logo
Ex-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar joins singer Lyra on RTÉ's new adventure show tonight

Ex-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar joins singer Lyra on RTÉ's new adventure show tonight

The Journal14-05-2025

Vardkar, Lyra and Goggins will sleep in caves and scale gigantic peaks in tonight's episode.
RTÉ
RTÉ
THE FORMER TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar is among a group of musicians, sports stars and celebrities testing their abilities on a new RTÉ programme airing tonight.
Former special forces soldier Ray Goggins will be sending Belfast rap trio Kneecap to the Arcitc and ex-Fine Gael leader Varadkar to South Africa to test their extreme outdoor expedition skills.
The new adventure programme, Uncharted with Ray Goggins, was announced earlier this month and airs at 9.35pm this evening on RTÉ One television.
Advertisement
Varadkar tonight will team up with Irish singer Lyra to travel through the wild, untamed mountains of Drakensburg, South Africa. Alongside Goggins, they will sleep in caves and scale gigantic peaks.
RTÉ - IRELAND'S NATIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA
/ YouTube
Kneecap will join Goggins in the Arctic in a future episode.
Paralympic gold medallist Ellen Keane and six-time All-Ireland Camogie star Ashling Thompson will travel to Bolivia to the start of the fabled 'Death Road' on a seven-day challenge for the series.
Galway hurler Joe Canning and track and field star Thomas Barr will also join Goggins in Colombia, where they will navigate five deadly river rapids, coming face-to-face with deadly snakes and venomous spiders.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Learn More
Support The Journal

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Irish tourists warned: Fines of up to €1,800 for wearing a bikini on streets of Albufeira
Irish tourists warned: Fines of up to €1,800 for wearing a bikini on streets of Albufeira

Extra.ie​

time35 minutes ago

  • Extra.ie​

Irish tourists warned: Fines of up to €1,800 for wearing a bikini on streets of Albufeira

Irish holidaymakers heading to Portugal this summer are being warned they could face fines of up to €1,800 for wearing bikinis or swimwear in the streets of Albufeira. The popular Algarve resort has introduced stricter regulations to crack down on rowdy tourist behaviour, particularly during weekends, when the area sees an influx of partygoers. Today's top videos STORY CONTINUES BELOW Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Air and Travel magazine editor Eoghan Corry said locals have 'had enough' of what they view as disrespectful conduct by visitors. Beachgoers sunbathe and swim at Oura beach in Albufeira, Algarve region, Portugal. Pic: Getty 'What they've done is taken existing regulations, beefed them up a little, and introduced a few new ones. 'The main focus is on drunkenness and absolutely obnoxious behaviour late at night.' Among the rules being more strictly enforced is a ban on wearing bikinis and swimwear away from the beach, with penalties starting at €500 and rising to as much as €1,800. The popular Algarve resort has introduced stricter regulations to crack down on rowdy tourist behaviour, particularly during weekends, when the area sees an influx of partygoers. Pic: Shutterstock 'Locals just want to have their town in some form of functioning order at midnight,' he said. 'That you can actually walk the street without the madness that shows up a lot on social media – holidaymakers, not necessarily from Ireland, jumping on cars or carrying open drinks around.' More than 500,000 Irish tourists travel to Portugal each year, with many flocking to the Algarve region for its year-round sunshine and lively nightlife.

Meet Love Island's gorgeous Irish bombshells everyone's talking about
Meet Love Island's gorgeous Irish bombshells everyone's talking about

Irish Daily Mirror

timean hour ago

  • Irish Daily Mirror

Meet Love Island's gorgeous Irish bombshells everyone's talking about

Love Island returns to Irish screens tonight, kicking off its 12th season with a fresh batch of lovestruck singles ready to find romance under the Balearic sun. This year, all eyes are on Ireland, with two contestants from Dublin and Limerick already grabbing attention before the villa doors have even opened. Early betting odds from BoyleSports reveal that Dublin energy broker and musical theatre performer Megan Forte Clarke is a clear favourite to win. Drawing comparisons to Irish Love Island legend Maura Higgins, Megan is currently the female contestant most likely to find herself in the winning couple, with tempting odds of 3/1. But Megan isn't flying solo in the romance stakes. Limerick man and professional rugby player Conor Philips has entered the villa as a late substitute. Conor is also among the early favourites, with odds of 7/2 to go all the way and possibly make Irish fans proud. Lawrence Lyons, spokesperson for BoyleSports, said: "We're eager to see if sparks fly when Rugby pro Conor tries to kick-start a romance in the villa, but Megan is already a darling of punters so Irish fans are clearly eyeing a fairytale outcome." These two Irish hopefuls are part of a wider group of 12 singles, each hoping to make their mark on Love Island 2025. 24-year-old Megan from Dublin is a musical theatre performer and energy broker, who is hoping to find her very own Timothée Chalamet in the villa. Explaining what she's looking for the Irish beauty said: "Someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously and has a sense of humour. If they're not bad looking, that's always a plus. I love a boy that's a bit pasty. I don't mind scrawny, or a bit of a 'dad bod'. I'm 5ft1 so any height really." Megan has already been stopped in the streets for a viral TikTok she made when her and her pals dressed up as the sitcom characters from Derry Girls, and the has also preformed in a couple pantos. Professional rugby player Conor Phillips, 25, says he's after "someone who is really sure of themselves, ambitious, a bit of a go-getter and good craic" - and revealed he doesn't mind "a dominant woman". But don't expect him to be clingy. "I don't like to answer to anyone else. I like to do my own thing", he admitted, adding that being "too needy" is his biggest ick. He described himself as the "class clown type vibe", and joked his love life would be called 'Still Trying' - "it's got to be a rugby pun, hasn't it?" And while he says he'd be "keeping my head above water" in the dating world, he's ready to settle down and "invest in some stocks". As for his flirting style? "I ask girls if they want to go halves on a baby… it doesn't work, but it gets them laughing." Fans can catch the first episode of Love Island 2025 on Virgin Media Two tonight at 9pm, with host Maya Jama returning to guide viewers through the twists, turns and temptations of this summer's season. Narrator Iain Stirling's witty commentary will keep the energy high as the villa's new arrivals begin their quest for love - and a share of the £50,000 prize.

Yeats poem was inspiration behind Sligo student's work at unique medieval exhibition in Dublin
Yeats poem was inspiration behind Sligo student's work at unique medieval exhibition in Dublin

Irish Independent

timean hour ago

  • Irish Independent

Yeats poem was inspiration behind Sligo student's work at unique medieval exhibition in Dublin

The exhibition explores early medieval Ireland's cultural impact on Europe and includes the largest-ever loan of manuscripts from the Abbey Library of St. Gall in Switzerland—many of them contemporaries of the Book of Kells. As part of its legacy element, students from Ireland and Switzerland took part in a collaborative schools project, working with calligrapher Tim O'Neill and museum staff to create manuscripts using traditional techniques such as insular script and handmade dyes. An important legacy of the exhibition is an international school project led by the National Museum of Ireland and the Abbey of St. Gall involving second-level students from Irish schools (Eureka Secondary School, Kells, Co. Meath, Coláiste Muire, Ballymote, Co. Sligo and St Gallen/Gallen Community School, Offaly) as well as the Catholic Cantonal Secondary School 'flade' in St. Gallen. Students produced their own manuscripts inspired by the world today, using the techniques of the past through a process of creating dyes, materials, and insular script and art. They were all instructed by attended workshops online, in their classrooms and at the museum, with calligraphy expert, Tim O'Neill, and museum staff, and their work will feature in the exhibition. Shauna said: 'W.B. Yeats' 'The Wild Swans at Coole' was the inspiration for my piece. I was captivated by the symbolism of partnership evident in Yeats' portrayal of the swans and their sultry vitality as they remain free-spirited amidst the constant hustle and bustle of life.' The exhibition was launched by the President of the Swiss Confederation, Karin Keller-Sutter and Minister for Arts, Culture, Communications, Media and Sport, Patrick O'Donovan TD. Words on the Wave: Ireland and St. Gallen in Early Medieval Europe focuses on early medieval Ireland and its profound impact on ideas in Europe. At the exhibition's heart are 17 manuscripts on loan from the Abbey Library of St. Gall in Switzerland, a seventh-century library - in a city named after the Irish monk, St. Gall - that is home to one of the world's most significant collections of early medieval manuscripts. This exhibition is a world-first, marking the largest-ever loan of these manuscripts. New research commissioned by the National Museum of Ireland for the exhibition, using advanced scientific techniques, has provided evidence for the first time that the four most decorated manuscripts on loan from the Abbey Library of St. Gall were made using the hides of Irish cattle. While the role of Irish monks in writing the manuscripts was already known, this research reveals that that the books travelled from Ireland to St. Gallen with them, on their journey over a thousand years ago. Employing techniques such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and multispectral imaging in both ultraviolet and infrared spectrums, researchers working with University College Cork's Inks and Skins project were able to identify elemental components of the inks, pigments, and parchment—many of which are not visible to the naked eye. The analysis revealed that the manuscripts were written with iron gall ink made from the nests of wasps in oak trees, a distinctive and well-documented feature of Irish manuscript production during the early medieval period. Furthermore, the method by which the animal skins were prepared, along with the presence of specific chemical elements such as sulphur and potassium, closely aligns with known Irish techniques of parchment manufacture. The Inks and ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Skins project team also collected surface DNA samples from the manuscripts to identify the genomes in the skins of the cattle used in their production. These priceless, handmade manuscripts reflect the journeys of Irish monks like St. Gall and St. Columbanus, who travelled to Europe seeking exile, refuge, and learning. Their journeys involved not only the movement of people but also ideas and artistic traditions, connecting the small island of Ireland to a much larger continent. It mirrors a 1,400-year-old connection between Switzerland and Ireland that started with the arrival of St. Gall in St. Gallen in 612. Scientific analysis of this DNA conducted by the School of Genetics in Trinity College Dublin, indicates that the cattle were of Irish origin. Using a technique pioneered by the team in 2017— a non-invasive genetic analysis of the parchment on which the manuscripts are written in which DNA is gently extracted from the surface of manuscripts using a rubber eraser—the team successfully recovered genetic material from the animal skins used in manuscript production. The results, interpreted using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), demonstrates that the cattle, from whose skin the parchment was made, were of Irish origin.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store