The Riordans was the second Irish soap opera made by Raidio Telefís Éireann (then called Telefís Éireann). It ran from 1965 to 1979 and was set in the fictional townland of Leestown in County Kilkenny. Its use of Outside Broadcast Units and its filming of its episodes on location rather than in studio, broke the mould of broadcasting in the soap opera genre, and inspired the creation of its British equivalent, Emmerdale Farm (now called Emmerdale) by Yorkshire Television in 1972.
Read more about The Riordans: Launch, Characters, Tensions and Rivalries, Revolutionising Television Though Using OBUs, Template For Emmerdale Farm, RTÉ in The 1960s - A Reputation For Innovation, Pushing Agendas, Controversially Axed, Context and Conclusion, The Tradition of Rural Drama On RTÉ, Later Careers of The Actors, Back Catalogue Wiped, Actors and Roles, Series Writers, Spin Offs