Après Match
Encyclopedia
Après Match is an Irish
comedy
show normally screened after competitive Irish soccer matches on RTÉ
. It is performed by Barry Murphy, Risteárd Cooper
and Gary Cooke
. It grew out of Barry Murphy and Risteárd Cooper's Frank's Euro Ting sketches which first enlivened RTÉ's coverage of Euro '96
for which Rep. of Ireland had failed to qualify. Barry Murphy had performed similar football-related sketches on RTÉ in 1994.
"Après Match" proper was born when Gary Cooke joined the duo and soon became a fixture following each of Ireland's qualifying games for the 1998 World Cup
.
The show mocks famous, mostly Irish, soccerstars and pundits including Bill O'Herlihy
, Eamon Dunphy
, Johnny Giles
, Liam Brady
, Frank Stapleton
, Colm Murray, and Graeme Souness
, as well as pundits from the British channels, including Richard Keys
, Andy Gray and Jamie Redknapp
, Gary Lineker
and Alan Hansen
. They also mock Irish television
and radio
personalities such as Marian Finucane
, Miriam O'Callaghan
, Vincent Browne
, Tom McGurk
, David McWilliams
, Brent Pope
, George Hook
, Joe Duffy
and Gerry Ryan
. As of 2010, they have added politicians such as Brian Cowen
, Brian Lenihan
and Joan Burton
to their repertoire. The Après Match team have sold out venues all over Ireland including Vicar Street
, the Olympia Theatre
and the Gaiety Theatre.
after many of the matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup
. As well as mocking the usual broadcasters, the team interviewed football fans in Germany. There were also a number of sketches following a mock attempt at a takeover by the Gaelic Athletic Association
Head Assimilator of Foreign Games of the Match of the Day
studios in London and a Father Ted
parody of Football Association of Ireland
officials and Irish manager Steve Staunton
. For the third place play-off match between Germany
and Portugal
, the team took over full studio coverage, as well as half-time and full-time analysis, as they had done for the corresponding match of the 2002 World Cup
.
. The stars of the show interviewed the real RTÉ analysts including Ray Houghton, RTÉ commentator George Hamilton
and Sky Sports' Chris Kamara
. TV3
sports broadcaster Trevor Welch was lampooned, including having his vowels drawn out as he was interviewing fans from participating countries such as Costa Rica and Germany. The broadcast also featured extended highlights of the stars covering the third place play-off of the World Cup between Germany and Portugal.
and England
, he thought might not have generated much interest. He said: "The figures are phenomenal, really. We had nearly 700,000 last Sunday at peak (for Spain
vs Italy
), the English channel had only about 75,000 at peak that night - they're blowing BBC
and ITV
out of the water. There's no question that Après Match are part of that, I think they're the best comedy team for a long, long time." For O'Herlihy keeping his composure proved difficult and he was finally sent over the edge by the Frankly Speaking interview with Fernando Torres
, when Frank Stapleton asked the player if it was difficult for him having the hopes of all of Spain resting on his shoulders "seeing as they're quite slopey". The rest of the panel had difficulty keeping their composure too, with the parodies on Andy Gray and Richard Keys
of Sky Sports
"often rendering a tearful Graeme Souness
speechless". The highlights were released on DVD and broadcast as a TV Christmas special the following December.
. Footballer Andy Reid
has made a guest appearance in two sketches. Sunderland A.F.C.
's Stadium of Light
was used in one sketch. Dietmar Hamann
and Osvaldo Ardiles
the newest pundits in RTÉ's World Cup team have already made appearances in the Après Match line up. For the 3rd place play-off match between Germany
and Uruguay
, the whole show (Preview, half-time and full-time anaylsis) was Après Match, and was followed by a "special edition" of Après Match in which the real RTÉ panel discussed Après Match.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
show normally screened after competitive Irish soccer matches on RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
. It is performed by Barry Murphy, Risteárd Cooper
Risteárd Cooper
Risteárd Cooper is an Irish actor, comedian, singer and writer and is one third of comedy trio Aprés Match.Cooper graduated from the acting programme at the Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College...
and Gary Cooke
Gary Cooke
Gary Cooke is an Irish actor, satirist and writer who is one of the stars, on screen, of Après Match and, on stage, I, Keano and MacBecks...
. It grew out of Barry Murphy and Risteárd Cooper's Frank's Euro Ting sketches which first enlivened RTÉ's coverage of Euro '96
UEFA European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
for which Rep. of Ireland had failed to qualify. Barry Murphy had performed similar football-related sketches on RTÉ in 1994.
"Après Match" proper was born when Gary Cooke joined the duo and soon became a fixture following each of Ireland's qualifying games for the 1998 World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
.
The show mocks famous, mostly Irish, soccerstars and pundits including Bill O'Herlihy
Bill O'Herlihy
Bill O'Herlihy is an Irish sports broadcaster with Raidió Teilifís Éireann . He also heads one of Ireland's largest public relations firms.-Bill's life:...
, Eamon Dunphy
Eamon Dunphy
Eamon Martin Dunphy is an Irish media personality, radio and television presenter, author, sports pundit, as well as a former professional football player. He is best known as a soccer analyst on Raidió Teilifís Éireann 's coverage of the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. He was paid...
, Johnny Giles
Johnny Giles
Michael John "Johnny" Giles is a former association footballer and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s...
, Liam Brady
Liam Brady
Liam Brady is a former Irish association football player, and former assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland national football team....
, Frank Stapleton
Frank Stapleton
Francis Anthony "Frank" Stapleton is an Irish former football player and manager. He is best remembered for his time at Arsenal, Manchester United and as a pivotal player for the Republic of Ireland...
, Colm Murray, and Graeme Souness
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur,...
, as well as pundits from the British channels, including Richard Keys
Richard Keys
Richard Keys is an English radio presenter best known for his time with British sports channel Sky Sports from 1991 until 2011. In February 2011, Keys along with fellow Sky presenter, Andy Gray signed with talkSPORT....
, Andy Gray and Jamie Redknapp
Jamie Redknapp
Jamie Frank Redknapp is a retired English footballer who was active from 1989 until 2005. He is now a football pundit with Sky Sports, and an editorial columnist with the Daily Mail....
, Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker, OBE , is a former English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, Al Jazeera Sports and Eredivisie Live...
and Alan Hansen
Alan Hansen
Alan David Hansen is a Scottish former football player and BBC television football pundit. He played as a central defender for Partick Thistle, Liverpool and Scotland...
. They also mock Irish television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
personalities such as Marian Finucane
Marian Finucane
Marian Finucane is an Irish broadcaster with Raidió Teilifís Éireann . She has worked with the national broadcaster since in 1976, starting as a continuity announcer. She was the first presenter of Liveline...
, Miriam O'Callaghan
Miriam O'Callaghan
Miriam O'Callaghan is an Irish television current affairs broadcaster, chat show host and radio presenter with Raidió Teilifís Éireann . She has presented the leading current affairs show, Prime Time, since 1996, and her own chat show, Saturday Night with Miriam, since 2005...
, Vincent Browne
Vincent Browne
Vincent Browne is an Irish print and broadcast journalist. He is a columnist with The Irish Times and The Sunday Business Post and a part time barrister....
, Tom McGurk
Tom McGurk
Tom McGurk is an Irish poet, journalist, radio presenter and sportscaster from Brockagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.From 1983 to 1996 he was married to the broadcaster Miriam O'Callaghan...
, David McWilliams
David McWilliams
David McWilliams is an Irish journalist and economist. McWilliams has worked with as an economist with Central Bank of Ireland and as a banker with UBS bank and the Banque Nationale de Paris...
, Brent Pope
Brent Pope
Brent Pope is a retired ice hockey player, and current General Manager of the Cardiff Devils in Cardiff, Wales.-Coaching career:Pope also coaches the Cardiff Devils development programme squad, helped out by current Devils players....
, George Hook
George Hook
George Hook is an Irish broadcaster, journalist and rugby union pundit. He had a career as a rugby union coach and businessman, before becoming a rugby pundit with Raidió Teilifís Éireann...
, Joe Duffy
Joe Duffy
Joseph "Joe" Duffy is an Irish broadcaster employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann . A Jacob's Award winner, he is the current presenter of Liveline, which is broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1, Monday - Fridays between 13:45 and 15:00.Duffy has a history as a student activist; he was President of the Union of...
and Gerry Ryan
Gerry Ryan
Gerard "Gerry" Ryan was an Irish presenter of radio and television employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann...
. As of 2010, they have added politicians such as Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 7 May 2008 to 9 March 2011. He was head of a coalition government led by Fianna Fáil which until 23 January 2011 had the support of the Green Party and independent TDs.Cowen was also leader of Fianna Fáil from 7 May...
, Brian Lenihan
Brian Lenihan
Brian Patrick Lenihan was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician, who served in a range of cabinet positions, most notably as Tánaiste , Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Justice....
and Joan Burton
Joan Burton
Joan Burton is an Irish Labour Party politician and the current Minister for Social Protection. She is a Teachta Dála for the Dublin West constituency....
to their repertoire. The Après Match team have sold out venues all over Ireland including Vicar Street
Vicar Street
Vicar Street is a concert and events venue in Ireland, located on Thomas Street, Dublin 8. Its capacity allows for 1,000 people for seated performances, and 1,500 people for standing gigs...
, the Olympia Theatre
Olympia Theatre, Dublin
The Olympia Theatre is a concert hall/theatre venue in Dublin, Ireland, located in Dame Street.-History:Built in 1879, it was originally called the "Star of Erin Music Hall". Two years later in 1881, it was renamed "Dan Lowrey's Music Hall" and was renamed again in 1889 to "Dan Lowrey's Palace of...
and the Gaiety Theatre.
2006 World Cup sketches
Après Match performed sketches on RTÉ TwoRTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...
after many of the matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
. As well as mocking the usual broadcasters, the team interviewed football fans in Germany. There were also a number of sketches following a mock attempt at a takeover by the Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
Head Assimilator of Foreign Games of the Match of the Day
Match of the Day
Match of the Day is the BBC's main football television programme. Typically, it is shown on BBC One on Saturday evenings during the English football season, showing highlights of the day's matches in English football's top division, the Premier League...
studios in London and a Father Ted
Father Ted
Father Ted is a comedy series set in Ireland that was produced by Hat Trick Productions for British broadcaster Channel 4. Written jointly by Irish writers Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan and starring a predominantly Irish cast, it originally aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May...
parody of Football Association of Ireland
Football Association of Ireland
The Football Association of Ireland is the governing body for the sport of association football in the Republic of Ireland. It should not to be confused with the Irish Football Association , which is the organising body for the sport in Northern Ireland.For the full history, statistics and records...
officials and Irish manager Steve Staunton
Steve Staunton
Stephen "Steve" Staunton is an Irish association football manager and former professional footballer, who was most recently manager of Darlington...
. For the third place play-off match between Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
and Portugal
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...
, the team took over full studio coverage, as well as half-time and full-time analysis, as they had done for the corresponding match of the 2002 World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
.
2006 Christmas special
A Christmas special was broadcast on RTÉ Two on St. Stephen's Day 2006 from 10pm until 11pm. This edition featured highlights of Après Match sketches from 2006, including sequences from the previous summer's World Cup2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
. The stars of the show interviewed the real RTÉ analysts including Ray Houghton, RTÉ commentator George Hamilton
George Hamilton (commentator)
George Hamilton is an Irish sportscaster born in Belfast. He works for Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and is a household name in Ireland where his voice and refined commentary style of football are familiar to sports fans. He also presents a show on RTÉ lyric fm and previously presented Know Your Sport...
and Sky Sports' Chris Kamara
Chris Kamara
Chris Kamara is a retired English footballer. He ended his playing career in 1995 and last managed a club in 1998. He is now a presenter and football analyst on Sky Sports.-Playing career:...
. TV3
TV3 Ireland
TV3 is a free-to-air commercial television network in the Republic of Ireland. Launched on 20 September 1998 it was Ireland's first commercial broadcaster. The channel is owned by TV3 Group a subsidiary of Doughty Hanson & Co.-The TV3 Group:...
sports broadcaster Trevor Welch was lampooned, including having his vowels drawn out as he was interviewing fans from participating countries such as Costa Rica and Germany. The broadcast also featured extended highlights of the stars covering the third place play-off of the World Cup between Germany and Portugal.
Euro 2008 sketches
The trio marked their tenth anniversary with three weeks of sketches during UEFA Euro 2008. The tournament marked their biggest contribution yet to RTÉ's coverage of a major tournament. For the first time, Après Match had its own producer, Gráinne O'Carroll, and production team. The real O'Herlihy said that Après Match has played a significant part in what have been impressive viewing figures for a tournament that, in the absence of IrelandRepublic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
and England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
, he thought might not have generated much interest. He said: "The figures are phenomenal, really. We had nearly 700,000 last Sunday at peak (for Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
vs Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
), the English channel had only about 75,000 at peak that night - they're blowing BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
out of the water. There's no question that Après Match are part of that, I think they're the best comedy team for a long, long time." For O'Herlihy keeping his composure proved difficult and he was finally sent over the edge by the Frankly Speaking interview with Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres
Fernando José Torres Sanz , nicknamed , is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker....
, when Frank Stapleton asked the player if it was difficult for him having the hopes of all of Spain resting on his shoulders "seeing as they're quite slopey". The rest of the panel had difficulty keeping their composure too, with the parodies on Andy Gray and Richard Keys
Richard Keys
Richard Keys is an English radio presenter best known for his time with British sports channel Sky Sports from 1991 until 2011. In February 2011, Keys along with fellow Sky presenter, Andy Gray signed with talkSPORT....
of Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
"often rendering a tearful Graeme Souness
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur,...
speechless". The highlights were released on DVD and broadcast as a TV Christmas special the following December.
2010 World Cup sketches
The team have once again returned to RTÉ Two with brand new sketches and material for the duration of the 2010 FIFA World Cup2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
. Footballer Andy Reid
Andy Reid (footballer)
Andrew Matthew "Andy" Reid is an Irish footballer who currently plays for Nottingham Forest in the Football League Championship. He plays as a midfielder and has also represented the Republic of Ireland.-Personal life:...
has made a guest appearance in two sketches. Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
's Stadium of Light
Stadium of Light
The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light has the fifth-largest capacity of any English football stadium. The stadium primarily hosts Sunderland A.F.C. matches...
was used in one sketch. Dietmar Hamann
Dietmar Hamann
Dietmar "Didi" Hamann is a German footballer who was most recently manager at Stockport County. Throughout his career, he has played for Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Liverpool, and Manchester City primarily in a defensive midfield position. He also spent time at Milton Keynes Dons as a...
and Osvaldo Ardiles
Osvaldo Ardiles
Osvaldo César Ardiles , often referred to in Britain as Ossie Ardiles, is a football coach, pundit and former midfielder who won the 1978 World Cup as part of the Argentine national team...
the newest pundits in RTÉ's World Cup team have already made appearances in the Après Match line up. For the 3rd place play-off match between Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
and Uruguay
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...
, the whole show (Preview, half-time and full-time anaylsis) was Après Match, and was followed by a "special edition" of Après Match in which the real RTÉ panel discussed Après Match.
Video and DVD releases
- The Best of Après Match 2000 - VHS, 2000
- Après Match - Live at the Olympia - VHS, 2001
- Après Match - Tired & Emotional - The Best of 2002 - VHS and DVD, 2002
- Après Match - 1994-2004 - VHS and DVD, 2003
- The Best of Après Match 2006 - DVD, 2006
- The Best of Après Match 2008 - DVD, 2008
See also
- The State of UsThe State of UsThe State of Us is a four-part comedy sketch show which broadcast on Irish television channel RTÉ One on Sunday nights at 21:40. It stars Risteárd Cooper, well known in Ireland for his part in the Après Match sketches. It is written by Gerard Stembridge and Risteárd Cooper and focuses on the clash...
- a similar show starring Risteard Cooper and broadcast before the 2007 Irish general election.
External links
- Après Match at RTÉ playerRTÉ playerRTÉ player is an on demand video service provided by RTÉ for programmes broadcast on RTÉ Television. RTÉ player is available in two formats; one for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and another format for international audiences...
- Eamon's Top 5 Champions League moments