1997 in Irish television

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The following is a list of events relating to television in Ireland from 1997.

Events

• 8 January – Bob Collins is appointed Director-General of RTÉ.
• 30 March – Channel 5, the UK's fifth and last terrestrial channel, launches at 6.00pm. The first faces seen are the Spice Girls, who perform 1-2-3-4-5, a rewritten version of the Manfred Mann song 5-4-3-2-1. The channel is available in some parts of Ireland.
• 3 May – Ireland hosts the 42nd Eurovision Song Contest. It is presented by Carrie Crowley and Ronan Keating from the Point Theatre in Dublin. Televoting is introduced in five of the 25 countries competing.
• 12 June – Síle de Valera is appointed Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands with responsibility for broadcasting.
• September – The RTÉ Authority seeks permission from the Irish Government to find a partner to fund digital terrestrial television (DTT).

Debuts

RTÉ 1

• 13 January – Summertime
• 14 June – Kennedy (1997)
• Autumn – PM Live (1997–1999)

Network 2

• September – Later on 2 (1997–2000)
• 24 November – A Scare at Bedtime (1997–2006)
• 1 December – Don't Feed the Gondolas (1997–2001)

Ongoing television programmes

1960s

• RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock (1961–present)
• RTÉ News: Six One (1962–present)
• The Late Late Show (1962–present)

1970s

• The Late Late Toy Show (1975–present)
• RTÉ News on Two (1978–present)
• Bosco (1979–1998)
• The Sunday Game (1979–present)

1980s

• Glenroe (1983–2001)
• Saturday Live (1986–1999)
• Questions and Answers (1986–2009)
• The Den (1986–2010)
• Know Your Sport (1987–1998)
• Kenny Live (1988–1999)
• Fair City (1989–present)
• RTÉ News: One O'Clock (1989–present)

1990s

• Would You Believe (1990s–present)
• Winning Streak (1990–present)
• Challenging Times (1991–2001)
• Prime Time (1992–present)
• The Movie Show (1993–2001)
• No Disco (1993–2003)
• Echo Island (1994–1999)
• Nuacht RTÉ (1995–present)
• Fame and Fortune (1996–2006)
• Nuacht TG4 (1996–present)
• Ros na Rún (1996–present)

Ending this year

• 30 May – Live at 3 (1986–1997)
• 31 July – Blackboard Jungle (1991–1997)
• 23 August – Kennedy (1997)
• 16 December – Upwardly Mobile (1995–1997)
• 20 December – Sports Stadium (1973–1997)