The first question most people ask about any IPTV service is simple: are my channels there? This page explains what the Irish part of our line-up includes, how it is organised and how to check your favourites before you order.
Irish channels IPTV: what is in the line-up
Every Irish IPTV plan includes all the major Irish national channels, Irish sport and Irish news and entertainment, together with Irish-language programming. Around them sit UK and international channels, 23,000+ live channels in total, plus an on-demand library of 93,000+ films and series.
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Irish national channels
All major Irish national channels, from the main evening schedule to the late-night programmes.
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Irish sport
Irish sports channels for Gaelic games, rugby, football, racing and more, live and in one place.
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Irish news & entertainment
Irish news, current affairs, chat shows, dramas and soaps, so you can keep up with home.
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Irish-language programming
Programmes in Irish, from children’s shows to documentaries and sport, alongside the English-language channels.
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UK & international
UK and international channels for entertainment, documentaries, news and sport from around the world.
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Films & series on demand
An on-demand library of 93,000+ films and series to start whenever it suits you.
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Kids & family
Children’s channels and family viewing, easy to find in their own category.
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Premium & pay-per-view
Premium channels and pay-per-view events are included in every plan, with no extra charge per event.
We describe the line-up by category rather than by channel name. Channel names, numbers and schedules change over time, and the categories are what stay the same: if you watch Irish television today, everything you watch falls into one of the groups above.
The Irish national channels
The national channels are the backbone of Irish TV: the main entertainment channels with the evening schedule, the dramas, the soaps and the big Saturday night shows, and the second channels with more sport, youth programming and documentaries. They are what most households have on in the background most evenings, and they are the first thing an Irish viewer checks.
On IPTV the national channels play live, just as they are broadcast. If something is on at nine o’clock in Ireland, it is on at nine o’clock on your screen, which is worth remembering if you watch from another time zone.
Irish sport on IPTV
For many households, sport is the reason to choose one TV service over another. The Irish sports channels are part of every plan, with no add-on to buy, and they sit next to UK and international sport.
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Gaelic games
Gaelic football and hurling on the Irish sports channels, from the early rounds to the big summer days.
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Rugby
International and club rugby on sports channels from Ireland, the UK and further afield.
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Football
Irish, UK and European football on the major sports channels, every weekend and midweek.
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Racing, boxing & PPV
Horse racing, boxing, combat sports and pay-per-view events, included in every plan.
Live sport is also the toughest test for any streaming service, because so many people watch the same thing at the same moment. Two simple habits make a big difference: connect the TV or box to the router with a network cable, and start the channel a few minutes before throw-in or kick-off so the app has settled. Our article on IPTV buffering explains what to do if the picture stalls.
Irish news and current affairs
The evening news, current affairs programmes, debates and morning shows keep you in touch with what is happening at home, from politics to the weather. Because the channels play live, breaking news reaches you as it happens, not hours later as a clip.
For the Irish living abroad this is often the part of the line-up that matters most. Our guide to Irish TV abroad shows when the main evening bulletins arrive in the UK, the USA, Canada and Australia.
Irish-language programming
Programmes in Irish are part of the national line-up: children’s programmes, drama, documentaries, music and sport commentary. For families raising children with Irish, at home or abroad, having those programmes on the main TV makes a real difference.
Entertainment, drama and soaps
Irish dramas, comedies, chat shows and soaps are the programmes people talk about the next morning. They are spread across the national channels, so the easiest way to keep track of them is to save those channels as favourites and use the programme guide in your player app to see what is on tonight.
UK and international channels next to the Irish ones
Few Irish households watch only Irish channels. UK channels for entertainment, documentaries and news, international news channels, film channels, children’s channels and sport from around the world are all part of every plan. The Irish channels have their own category, so they are never lost among the rest.
Children’s and family viewing
Children’s channels have their own category, which makes it easy to hand the remote to younger viewers without them scrolling through the whole line-up. Programmes in Irish for children sit within the national channels, alongside cartoons, educational programmes and family films. Many player apps also offer a parental lock or PIN for categories you would rather keep out of reach.
Films and series on demand
Alongside the live channels there is a library of 93,000+ films and series that you start whenever you like. It is the answer to the evenings when nothing on the live channels appeals, and it is especially useful in a different time zone, because on-demand viewing does not depend on the Irish schedule.
How to find Irish channels quickly
A line-up of 23,000+ channels is only useful if you can find the ones you want in seconds. Three habits help:
- Start from the Irish category. Channels are grouped, so open the Irish group rather than scrolling through the full list.
- Save favourites. Most player apps let you mark channels as favourites and show them first. Spend five minutes doing this on the first evening and you rarely need the full list again.
- Use search and the guide. Search by name when you know what you want, and use the programme guide to see what is on now and next. Our article What is EPG and catch-up? explains how the guide works.
A typical Irish evening on IPTV
To make all of this concrete, here is how an ordinary weekday evening tends to look once IPTV is set up. The six o’clock news plays live on one of the national channels while dinner is on the table. Later, the drama everyone is talking about starts at nine, found in two clicks from the favourites list. On a match night, the Irish sports channel is saved one button below, so switching over at half-time takes seconds. And when nothing on the live channels appeals, a film from the on-demand library fills the gap.
None of this needs a second remote, an aerial or a separate box for sport. Everything runs through one player app on the TV, with the Irish channels grouped at the top.
Irish channels at home and abroad
The same line-up works in Dublin and in Dubai. Because the channels arrive over the internet, the Irish category looks identical whether you are in Cork, London, New York or Sydney. The only thing that changes is the clock: live channels follow Irish time, so the evening schedule arrives in the afternoon in North America and in the early morning in Australia.
For families split between Ireland and abroad, that consistency matters. Everyone can watch the same final or the same programme on the same evening, and talk about it the next day. Our guide to Irish TV abroad covers the time differences city by city.
Questions to ask about any Irish line-up
Whether you choose us or another service, these questions tell you quickly whether a line-up really works for an Irish household:
- Are all the major Irish national channels included, or only a selection?
- Are the Irish sports channels part of the standard plan, or an add-on?
- Is Irish-language programming included?
- Are the Irish channels grouped together, or mixed into a long international list?
- Does the programme guide cover the Irish channels?
- Can you check specific channels before you pay?
Our buyer’s guide to IPTV providers in Ireland turns questions like these into a full checklist.
What affects the picture
The quality you see depends on three things: the stream, your internet connection and your device. We take care of the first. For the other two, a stable connection of around 10 Mbps is enough for one HD channel; for the best picture on a large TV, allow 25 Mbps or more for each screen in use at the same time.
Wi-Fi is the most common weak link. If the TV is far from the router, a network cable or a mesh Wi-Fi system usually helps more than a faster broadband package. Our guide on how to set up IPTV includes the settings that matter for each device.
Before you order: check your must-have channels
Write down the five Irish channels you watch most and send them to us on WhatsApp. We will confirm them before you pay, along with anything else you want to know about the line-up or your device.
Check my channels on WhatsApp (opens WhatsApp)
When you are ready, compare the four plans on our Irish IPTV prices page. Every plan includes every channel, from £15 for 1 month to £5.75/month on the 12-month plan.
