Ireland AM

Ireland AM
Ireland AM logo used since 31 July 2015
Genre	Breakfast television programme
Presented by	Mark Cagney Sinead Desmond Alan Hughes Aidan Cooney Ciara Doherty
Country of origin	Ireland
Original language(s)	English
Production
Producer(s)	Sinead Ryan
Production location(s)	TV3 Sony HD Studios, Ballymount, Dublin
Running time	180 minutes (3 hours)
Production company(s)	TV3 Group
Release
Original network	TV3 3e
Picture format	480i (16:9 SDTV)
Original release	20 September 1999 (1999-09-20) – present
Chronology
Related shows	Saturday AM (2015-) Sunday AM (2015-)
External links
Website

Ireland AM is an Irish morning television show on TV3. It airs live every weekday morning from 07:00 to 10:00. The program features news, current affairs, weather updates, showbiz, fashion, beauty, food, health, home and garden. Its current presenters are Mark Cagney, Sinead Desmond, Aidan Cooney, Alan Hughes and Ciara Doherty (joined July 2015).

Anna Daly left the show in July 2015 to take up her new role on Saturday AM and Sunday AM which begin from August 29, 2015.

The show is currently sponsored by P&G, previously sponsored by Unilever and Kellogs.

History

1999 - 2004

Ireland AM was launched on 20 September 1999 on the 1st anniversary of TV3's launch, the first show of its kind in Ireland. It was originally on air from 7:00am to 9:00am, hosted by Mark Cagney and Amanda Byram. The show went on air almost a year after TV3 launched, and was seen as an attempt by the station to improve ratings. A number of years after the start of the show TV3 executives decided on an extra hour for the show, the show now finishes at 10am.

2004 - 2013

In March 2004, Claire left the show in order to replace Gráinne Seoige as the main news anchor on TV3. Byrne was replaced by Maura Derrane, a news presenter on the channel. In October 2005, Mark Cagney was nominated and later won the TV Personality of the Year Award at the Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs). After two years as co-host, Maura Derrane left the show in September 2006. She was replaced by television newcomer, Sinead Desmond.

As of 2008, Desmond and original presenter Cagney are the main hosts of the show along with Alan Hughes, Aidan Cooney and Anna Daly, who also frequently present segments and interview guests. Elaine Crowley presents news bulletins every half hour, while Laura Woods is also a frequent contributor. Today FM's Adelle McDonnell has contributed to a section of the show featuring soaps.

Ireland AM won the 'Favourite TV Show in Ireland' at the TV Now Awards in 2009. The show won the award for Broadcaster/Journalist of the Year at the 2011 GALAs.

2013 - Present

In 2013 a revamp of TV3 daytime schedule saw Ireland AM add 45 minutes. It now airs from 7am to 10:45am. From 07:00 - 08:00 Anton Savage presents a News and Current Affairs edition of the show, which is then followed by Ireland AM proper from 08:00 to 10:45. The revamp was due to falling daytime viewing figures from the channel.

Ireland AM currently makes up 12.5% of TV3 output, or 41% of their legally required Irish programming content. Also The Best of Ireland AM airs at different times on Saturday and Sunday mornings on sister channel 3e, featuring highlights from the weekday shows. Ireland AM received an overhaul in September 2014. The show moved into the Sony HD Studios in Dublin's Ballymount.

In July 2015, Ciara Doherty joined the show replacing Anna Daly who has left the show to take up her new role on Saturday AM and Sunday AM which begin from August 29, 2015.

On July 31, 2015 Ireland AM revamped its titles and on-air graphics.

Saturday AM & Sunday AM

From Saturday August 29, 2015 Ireland AM will launch spin-off shows Saturday AM and Sunday AM respectively. Both shows are hosted by Anna Daly providing a mix of current affairs, showbiz, entertainment, in-studio guests, cookery, debate and fashion. Anna will host the show each Saturday with Simon Delaney and on Sunday with Ivan Yates. Saturday AM will focus more on light entertainment whereas Sunday AM will focus more on current affairs, debate and an analysis of Sunday newspapers. TV3 News will provide news updates.

Presenters

Ireland AM's current main presenters are Mark Cagney, Sinead Desmond, Alan Hughes, Aidan Cooney and Ciara Doherty.

Presenter	Role	Duration
Mark Cagney	Co-host	1999–present
Sinead Desmond	Co-host	2006–present
Alan Hughes	Weather & traffic	1999–present
Aidan Cooney	Sport	2006–present
Ciara Doherty	Co-host	2015–present

Newsreaders

• Gerldine Lynagh
• Siobhan Bastible
• Michael Ryan

Regulars

Regular contributors include journalists from the Irish Examiner, The Irish Times and TheJournal.ie.

Presenter	Role
Deric Ó h'Artagáin	Weather
Lisa Fitzpatrick	Fashion
Sonja Mohlich	Fashion
Laura Bermingham	Beauty
Celia Holman Lee	Fashion
Andrea Roche	Fashion
Anne-Marie Gannon	Fashion
Barbara Stack	Fashion
Rob Kenny	Fashion
Ciara O'Doherty	Fashion
Catherine Leyden	Cookery
Edward Hayden	Cookery
Dr. Sinead Beirne	Health
Pete Wedderburn	Pet advice
Colin Baker	Gadgets
Ronan Casey	Regional news
Sarina Bellissimo	Movie reviews
Gordon Hayden	Movie reviews
Lisa Cannon	Movie reviews
Julianne Mooney	Travel

Former Presenters

Presenter	Role	Duration
Amanda Byram	Co-host	1999-2000
Emma Buckley	Co-host	2000
Claire Byrne	Co-host	2000-2004
Maura Derrane	Co-host	2004-2006
Anton Savage	Co-host	2013-2014
Anna Daly	Co-host	2009-2015 (now presents Saturday AM & Sunday AM)

Logos

• New ireland am logo.jpg

  Logo used from 2009 to 2015

External links

• Ireland AM at TV3
• Ireland AM on Twitter