The Meaning of Life (TV series)

The Meaning of Life is an Irish television programme, broadcast on RTÉ One. Presented by Gay Byrne, each edition involves the veteran broadcaster interviewing a prominent public figure.[1]

The Meaning of Life
Also known as	The Meaning of Life with Gay Byrne
Genre	Interview
Starring	Gay Byrne
Country of origin	Ireland
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	9
No. of episodes	50
Release
Original network	RTÉ One
Original release	19 April 2009 – 16 October 2016
External links
Website

Interviews with former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and actors Gabriel Byrne and Brenda Fricker during the second series attracted media attention. Ahern spoke of his religious habits, Byrne and Fricker of being sexually abused as children.

Episode list

First series

No.	Original air date	Guest
1	19 April 2009	Colin Farrell
The actor spoke of topics such as his father and his addictions.[1]
2	26 April 2009	Gerry Adams
The Sinn Féin leader spoke of the process of concluding resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offence, difference or mistake, and ceasing to demand punishment or restitution, the great unknown, Final Judgment and how his beliefs have affected his life as a republican.[1] Byrne said this meeting with Adams had lacked any confrontation but described it as "an interview where you certainly had to think on your feet".[2]
3	3 May 2009	Maeve Binchy
The writer spoke of losing her beliefs as a Roman Catholic during a journey to Jerusalem as a young adult, describing it as "the Road to Damascus experience in reverse".[1]
4	10 May 2009	Ronan Keating
The singer was described by Byrne as "a revelation" after the episode.[1] Keating spoke of his disagreements with his manager Louis Walsh, the death of his mother from cancer and the Marie Keating Foundation which resulted.[1][2]
5	17 May 2009	Sinéad O'Connor
The musician spoke of her views about the deity of her belief system and how this affects her artistic output.[1] She later said she an Byrne had had "a lovely morning together".[3] The interview was filmed in January 2009 at O'Connor's house.[3] Byrne referenced the interview in an article he wrote for the Sunday Independent later that day.[4]
6	24 May 2009	Neil Jordan
The writer and filmmaker immediately denied being religious, but indicated spiritual beliefs when he stated his view that life continues after the permanent termination of the biological functions that define a living organism.[1] Jordan recalled his father telling him he would return after death and their subsequent post-death encounter during a stormy fixed-wing aircraft flight.[1]

Second series

No.	Original air date	Guest
7	17 January 2010	Gabriel Byrne
The actor spoke for the first time about sexual abuse he had received from the Christian Brothers when he was a boy and also said he had left the priesthood after he "walked up the stairs behind two girls in miniskirts" while on a bus in London.[5][6]
8	24 January 2010	Tommy Tiernan
9	31 January 2010	Brenda Fricker
The actress spoke about being beaten by her mother and sexually abused by a friend.[7]
10	7 February 2010	Bertie Ahern
The former Taoiseach confessed he had not confessed in the past 40 years but often went to Mass and spoke of the intimacy he shared with Ian Paisley over their religion while in London in 2004.[8]
11	14 February 2010	Mary Robinson
12	21 February 2010	Edna O'Brien[9]

Third series

No.	Original air date	Guest
13	26 September 2010	Terry Wogan
The BBC broadcaster discussed his atheism.[10][11][12]
14	3 October 2010	Fionnula Flanagan[13]
15	10 October 2010	Deepak Chopra[14]
16	17 October 2010	Ian Paisley[15]
17	TBA	Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh
18	TBA	Dana Rosemary Scallon

Fourth series

No.	Original air date	Guest
19	TBA	Michael Parkinson
20	TBA	Brendan O'Carroll
21	TBA	Mark Patrick Hederman
22	TBA	Brian Cody
23	TBA	Martin Sheen
The actor spoke of his pro-life views and said his wife was conceived through a rape and he says had her mother aborted her, or dumped her in the Ohio River as she had considered, his wife would not exist. He also talked about three of his grandchildren who were conceived out of wedlock, saying his sons "were not happy at the time but they came to love these children. We have three grown grandchildren, two of them are married, they're some of the greatest source of joy in our lives."[16][17][18]
24	TBA	Ben Dunne

Fifth series

No.	Original air date	Guest
25	8 January 2012	Andrea Corr
26	15 January 2012	Paddy Moloney
27	22 January 2012	Shay Cullen
28	29 January 2012	Richard Branson
29	5 February 2012	Bob Geldof
30	TBA	Mary Byrne

Sixth series

No.	Original air date	Guest
31	9 October 2012	Mary McAleese
The former President of Ireland spoke about same-sex marriage.[19]
32	14 October 2012	Noel Gallagher
33	22 January 2012	Seán Gallagher
The businessman gave his first televised interview since his presidential failure.
34	28 October 2012	Niall Quinn

Seventh series

No.	Original air date	Guest
35	6 January 2013	Colm Tóibín
36	12 January 2013	J. P. Donleavy
37	20 January 2013	John Lonergan
Former governor of Mountjoy Prison
38	27 January 2013	Maureen Gaffney
UCD Clinical Psychologist
39	3 February 2013	Maria Doyle Kennedy

Seventh series (Special episode)

No.	Original air date	Guest
40	25 June 2013	Bono
The musician talked about his humanitarian work, his religious faith, and also his parents' marriage and father's death. He granted the interview on the understanding that it would be a purely personal one and insisted his episode be aired separately from the rest of the series. Uncle Gaybo and RTÉ obliged.[20]

Eighth series

No.	Original air date	Guest
41	6 October 2013	Colm Wilkinson
The musical star spoke of his absence of faith.[21]
42	TBA	Emily O'Reilly[22]
43	TBA	Peter McVerry[23]
44	TBA	Celine Byrne[24]

Ninth series

The ninth series began airing on 4 May 2014.

No.	Original air date	Guest
45	4 May 2014	Majella O'Donnell
Interview with the cancer sufferer.[25]
46	TBA	Rory O'Neill
Interview with the man behind the make-up.[26]
47	TBA	Sean O'Sullivan
Interview with the ex-Dragons' Den star.[27]
48	TBA	Eamon Dunphy
Interview with the soccer man.[28]
49	TBA	David Puttnam
Interview with the film producer and British Lord.[29]
50	TBA	Enda Kenny
Interview with the man behind the make-up.[30]

Tenth series

No.	Original air date	Guest
46	TBA	Cecila Ahern
Interview about growing up with Bertie Aherne.[31]
47	TBA	Stephen Fry
Actor.[31]
48	TBA	Barry McGuigan
Boxer taks about his Catholic faith.[31]
49	TBA	Mary Black
Talks about her disillusion with the Church, her struggles with depression and her mystical experiences.[31]
50	TBA	Rowan Williams
Former Archbishop of Canterbury and now Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge.[31]

Eleventh series

No.	Original air date	Guest
51	TBA	Hozier
Singer.[31]
52	TBA	Joan Burton
Tánaiste talks about adoption, her early influences, politics and morality.[31]
53	TBA	Richard Dawkins
Evolutionary biologist.[31]
54	TBA	Stanislaus Kennedy
Nun.[31]
55	TBA	Eckhart Tolle
Author.[31]

Twelfth series

No.	Original air date	Guest
56	TBA	Ruby Wax
Comedienne.[31]
57	TBA	Dolores Keane
Singer who shares her fight against alcoholism, breast cancer and depression.[31]
58	TBA	John Sheahan
Former member of The Dubliners.[31]
59	TBA	Garry Hynes
Theatre director and founder of Druid Theatre Company.[31]

Reception

Gay Byrne is the presenter.

John Boland of the Irish Independent claimed the series became "more religious in thrust and tone as it progressed".[32] He described the episode featuring Neil Jordan as a "bizarre encounter", in which the writer and filmmaker "grew more and more bemused" as Byrne questioned him in great detail about his religious faith.[32] Jordan answered such questions as "Do you think your religion might return to you on your deathbed?" and "Do you think there's a day of reckoning?" with "I really haven't got a clue" and "I don't know, Gay" but when he commented that "every time I'm in a plane and it's hit by lightning I bless myself", Byrne replied "Hah!", as if, according to Boland, Jordan had "just revealed a basic faith in the Catholic Almighty rather than a reflex reaction to imminent catastrophe".[32]

The Irish Times's Kevin Courtney said of The Meaning of Life: "The title is a bit grandiose – you could just as easily call it Tell Uncle Gaybo All About It.[33]

Byrne prefers not to discuss his own faith:

I am not going to say, because it would compromise me in terms of the show if people knew I had a position. What you find is that they are all searching. No one has the truth.[34]

Viewing figures

An average of 247,000 viewers tuned into the first four episodes of the series, featuring interviews with Farrell, Adams, Binchy and Keating.[2] The episode featuring Keating attracted the most viewers, with a total of 258,000 reported.[2] Next was the Adams interview, with 251,000 viewers.[2] This was followed by the interview with Binchy which had 231,000 viewers.[2]

References

1. "About the show". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
2. "Gaybo shows why he's still pulling in the viewers". Evening Herald. Independent News & Media. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
3. "Sinead reveals X Factor fantasy". Evening Herald. Independent News & Media. 16 May 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
4. "'A caller said "I know for a fact that he had his hand up her skirt for the whole interview." And I thought, dammit, they miss nothing...'". Sunday Independent. Independent News & Media. 25 January 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
5. McDonald, Henry (19 January 2010). "Gabriel Byrne tells of childhood sexual abuse". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
6. "Gabriel Byrne: I was abused as a child". The Daily Telegraph. London. 20 January 2010. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
7. Byrne, Andrea (31 January 2010). "Fricker reveals a childhood of abuse". Sunday Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
8. McGreevy, Ronan (8 February 2010). "Ahern reveals deep religious conviction and hope of heaven". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
9. Dubliner's Diary (9 February 2010). "Dunphy goes on a Haunted date night". Evening Herald. Independent News & Media. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2010. Gay interviewed Edna O'Brien for his current RTÉ series, The Meaning of Life. "Edna will appear on the series in the next few weeks, so naturally I had to be here to offer my support. "He's on it the week after Mary Robinson and I must say I really enjoyed our conversation," said Gay.
10. "Wogan joins Byrne on Meaning of Life". RTÉ Ten. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 25 September 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
11. Hurley, David (25 September 2010). "Limerick's Terry Wogan gives Gay Byrne his thoughts on the meaning of life". Limerick Post. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
12. "Terry Wogan tells of anguish over death of baby girl". The Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
13. O'Brien, James (4 October 2010). "Fionnula Flanagan reveals she returned to God when granddaughter disappeared". Irish Central. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
14. "Upfront". The Irish Times. 10 October 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
15. "The Red Hand of Paisley". The Belfast Telegraph. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
16. Hayes, Cathy (17 April 2011). "Martin Sheen opens up about his strong anti-abortion views". IrishCentral. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
17. Martin Sheen Sheds Light on Reasons for His Pro-Life Views
18. Raidió Teilifís Éireann interview
19. "Former president Mary McAleese 'not troubled' by gay marriage". RTÉ News. 9 October 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
20. "Bono did not want his 'Meaning of Life' shown with rest of series". Irish Independent. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
21. "Series 8 Programme 2". RTÉ. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
22. "Series 8 Programme2". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
23. "Series 8 Programme 3". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
24. "Series 8 Programme 4". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
25. "Series 9 Programme 1". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
26. "Series 9 Programme 2". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
27. "Series 9 Programme 3". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
28. "Series 9 Programme 4". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
29. "Series 9 Programme 5". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
30. "Series 9 Programme 6". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
31. "List of programmes". RTÉ. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
32. Boland, John (30 May 2009). "A funny comedian? Don't make me laugh". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
33. Courtney, Kevin (23 January 2010). "In God, we curry flavour". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
34. Byrne, Gay (13 February 2010). "The chameleon of Montrose". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Archived from the original on 13 February 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2010.

External links

• Official website