The All Ireland Talent Show was a Raidió Teilifís Éireann television series which was billed as Ireland's biggest-ever talent contest. It was first announced in November 2008 and the first series commenced broadcasting on 4 January 2009, completing on 15 March 2009. Modelled on Got Talent,[2] it is produced by Tyrone Productions. Airing on RTÉ One, it was hosted by Gráinne Seoige.[3]
Five judges take part and each regional judge, with the assistance of two other personalities who then disappear from the show, select five acts to be put forward to the live studio heats. In the second season this was changed to eight acts. Louis Walsh was approached to act as a judge before series one but refused to commit.[4] On the opening night of series one, The All Ireland Talent Show had over 500,000 viewers, with Ireland only having a population of over 4 million people.[a] The opening is similar to the Got Talent series. The twenty-five finalists in series one competed for a first prize of €50,000,[5] which was eventually won by the Mulkerrin Brothers of the Aran Islands.
A third series was announced in August 2010. The winner of the third series was Daniel Furlong from Wexford. Furlong was the third child act to win the series.
There were 5 stages to The All Ireland Talent competition:
Stage 1: Auditions
Stage 2: Live shows
Stage 3: Wild card show*
Stage 4: First semi-final and second semi-final*
Stage 5: Final
This round was not included in series 1.*
Auditions
The auditions took place in the North, the South, the West, the East and Dublin. Where an act auditions in front of their mentor and their selected advisors. Their mentor decided whether or not to put them through to the call-backs. At the start of the call-backs the mentor, with the help of their advisors, decides on the final 16 acts (final 10 in series 1). The advisors then leave and the mentor judges the rest of the call backs alone. The final 16 acts come back and perform again. They also give their reasons for why they should be put through to the live shows. The mentor then selects their final eight (final five in series 1) acts to put through to the live shows.
Live heats
For the first eight (five in series 1) weeks, 5 acts performed representing each judge. After they performed each judge (except the acts mentor), gives the act a score out of ten. At the end of the show the act with the most votes got five points, and the next highest scoring act one point less. This system was applied to the televotes. The two scores were then added (in the event of a tie, the act with the more tele-votes takes higher ranking). The act who places first on the leaderboard makes it through to the semi-finals. (In season one this round was the semi-finals, so the act who placed first made it through to the final.) From the 2nd and 3rd placed acts there was a chance for one of them to become a wildcard. The three remaining judges vote on who deserves the wildcard. In season one from the wildcards picked the judges chose which one should progress through to the final, from season two this was decided in the wildcard show.
Wild card show
All the wild cards return and perform. This time the judges have no power over the final result and this decision is in the hands of the public. The acts who place first and second advance to the semi-finals, while the other acts are eliminated.
Semi-finals
There are two semi finals. In each semi-final 5 acts perform and the judges again have no control over the vote. The top three acts in each semi-final advance to the final while the bottom two are eliminated. This round worked the same as the live heats in season one, and was the first round of the live shows.
Final
The six acts return and perform again. The act who comes first wins the show and the prize of €50,000. However, in season 3 there was a twist. Each act performed once and the lines were frozen at the start of the results show. The three acts with the most votes performed again for the title while the three with the lowest votes were eliminated. The lines were then re-opened and the votes cast earlier carried forward. After the top three have performed again, the lines are closed and the act with the most votes is announced as the winner.
Series summary
To date, three series have been broadcast, as summarised below.
During series one, Shane Lynch expressed his concern over the tactical voting of other judges, saying that he felt some of them were deciding upon their marks in what he viewed as an incorrect way. "It's going to affect me, don't get me wrong, it has affected me in fact", he told RTÉ.ie.[8] Referring to the elimination of his dance act Raw Edge Crew, Lynch commented: "They should have done it (progressed)... and there was tactical voting involved".[8] Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh described herself as the "most honest" judge.[9] Judge Dáithí also reported his dissatisfaction with his fellow judges.[10] Judge Creedon reported his dissatisfaction with Judge Dáithí after the series.[11]
A second series of The All Ireland Talent Show was announced on 10 August 2009.[12]Aidan Power presented a companion show called The All Ireland Talent Show Backstage with Dustin the turkey to which Aidan ended his career as co-presenter of Winning Streak: Dream Ticket.[13][14] Gráinne Seoige returned as presenter in her only role on the channel following the scrapping of Seoige.[15] The second season of The All Ireland Talent Show will be an extended one with more shows.[16] Judge Creedon has warned Dáithi Ó Sé to stop stealing acts from Munster, alleging that he invaded County Clare in series one and that he would be "answerable to me and to my gang" if he continued to persist.[11]
A third season was announced in August 2010. However, Boyzone singer Shane Lynch announced his departure from the show due to touring and he was replaced by Amanda Brunker, although he was Amanda's assistant judge at the Dublin auditions. The winner was Daniel Furlong, who was one of the wild cards.
Series 3 was the final series. In July 2011, the show was axed.
Shane Lynch left the show for the third series. Amanda Brunker became the new head judge. Lynch, however, served as one of Brunker's assistant judges during the Dublin auditions.
The All Ireland Talent Show Backstage is a companion show that airs on RTÉ Two from season two on Sunday at 7:30 after the main RTÉ One show.
The show was presented by Aidan Power and Dustin the Turkey.
At the start of the show Power and Dustin talk to the judges about the comments/scores they gave and the comments/scores their act were given.
A clip would be shown of Power and Dustin talking to the acts earlier that day before the show started.
After the clip of the acts before performing they would talk to the acts live about their placing on the leaderboard and give them a chance to plead for votes.
A comedy clip would follow, often of Dustin and Power spoofing Jedward.
However, in the 2010–2011 season, sometimes the clip would be an interview with a "celebrity" guest: as the clip was pre-recorded the performances by the acts during the RTÉ One show would not be discussed.
A "celebrity" guest would come live into studio and talk about the acts and the judges scores.
^Ireland is an island consisting of 32 counties, and the population of Ireland as a whole is estimated to be 6.2 million. however, the viewing figures only relate to the 26 counties of the Republic.
