Questions and Answers
Encyclopedia
Questions and Answers was a topical debate
television
programme in the Republic of Ireland
. It was shown on RTÉ One
at 22:35 on Monday nights, running for approximately one hour. The show was presented by John Bowman since 1988; he was preceded by Olivia O'Leary
from 1986–88. It discussed major issues and controversies and often features comments from government ministers.
Director-General of RTÉ
Cathal Goan
described the programme as an "integral part of the national conversation for over 20 years". The programme came to an end on 29 June 2009. It was replaced by a new series The Frontline
hosted by Pat Kenny
. The Frontline began on 21 September 2009.
Questions and Answers was usually broadcast from the RTÉ television complex in Donnybrook
, Dublin with only occasional broadcasts from around Ireland.
It is broadcast at 22:30, although one edition which was broadcast at 21:30 drew comment from Declan Lynch in the Irish Independent
who wondered if it was "a gesture to the poor ould fellas who might have some chance of staying awake past the first question".
For its first decade the programme was taped for broadcast from approximately 19:00 on the night of transmission. From the late 1990s, however, the programme was broadcast live, with phoned-in or emailed-in comments from viewers read out on air.
and expected next President of Ireland
, Brian Lenihan, badly damaged his chances of being elected. He denied involvement in an effort eight years earlier in January 1982 to pressurise the then President to refuse a parliamentary dissolution - contradicting previous statement he had made.
Lenihan had actually confirmed his involvement in the effort some months earlier in an on-the-record interview with a journalist Jim Duffy, as he had to numerous political colleagues privately over eight years. During the presidential election campaign he changed his story, first in an Irish Press interview, and then on Questions and Answers. Some journalists had been told by Lenihan previously of his role in pressurising Hillery, but had been told it in an 'off the record' conversation and so could not reveal it (though one did hint it in an unsigned editorial in the Irish Independent during the crisis following the programme).
However following the programme, Duffy, in a backlash to pressure from Lenihan's Fianna Fáil
not to reveal the information, did reveal that Lenihan's account on the programme conflicted with his pre-campaign version. The minor party in Charles Haughey
's government, the Progressive Democrats
, threatened to quit government and cause a general election
unless either Lenihan was sacked from cabinet or an inquiry was ordered into the events of January 1982. When Lenihan refused to resign, Haughey, instead of ordering an inquiry into who had made the calls in 1982, sacked him.
The "ill-fated appearance" was remembered in the final episode of Questions and Answers in 2009.
also used the show in 1996 to deny the involvement of the Provisional IRA in the murder of Garda
Jerry McCabe
. Members of that group were later convicted of manslaughter and Sinn Féin have campaigned for their early release in conjunction with the Belfast Agreement.
Doherty's refusal to condemn the murder was remembered in the final episode of Questions and Answers in 2009.
chairman Mitchel McLaughlin
told viewers that though it had been wrong for the IRA
to kill Jean McConville
, a widowed mother of ten young children kidnapped, shot and secretly buried, the action was not a "crime". In the aftermath of his comments, he was subjected to extreme criticism from within the Irish government
, from all the main parties in Dáil Éireann
, the media and by the public on radio shows.
Labour Party
leader Pat Rabbitte
, in a press release immediately afterwards commented that "Any civilised society must consider the abduction and murder of a mother of 10 children to be a crime of considerable barbarism" while Mrs McConville's son Michael said that McLaughlin, along with Sinn Féin TD
Arthur Morgan
, who had made similar comments elsewhere, "should be holding their heads in shame".http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=39&si=1322502&issue_id=11965
McLaughlin's refusal to call the murder a crime was remembered in the final episode of Questions and Answers in 2009.
Willie O'Dea
was invited onto the show to discuss the fallout of the government budget. Paul Doran, a member of the audience, threw paper at O'Dea. Doran was afterwards given VIP status in the station's Green Room with host John Bowman even giving Doran a signed copy of his book on his late son, Jonathan Philbin Bowman. On top of all this it later emerged that it was RTÉ who approached Doran to appear on the show in the first place, sparking questions about the apparently impartial show's production values. He had allegedly been invited on numerous occasions prior to this but had declined until a phonecall arrived from RTÉ at 18:20 on the evening of the show.
and Fianna Fáil
member, Michael O'Brien
, confronted Minister for Transport
Noel Dempsey
on the show about his abuse, saying: "You know me minister" to which Dempsey nodded in silence. Presenter John Bowman in the final show just weeks later said that interruption was "by far the most memorable moment" in the history of Questions and Answers.
Brian Cowen
plus three separate panels filled with senior politicians. The first panel featured Minister for Health Mary Harney, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, Labour spokesman on justice Pat Rabbitte, tax lawyer Suzanne Kelly, and Senator David Norris. The second panel featured The Irish Times columnist and writer John Waters, former Progressive Democrats minister Liz O'Donnell, Fergus Finlay, former chef-de-cabinet of the Irish Labour Party and current chief executive of Barnardos, solicitor Catherine Ghent, and vice-president of Sinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald. The third panel featured Green party leader and Minister for the Environment John Gormley, Noel Whelan, barrister and political commentator, MEP Mairéad McGuinness, editor of the Irish Daily Star Ger Colleran
and Eddie Hobbs.
John Boland, writing in the Irish Independent
, described the final episode as "genuinely engrossing", saying that "reminiscence rather than recrimination won through". He described the overall series as a "weird combination of the unmissable and the frequently unwatchable".
newspaper: "Government and opposition parties were finding it more and more difficult to get people to go on a show that was late at night and at the start of the week to debate topics which had been trashed to death on every other show over the weekend." Prime Time
presenter Miriam O'Callaghan
was speculated upon as a replacement but insists she knew nothing of the show's departure until she read about it here on the RTÉ website.
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
programme in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. It was shown on RTÉ One
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...
at 22:35 on Monday nights, running for approximately one hour. The show was presented by John Bowman since 1988; he was preceded by Olivia O'Leary
Olivia O'Leary
Olivia O'Leary is an Irish journalist, writer and current affairs presenter.Educated at St Leo's College, Carlow and at University College Dublin, she worked with the Nationalist and Leinster Times in Carlow...
from 1986–88. It discussed major issues and controversies and often features comments from government ministers.
Director-General of RTÉ
Director-General of RTÉ
The Director-General of Raidió Teilifís Éireann is chief executive and editor in chief of RTÉ. The current Director-General is Noel Curran, and is the most senior person in the Public Service Broadcaster, Noel Curran replaced Cathal Goan in the role in February 2011.The RTÉ Board appoints the...
Cathal Goan
Cathal Goan
Cathal Goan is a radio and television producer. He played a main role in the launch of TG4. He was appointed Director-General of RTÉ in 2003, announcing his departure in 2010....
described the programme as an "integral part of the national conversation for over 20 years". The programme came to an end on 29 June 2009. It was replaced by a new series The Frontline
The Frontline (Irish TV series)
The Frontline is a topical debate television series in the Republic of Ireland. The show airs for 60 minutes every Monday night on RTÉ One at 22:30. It debuted on Monday, September 21, 2009. The Frontline replaced a similar political analysis show Questions and Answers...
hosted by Pat Kenny
Pat Kenny
Patrick "Pat" Kenny is an Irish broadcaster and former disc jockey and continuity announcer. He is employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is their highest paid presenter. He presents Today with Pat Kenny on RTÉ Radio 1 each weekday morning between 10:00 and midday...
. The Frontline began on 21 September 2009.
Format
The programme, was launched in the late 1980s. Each week the chairperson initiates a discussion between several prominent politicians and commentators. The discussion is led by questions asked by members of the audience. The first question will usually deal with the major political issue of the week. The final question is often a trivial or comic question.Questions and Answers was usually broadcast from the RTÉ television complex in Donnybrook
Donnybrook, Dublin
Donnybrook is a district of Dublin, Ireland. It is situated on the southside of the city, in the Dublin 4 postal district, and is home to the Irish state broadcaster RTÉ. It was once part of the Pembroke Township...
, Dublin with only occasional broadcasts from around Ireland.
It is broadcast at 22:30, although one edition which was broadcast at 21:30 drew comment from Declan Lynch in the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
who wondered if it was "a gesture to the poor ould fellas who might have some chance of staying awake past the first question".
For its first decade the programme was taped for broadcast from approximately 19:00 on the night of transmission. From the late 1990s, however, the programme was broadcast live, with phoned-in or emailed-in comments from viewers read out on air.
The Lenihan Tape Affair (1990)
The programme has occasionally set the national news agenda. During a broadcast in 1990 the then TánaisteTánaiste
The Tánaiste is the deputy prime minister of Ireland. The current Tánaiste is Eamon Gilmore, TD who was appointed on 9 March 2011.- Origins and etymology :...
and expected next President of Ireland
President of Ireland
The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...
, Brian Lenihan, badly damaged his chances of being elected. He denied involvement in an effort eight years earlier in January 1982 to pressurise the then President to refuse a parliamentary dissolution - contradicting previous statement he had made.
Lenihan had actually confirmed his involvement in the effort some months earlier in an on-the-record interview with a journalist Jim Duffy, as he had to numerous political colleagues privately over eight years. During the presidential election campaign he changed his story, first in an Irish Press interview, and then on Questions and Answers. Some journalists had been told by Lenihan previously of his role in pressurising Hillery, but had been told it in an 'off the record' conversation and so could not reveal it (though one did hint it in an unsigned editorial in the Irish Independent during the crisis following the programme).
However following the programme, Duffy, in a backlash to pressure from Lenihan's Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
not to reveal the information, did reveal that Lenihan's account on the programme conflicted with his pre-campaign version. The minor party in Charles Haughey
Charles Haughey
Charles James "Charlie" Haughey was Taoiseach of Ireland, serving three terms in office . He was also the fourth leader of Fianna Fáil...
's government, the Progressive Democrats
Progressive Democrats
The Progressive Democrats , commonly known as the PDs, was a pro-free market liberal political party in the Republic of Ireland.Launched on 21 December 1985 by Desmond O'Malley and other politicians who had split from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the Progressive Democrats took liberal positions on...
, threatened to quit government and cause a general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
unless either Lenihan was sacked from cabinet or an inquiry was ordered into the events of January 1982. When Lenihan refused to resign, Haughey, instead of ordering an inquiry into who had made the calls in 1982, sacked him.
The "ill-fated appearance" was remembered in the final episode of Questions and Answers in 2009.
Pat Doherty on the murder of Garda McCabe (1996)
Sinn Féin's Pat DohertyPat Doherty
Patrick "Pat" Doherty is an Irish republican politician and abstentionist Member of Parliament for West Tyrone. He has been a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for the same constituency since 25 June 1998...
also used the show in 1996 to deny the involvement of the Provisional IRA in the murder of Garda
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
Jerry McCabe
Jerry McCabe
Detective Garda Jerry McCabe was a member of the Garda Síochána, the police force of the Republic of Ireland. McCabe was murdered in Adare, County Limerick on 7 June 1996, by members of the paramilitary group, the Provisional IRA, during the attempted robbery of a post office van.-Early...
. Members of that group were later convicted of manslaughter and Sinn Féin have campaigned for their early release in conjunction with the Belfast Agreement.
Doherty's refusal to condemn the murder was remembered in the final episode of Questions and Answers in 2009.
Mitchel McLaughlin and Michael McDowell on the killing of Jean McConville (2005)
In 2005, Sinn FéinSinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
chairman Mitchel McLaughlin
Mitchel McLaughlin
John Mitchel McLaughlin is the former General Secretary of Sinn Féin and an MLA.McLaughlin was born in Derry city, Northern Ireland and educated at Long Tower Boys School, Derry and Christian Brothers Technical College, Derry....
told viewers that though it had been wrong for the IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
to kill Jean McConville
Jean McConville
Jean McConville was a woman from Northern Ireland who, in 1972, was abducted and killed by the Provisional IRA and secretly buried on a beach in the Republic of Ireland. The IRA subsequently claimed that she had been passing information on republican activities to British security forces...
, a widowed mother of ten young children kidnapped, shot and secretly buried, the action was not a "crime". In the aftermath of his comments, he was subjected to extreme criticism from within the Irish government
Irish Government
The Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...
, from all the main parties in Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
, the media and by the public on radio shows.
Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
leader Pat Rabbitte
Pat Rabbitte
Pat Rabbitte is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources since March 2011...
, in a press release immediately afterwards commented that "Any civilised society must consider the abduction and murder of a mother of 10 children to be a crime of considerable barbarism" while Mrs McConville's son Michael said that McLaughlin, along with Sinn Féin TD
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
Arthur Morgan
Arthur Morgan
Arthur Morgan may refer to:* Arthur Ernest Morgan , U. S. administrator, educator and engineer* Arthur Morgan , Premier of Queensland, Australia...
, who had made similar comments elsewhere, "should be holding their heads in shame".http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=39&si=1322502&issue_id=11965
McLaughlin's refusal to call the murder a crime was remembered in the final episode of Questions and Answers in 2009.
O'Dea and the abuser (2008)
On 20 October 2008, Defence MinisterMinister for Defence (Ireland)
The Minister for Defence is the senior minister at the Department of Defence in the Government of Ireland. Under new arrangements this department is being merged with the Department of Justice over which Mr. Shatter will also preside....
Willie O'Dea
Willie O'Dea
Willie O'Dea is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and a Teachta Dála for the Limerick City constituency. He served as the Minister for Defence from September 2004 until 18 February 2010, when he resigned from his post due to controversy over a defamation case.-Early and private life:O'Dea was born...
was invited onto the show to discuss the fallout of the government budget. Paul Doran, a member of the audience, threw paper at O'Dea. Doran was afterwards given VIP status in the station's Green Room with host John Bowman even giving Doran a signed copy of his book on his late son, Jonathan Philbin Bowman. On top of all this it later emerged that it was RTÉ who approached Doran to appear on the show in the first place, sparking questions about the apparently impartial show's production values. He had allegedly been invited on numerous occasions prior to this but had declined until a phonecall arrived from RTÉ at 18:20 on the evening of the show.
Michael O'Brien versus Noel Dempsey (2009)
In one of the last episodes, former Mayor of ClonmelClonmel
Clonmel is the county town of South Tipperary in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county. While the borough had a population of 15,482 in 2006, another 17,008 people were in the rural hinterland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked both...
and Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
member, Michael O'Brien
Michael O'Brien (Irish politician)
Michael O'Brien is a former councillor and mayor of Clonmel. He is also a survivor of abuse at Ferryhouse and came to national prominence through his campaigning on this subject.-Early life:...
, confronted Minister for Transport
Minister for Transport (Ireland)
The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport is the senior minister at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in the Government of Ireland.The current Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport is Leo Varadkar, TD...
Noel Dempsey
Noel Dempsey
Noel Dempsey is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Meath and Meath West constituencies from 1987 to 2011...
on the show about his abuse, saying: "You know me minister" to which Dempsey nodded in silence. Presenter John Bowman in the final show just weeks later said that interruption was "by far the most memorable moment" in the history of Questions and Answers.
Final episode
The final episode was broadcast on 29 June 2009. It featured an interview with TaoiseachTaoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
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...
plus three separate panels filled with senior politicians. The first panel featured Minister for Health Mary Harney, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, Labour spokesman on justice Pat Rabbitte, tax lawyer Suzanne Kelly, and Senator David Norris. The second panel featured The Irish Times columnist and writer John Waters, former Progressive Democrats minister Liz O'Donnell, Fergus Finlay, former chef-de-cabinet of the Irish Labour Party and current chief executive of Barnardos, solicitor Catherine Ghent, and vice-president of Sinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald. The third panel featured Green party leader and Minister for the Environment John Gormley, Noel Whelan, barrister and political commentator, MEP Mairéad McGuinness, editor of the Irish Daily Star Ger Colleran
Ger Colleran
Gerard Colleran is an Irish journalist, the editor of the Irish Daily Star since 1999. In 2009, Village listed him as one of Ireland's 100 most influential people. He is a native of Mayo, County Mayo, grew up in Quin, County Clare, and was educated at the University of London and the University of...
and Eddie Hobbs.
John Boland, writing in the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
, described the final episode as "genuinely engrossing", saying that "reminiscence rather than recrimination won through". He described the overall series as a "weird combination of the unmissable and the frequently unwatchable".
End
The final Questions and Answers aired on June 29, 2009. The decision was taken when the presenter, John Bowman, stepped aside. It will be replaced by a similar programme said to involve public participation and to run in the same time slot on a Monday night. Some politicians were said to have welcomed the show's demise, saying it was "well past its sell-by date". One government Minister told the Evening HeraldEvening Herald
The Evening Herald is a mid-market tabloid evening newspaper published in Dublin, Ireland by Independent News & Media. It is published Monday-Saturday, and has three editions — City Edition, City Final Edition and National Edition...
newspaper: "Government and opposition parties were finding it more and more difficult to get people to go on a show that was late at night and at the start of the week to debate topics which had been trashed to death on every other show over the weekend." Prime Time
Prime Time
Prime Time is an Irish news analysis, current affairs and politics programme. It is broadcast on RTÉ One on Tuesday and Thursday nights between 21:30 and 22:10. It is currently presented by Miriam O'Callaghan, who has presented the programme since its commencement in 1996...
presenter 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...
was speculated upon as a replacement but insists she knew nothing of the show's departure until she read about it here on the RTÉ website.
Presenters
- Olivia O'LearyOlivia O'LearyOlivia O'Leary is an Irish journalist, writer and current affairs presenter.Educated at St Leo's College, Carlow and at University College Dublin, she worked with the Nationalist and Leinster Times in Carlow...
(1986–88) - John Bowman (1988–2009)
- Brian FarrellBrian FarrellBrian Farrell is an Irish author, journalist, academic & broadcaster.-Early life:Although born in Manchester, England, Farrell moved to Dublin, Ireland during the Second World War. He was educated in Ireland at , Dublin, University College Dublin and Harvard University in the United States...
- Vincent BrowneVincent BrowneVincent 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....
(Guest Presenter)