Tonight with Vincent Browne
Encyclopedia
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,...
news analysis, current affairs
Current affairs (news format)
Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
and politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
programme. It is broadcast on TV3 on Monday to Thursday nights 23:05 to 23:55. It is presented by the journalist 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....
, noted for his rather acerbic style of presenting with The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
describing him as "Ireland's Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Dickson Paxman is a British journalist, author and television presenter. He has worked for the BBC since 1977. He is noted for a forthright and abrasive interviewing style, particularly when interrogating politicians...
". Vincent is regularly joined by Constantin Gurdgiev
Constantin Gurdgiev
Constantin Gurdgiev is a Russian economist based in Dublin, Ireland. He is a former editor of Business & Finance Magazine and a regular contributor to Tonight with Vincent Browne on TV3.-Education:...
, Peter Mathews
Peter Mathews (politician)
Peter Mathews is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He was elected as a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South constituency at the 2011 general election....
, Mick Wallace
Mick Wallace
Mick Wallace is an Irish independent politician, property developer and former football manager.-Early life:He was born in Wellingtonbridge, Wexford...
, and Marie-Louise O'Donnell
Marie-Louise O'Donnell
Marie-Louise O'Donnell is an Irish broadcaster and politician.From Foxford, County Mayo, she is a lecturer in communications at Dublin City University . A former actor and theatre administrator she was involved in the setting up of the The Helix theatre on the DCU campus.In May 2011, she was...
. When 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...
were in government they regularly sent Martin Mansergh
Martin Mansergh
Martin Mansergh is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician and historian. He was a Teachta Dála for the Tipperary South constituency from May 2007 until his defeat at the general election in February 2011. He was previously a senator from 2002 to 2007.He has played a leading role in formulating...
on; Paschal Donohoe
Paschal Donohoe
Paschal Donohoe is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He was elected as a Teachta Dála for the Dublin Central constituency at the 2011 general election....
has been selected for this role by Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
.
Tonight with Vincent Browne is noted for having coerced various experienced politicians, including 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....
and Conor Lenihan
Conor Lenihan
Conor Lenihan is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South West constituency from 1997 to 2011, and served as a Minister of State from 2004 to 2011. He then moved to Moscow.-Biography:...
, into embarrassing meltdowns live on air. Burton asked Browne if he was “asking me a question or just trying to harangue me?” and then set about repeatedly interrupting Joe Higgins
Joe Higgins
Joe Higgins is an Irish Socialist Party politician. In the 2011 general election he was elected to Dáil Éireann as Teachta Dála for the Dublin West constituency, having previously served in that capacity from 1997–2007...
leading Browne to interject: “Joan, you get hyper-irritated when anyone harangues you so please don't harangue Joe”, but to no avail as Burton lost her head. When Conor Lenihan refused to resign over the 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...
leadership stroke, Lenihan stood up angrily, glared, pointed his finger at Browne and sneered, “It's easy for you to be cynical about people who go into public life and I really do resent the sneering insinuation that you're trying to put to me”, with Browne responding, “Conor, you're not going to shout me down and you can take me full-on on this if you like” which is exactly what happened. Lenihan lost and moved to Moscow soon afterwards.
After airing an interview with 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...
politicians Charlie O'Connor
Charlie O'Connor
Charles "Charlie" O'Connor is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South West constituency from 2002 to 2011. Mr. O'Connor is also a member of the AWEPA Governing Council....
and Darragh O'Brien
Darragh O'Brien
Darragh O'Brien is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He is a member of Seanad Éireann since March 2011. He was a Teachta Dála for the Dublin North constituency from 2007 to 2011....
, recorded outside Leinster House
Leinster House
Leinster House is the name of the building housing the Oireachtas, the national parliament of Ireland.Leinster House was originally the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, which house Oireachtas Éireann, its...
following the vote of confidence in then Taoiseach Brian Cowen, Browne popped up onscreen back in the studio and remarked: “God, it would do your head in, wouldn't it?”.
Ratings
Despite airing on what is usually considered a graveyard slotGraveyard slot
A graveyard slot is a time period in which a television audience is very small compared to other times of the day, and therefore broadcast programming is considered far less important. Graveyard slots are usually in the early morning hours of each day, when most people are asleep...
, the show has been highly successful with on average 166,000 viewers. However, when TV3 temporarily replaced Tonight with Vincent Browne with UK celebrity torture show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in November 2011, its RTÉ rival 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...
gained nearly 70,000 viewers.
Controversy
During a November 2011 debate on the programme, tweets critical of Irish Travellers linked to the RTÉ presenter Peter CollinsPeter Collins (broadcaster)
Peter Collins is an Irish sportscaster for national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. He is to be seen on RTÉ's coverage of live association football, Gaelic games, Formula One and Moto GP.-Career:...
surfaced online.