Dara will receive the BAI Outstanding Contribution Award and nine other award winners will be revealed in a programme to be broadcast at 11pm on Virgin Media One on Tuesday March 30th, presented by Muireann O’Connell.

27 other nominees were announced today in nine categories from the 126 entries received, including RTÉ's Normal People, Virgin Media Television's News coverage - COVID News Special - Opening Up The Country, TG4's Is Olc an Ghaoth and Sky Sports’ Coverage of the GAA Championships.

The RTS Ireland Television Awards are supported by all the mainstream Irish Broadcasters - Virgin Media Television, RTÉ, TG4 & Sky Ireland - and by the wider television industry including the Broadcast Authority of Ireland and Screen Ireland to recognise excellence in Irish Television production and in Irish international co-productions during 2020.  

Our list of generous sponsors includes IMRO, Screenscene, Windmill Lane, CameraKit.ie, TVM, Nemeton TV, Egg Post Production and Piranha Bar.

The RTS Ireland Television Awards committee recruited independent judges from across the industry at home and abroad, who spent the last few weeks reviewing and evaluating creative excellence and achievement in nine categories. Their short-lists for nominees in the respective categories are as follows:

 

The Screen Ireland Drama Award

Dead Still - Deadpan Pictures, Shaftesbury

Normal People – Element Pictures

Is Olc an Ghaoth – Lunar Pictures

 

Entertainment

Dancing with the Stars – ShinAwiL Ltd

Ultimate Hell Week – Motive Television

Marty & Bernard – On The Road Again – ShinAwiL Ltd

 

Factual Series

David Brophy’s Unsung Heroes – Tyrone Productions

Big Life Fix – Kite Entertainment

The Boys In Green – Loosehorse

 

Factual Single

Abbeyfealegood – Atom Films

Love & Loss in a Pandemic - RTÉ

Toraigh: Creag Bheag i Lár na Farraige - Lugh Films, Dearcán Media, Tita Productions

 

Sport

Laochra Gael - Kieran Donaghy - Nemeton TV

New Gaels - Poolbeg Productions

Sky Sports’ Coverage of the GAA Championships - Sky Sports

 

News & Current Affairs  

 RTÉ Investigates - Inside Ireland's Covid Battle; Life & Death  - RTÉ

 COVID News Special – Opening up the Country - Virgin Media News

 General Election 2020 – Results Coverage  - RTÉ

 

Animation

The Voyage - JAM Media

The Christmas Letter - Dream Logic Animation

The Dead Hands of Dublin - Pink Kong Studios

 

Specialist Factual

The Funeral Director - GMarshTV Productions

The Francis Street Photographer – Zucca Films/That’s A Wrap TV

Cogadh ar Mhná/ A War on Women – ForeFront Productions

 

Children’s Programme

Home School Hub – Macalla Teoranta

Tina Times Two – Dyehouse Films

Sol – Paper Owl Films  

 

Speaking at the announcement of the nominees, RTS Ireland Television Awards Committee chairperson, Niall Cogley, said: “We are proud to launch our inaugural RTS Ireland Television Awards with the wholehearted support of all of the broadcasters in the country and from the wider Irish television industry. 2020 was an extraordinary year, but the TV community was able to adapt and excel despite the logistical, economic and the very human challenges it faced.

“We all wanted to come together to recognise some of those achievements, to celebrate the creative excellence that Irish audiences have enjoyed in this exceptional year, and to say ‘Thanks’ for sharing your talents with us.

“Our thanks to Muireann O’Connell who has kindly agreed to present the inaugural RTS Ireland Television Awards programme next week.

“We are very gratified to have had such a tremendous response to our invitation to submit entries from so many top-class Irish television production companies. Thanks also to our hardworking panel of Irish and international judges, to our very generous broadcasters and sponsors, especially Virgin Media Television who are hosting our inaugural awards this year.

“We wish all the shortlisted nominees the very best of luck ahead of the announcement of winners in each category next Tuesday night”

The RTS Programme Awards are among the international gold standard awards for the TV industry and represent an important showcase for the extraordinary talent evident across the television industry in this part of the world.  This is the latest initiative of the Republic of Ireland Centre of Royal Television Society which has been operating since 1996.

RTS Ireland organises a range of other events and awards every year including the awards ceremony for student productions in the categories of Drama, Short Form, Comedy, Animation, Factual and Craft Skills.