The Traitors Ireland
| The Traitors Ireland | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre |
|
| Based on | |
| Presented by | Siobhán McSweeney |
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Production locations | Slane Castle, Slane, County Meath, Ireland |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 50–80 minutes |
| Production company | Kite Entertainment |
| Original release | |
| Network | RTÉ One |
| Release | 31 August 2025 – present |
The Traitors Ireland is an Irish reality television series broadcast on RTÉ One which premiered on 31 August 2025, and is based on the Dutch series De Verraders. It is presented by Siobhán McSweeney.[1]
Following the premise of other versions of De Verraders, the show features a group of contestants participating in a social deduction game similar to Mafia or Werewolf, as they stay in a historic castle. During their stay, a small group of contestants become the titular "Traitors", and must work together to eliminate the other contestants to win a grand prize, while the remaining contestants become "Faithful" and are tasked to discover and banish the Traitors by voting them out, to win the grand prize of up to €50,000. The second series is set to premiere on 30 August 2026.
Format
Over twenty contestants arrive at a castle in Meath where they will spend their entire time for the duration of the game (although they sleep off site). On the arrival day, host Siobhán McSweeney picks at least three contestants to be called "Traitors" and the rest are automatically called "Faithful". The television audience can see who have been chosen as Traitors, but the Faithful do not know their identity.
At the end of each day, all contestants meet at a Round Table to discuss who they think are Traitors. They then cast votes that are revealed one by one. The person with the most votes reveals their identity and is immediately banished. On most nights, the Traitors meet in private and agree to "murder" one Faithful who leaves the game immediately. The remaining Faithful only know who has been murdered at breakfast next morning.
Each day, the group participates in missions to win money for the prize fund which can reach up to €50,000 by the end of the game. During the missions, any contestant may separately win a shield that awards that player immunity from being murdered, but not from being banished. In some cases, the contestant has the right or ability not to disclose if they won the shield, or to tell a restricted group.
If during the game the number of Traitors drops to two, they are given the option to "seduce" or recruit a Faithful to join them instead of murdering. Seduced Faithfuls may decline and can decide whether to tell the other Faithfuls of the attempted seduction. If only one Traitor remains, the seduction happens as a face-to-face ultimatum; if the player declines they are immediately murdered, and if they accept the pair can immediately murder another Faithful.[2]
Production
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In early 2024, RTÉ and Kite Entertainment announced the Irish version of the hit reality TV show, The Traitors.[3] On 18 December 2024, Siobhán McSweeney was announced to be host for the upcoming series.[4] The first series was filmed in mid 2025 and premiered on 31 August 2025.[5]
Irish Language
The show's production deliberately incorporated the Irish language as part of its adaptation strategy. Mairéad Whelan, Director of Content at Kite Entertainment and Series Producer of The Traitors Ireland, stated that the production wanted to emphasise Irish identity in all its forms when adapting the international format, stating that "Part of how we do this is by casting a diverse group of Irish people from all over the country and all walks of life. We also like to have themes that make the most of our history, heritage and humour!"[6]
The show's Irish title is Na Fealltóirí (the Irish word for traitors being fealltóir or tréatúir). Host Siobhán McSweeney, who has strong personal ties to Cúil Aodha in the Múscraí Gaeltacht of County Cork, used Irish phrases throughout the series - including telling contestants to bí curamach ("be careful") in the first episode and urging them to brostaigí ("hurry") in the second.[7]
The second episode featured a mission in which contestants had to locate wooden discs bearing symbols and match them to Ogham script carved into towers in the forest near Slane Castle, with correct answers earning €5,000 for the prize fund. The task required knowledge of Irish, and contestants Niall, a primary school teacher from County Tyrone, and Diane, a radio broadcaster and native of the Aran Islands, took charge, with Niall remarking that he felt "protected from death" because he spoke Irish. Diane, who was banished at the end of the episode despite being a Faithful, told media she was "delighted" that so much Irish had been heard in the show, and that speakers of different dialects had featured, stating "Irish is cool now."[7]
Episodes
Series overview
| Series | Contestants | Episodes | Originally released | Winner(s) | Prize | Traitors | Average viewers (millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | ||||||||
| 1 | 24 | 12 | 31 August 2025 | 23 September 2025 | Kelley Higgins Oyin Adeyemi Vanessa Ogbonna (Faithfuls) | €42,900 (out of €50,000) | Eamon O'Keeffe Katelyn Divilly Paudie Moloney Andrew Moloney (from ep. 7) Nick O'Loughlin (from ep. 8) Ben Donohue (from ep. 10) | TBA | |
| 2 | TBA | TBA | 30 August 2026 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | |
Series 1 (2025)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Episode 1" | 31 August 2025 |
| 2 | 2 | "Episode 2" | 1 September 2025 |
| 3 | 3 | "Episode 3" | 2 September 2025 |
| 4 | 4 | "Episode 4" | 7 September 2025 |
| 5 | 5 | "Episode 5" | 8 September 2025 |
| 6 | 6 | "Episode 6" | 9 September 2025 |
| 7 | 7 | "Episode 7" | 14 September 2025 |
| 8 | 8 | "Episode 8" | 15 September 2025 |
| 9 | 9 | "Episode 9" | 16 September 2025 |
| 10 | 10 | "Episode 10" | 21 September 2025 |
| 11 | 11 | "Episode 11" | 22 September 2025 |
| 12 | 12 | "Episode 12" | 23 September 2025 |
The Traitors Ireland: Uncloaked
To accompany the series, a follow-up television programme called The Traitors Ireland: Uncloaked aired immediately after each episode. The first episode aired on 31 August 2025. It was hosted by Kevin McGahern and broadcast on RTÉ Two.[8]
References
- ↑ Graham, Breda (29 August 2025). "The Traitors Ireland hits screens this Sunday — here's everything you need to know". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ↑ Knox, David (31 August 2025). "Traitors Ireland reveals cast as show begins tonight". RTÉ News. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ↑ "Irish version of hit reality TV series The Traitors in development". Irish Times. 17 January 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ↑ "Siobhán McSweeney announced as host of RTÉ's The Traitors Ireland". RTÉ.ie. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ↑ "First look: I went behind the scenes of The Traitors Ireland — here's what I learned". Irish Examiner. 25 August 2025. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ↑ Concubhar Ó Liatháin (2 September 2025). "'Protected from death': Irish language features prominently in second episode of The Traitors". The Journal.
- 1 2 Concubhar Ó Liatháin (2 September 2025). "'Protected from death': Irish language features prominently in second episode of The Traitors". The Journal.
- ↑ "RTÉ unmasks The Traitors Ireland Uncloaked". RTÉ.ie. 9 August 2025. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
External links
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