on RTE 1 for the summer with his own concept for a music show, Gay Byrne Presents.
Announcing its summer schedule yesterday, RTE said the seven-part series would run from early July to the end of August and would feature Irish artists such as Jack L, Ronnie Drew, Sinead O'Connor and Kieran Goss playing jazz, pop and traditional music.
The director of television, Mr Cathal Goan, said RTE had one of its liveliest line-ups of documentaries, drama series, movies and music. The mix would include RTE programmes, independent productions and the best television from abroad.
Mr Goan said RTE would bring quality coverage of every major sporting event, from Croke Park to the Sydney Olympics.
Marty Whelan will present the new Fame and Fortune game show on RTE 1 on Saturdays from May 27th to August 26th. Contestants will compete for the chance to join Whelan on a Concorde flight to Paris in October for a three-day trip.
The documentary series Would You Believe continues each Tuesday and will cover such topics as a profile of sculptor Imogen Stuart and musician Don Baker.
A new interactive sports entertainment show on Network 2, The Mixed Zone, will run from the end of July to early autumn on Monday nights.
For 40 minutes, the Mixed Zone will review and preview each week's big sports stories, offering live telephone and e-mail access to viewers.
The Department, a six-part observational documentary series filmed in the Department of Social Welfare, Community and Family Affairs, will show how the social welfare system operates, from the Minister down to a single mother in a Coolock housing estate.