The Meaning of Life (TV series)

2009-16 Irish interview television series

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| English
No. of series| 12
No. of episodes| 50
Original release
Network| RTÉ One
Release| 19 April 2009 (2009-04-19) –
16 October 2016 (2016-10-16)

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]

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.

Joe Duffy took over as host from Gay Byrne in 2020.[2]

## Episode list

[edit]

### First series

[edit]

No.  | Original air date  | Guest

|
|

| 19 April 2009| Colin Farrell

The actor spoke of topics such as his father and his addictions.[1]

| 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".[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]

| 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][3]

| 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".[4] The interview was filmed in January 2009 at O'Connor's house.[4] Byrne referenced the interview in an article he wrote for the Sunday Independent later that day.[5]

| 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

[edit]

No.  | Original air date  | Guest

|
|

| 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.[6][7]

| 24 January 2010| Tommy Tiernan

| 31 January 2010| Brenda Fricker

The actress spoke about being beaten by her mother and sexually abused by a friend.[8]

| 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.[9]

| 14 February 2010| Mary Robinson

| 21 February 2010| Edna O'Brien[10]

### Third series

[edit]

No.  | Original air date  | Guest

|
|

| 26 September 2010| Terry Wogan

The BBC broadcaster discussed his atheism.[11][12][13]

| 3 October 2010| Fionnula Flanagan[14]

| 10 October 2010| Deepak Chopra[15]

| 17 October 2010| Ian Paisley[16]

| TBA| Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh

| TBA| Dana Rosemary Scallon

### Fourth series

[edit]

No.  | Original air date  | Guest

|
|

| TBA| Michael Parkinson

| TBA| Brendan O'Carroll

| TBA| Mark Patrick Hederman

| TBA| Brian Cody

| 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."[17]

| TBA| Ben Dunne

### Fifth series

[edit]

No.  | Original air date  | Guest

|
|

| 8 January 2012| Andrea Corr

| 15 January 2012| Paddy Moloney

| 22 January 2012| Shay Cullen

| 29 January 2012| Richard Branson

| 5 February 2012| Bob Geldof

| TBA| Mary Byrne

### Sixth series

[edit]

No.  | Original air date  | Guest

|
|

| 9 October 2012| Mary McAleese

The former President of Ireland spoke about same-sex marriage.[18]

| 14 October 2012| Noel Gallagher

| 22 January 2012| Seán Gallagher

The businessman gave his first televised interview since his presidential failure.

| 28 October 2012| Niall Quinn

### Seventh series

[edit]

No.  | Original air date  | Guest

|
|

| 6 January 2013| Colm Tóibín

| 12 January 2013| J. P. Donleavy

| 20 January 2013| John Lonergan

Former governor of Mountjoy Prison

| 27 January 2013| Maureen Gaffney

UCD Clinical Psychologist

| 3 February 2013| Maria Doyle Kennedy

### Seventh series (Special episode)

[edit]

No.  | Original air date  | Guest

|
|

| 25 June 2013| Bono

The musician talked about his humanitarian work, his religious faith, and also his parents' marriage and father's death.

### Eighth series

[edit]

No.  | Original air date  | Guest

|
|

| 6 October 2013| Colm Wilkinson

The musical star spoke of his absence of faith.[19]

| TBA| Emily O'Reilly[20]

| TBA| Peter McVerry[21]

| TBA| Celine Byrne[22]

### Ninth series

[edit]

The ninth series began airing on 4 May 2014.

No.  | Original air date  | Guest

|
|

| 4 May 2014| Majella O'Donnell

Interview with the cancer sufferer.[23]

| TBA| Rory O'Neill

Interview with the man behind the make-up.[24]

| TBA| Sean O'Sullivan

Interview with the ex-Dragons' Den star.[25]

| TBA| Eamon Dunphy

Interview with the soccer man.[26]

| TBA| David Puttnam

Interview with the film producer and British Lord.[27]

| TBA| Enda Kenny

Interview with the man behind the make-up.[28]

### Tenth series

[edit]

No.  | Original air date  | Guest

|
|

| TBA| Cecila Ahern

Interview about growing up with Bertie Aherne.[29]

| TBA| Stephen Fry

Actor, Comedian, Writer, and Humanist.[29]

| TBA| Barry McGuigan

Boxer talks about his Catholic faith.[29]

| TBA| Mary Black

Talks about her disillusion with the Church, her struggles with depression and her mystical experiences.[29]

| TBA| Rowan Williams

Former Archbishop of Canterbury and now Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge.[29]

### Eleventh series

[edit]

No.  | Original air date  | Guest

|
|

| TBA| Hozier

Singer.[29]

| TBA| Joan Burton

Tánaiste talks about adoption, her early influences, politics and morality.[29]

| TBA| Richard Dawkins

Evolutionary biologist.[29]

| TBA| Stanislaus Kennedy

Nun.[29]

| TBA| Eckhart Tolle

Author.[29]

### Twelfth series

[edit]

No.  | Original air date  | Guest

|
|

| TBA| Ruby Wax

Comedienne.[29]

| TBA| Dolores Keane

Singer who shares her fight against alcoholism, breast cancer and depression.[29]

| TBA| John Sheahan

Former member of The Dubliners.[29]

| TBA| Garry Hynes

Theatre director and founder of Druid Theatre Company.[29]

## Reception

[edit]

Gay Byrne is the presenter.

John Boland of the Irish Independent claimed the series became "more religious in thrust and tone as it progressed".[30] 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.[30] 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".[30]

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.[31]

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.[32]

## Viewing figures

[edit]

An average of 247,000 viewers tuned into the first four episodes of the series, featuring interviews with Farrell, Adams, Binchy and Keating.[3] The episode featuring Keating attracted the most viewers, with a total of 258,000 reported.[3] Next was the Adams interview, with 251,000 viewers.[3] This was followed by the interview with Binchy which had 231,000 viewers.[3]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "About the show". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
2. ^ "Joe Duffy to take over Gay Byrne's series, The Meaning of Life". VIP Magazine. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
3. ^ a b c d e f "Gaybo shows why he's still pulling in the viewers". Evening Herald. Independent News & Media. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
4. ^ a b "Sinead reveals X Factor fantasy". Evening Herald. Independent News & Media. 16 May 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
5. ^ "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.
6. ^ 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.
7. ^ "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.
8. ^ Byrne, Andrea (31 January 2010). "Fricker reveals a childhood of abuse". Sunday Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
9. ^ 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.
10. ^ 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."
11. ^ "Wogan joins Byrne on Meaning of Life". RTÉ Ten. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 25 September 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
12. ^ 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.
13. ^ "Terry Wogan tells of anguish over death of baby girl". The Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
14. ^ 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.
15. ^ "Upfront". The Irish Times. 10 October 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
16. ^ "The Red Hand of Paisley". Belfast Telegraph. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
17. ^ 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.
18. ^ "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.
19. ^ "Series 8 Programme 2". RTÉ. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
20. ^ "Series 8 Programme2". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
21. ^ "Series 8 Programme 3". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
22. ^ "Series 8 Programme 4". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
23. ^ "Series 9 Programme 1". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
24. ^ "Series 9 Programme 2". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
25. ^ "Series 9 Programme 3". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
26. ^ "Series 9 Programme 4". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
27. ^ "Series 9 Programme 5". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
28. ^ "Series 9 Programme 6". RTÉ. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
29. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "List of programmes". RTÉ. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
30. ^ a b c Boland, John (30 May 2009). "A funny comedian? Don't make me laugh". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
31. ^ Courtney, Kevin (23 January 2010). "In God, we curry flavour". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
32. ^ Byrne, Gay (13 February 2010). "The chameleon of Montrose". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Archived from the original on 18 November 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2010.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* The Meaning of Life at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Gay Byrne

Radio|

* The Gay Byrne Hour (1973–1979)
* The Gay Byrne Show (1979–1998)

Television|

* The Late Late Show (1962–1999)
* Open House (1964)
* Rose of Tralee (1978–1994)
* Calor Kosangas Housewife of the Year (1982–1994)
* People in Need Telethon (1988–2001)
* Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (2000–2002)
* Class Reunion (2005)
* Gaybo's Grumpy Men (2005)
* Gaybo Laughs Back (2008)
* The Meaning of Life (2009–16)
* For One Night Only (2011–12)

Related topics|

* Kathleen Watkins
* List of people on stamps of Ireland
* Road Safety Authority
* Synge Street CBS
* 2011 presidential election

* v
* t
* e

Home-produced factual programming on RTÉ Television

History|

* Bertie
* Blood of the Irish
* Chávez: Inside the Coup
* Cromwell in Ireland
* Death or Canada
* Garda ar Lár
* Haughey
* On the Street Where You Live
* Ireland's Greatest
* Reeling In the Years
* Seven Ages
* Sex & Sensibility
* Who Do You Think You Are?

Nature|

* Charlie Bird Explores
* Discovery
* Ear to the Ground
* The Great Escape
* Skippers
* Teens in the Wild

Public affairs|

* Crimecall
* Customs
* Garda Patrol
* Traffic Blues

Religion|

* The Angelus
* The Meaning of Life
* Would You Believe

Science|

* The Investigators

See also

Mint Productions
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