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Which Soaps Are On in Ireland Each Night? Channels, Times and Repeats

· Guide · Updated · By the Watch Ireland On Air desk
Which Soaps Are On in Ireland Each Night? Channels, Times and Repeats

Irish weeknights carry three British soaps and one home-grown one, split between two broadcasters: Emmerdale and Coronation Street on Virgin Media One at the same times as ITV1, EastEnders on RTÉ One rather than BBC One, and RTÉ's own Fair City. Catch-up works differently from Britain too, because ITVX doesn't play here, while RTÉ Player carries EastEnders and Fair City and Virgin Media Three fills the gap for the ITV pair with repeats.

Which soap is on which night in Ireland?

NightRTÉ OneVirgin Media One
MondayEastEndersEmmerdale 8pm, Coronation Street 8.30pm
TuesdayEastEnders; Fair City 8pmEmmerdale 8pm, Coronation Street 8.30pm
WednesdayEastEndersEmmerdale 8pm, Coronation Street 8.30pm
ThursdayEastEnders; Fair City 8pmEmmerdale 8pm, Coronation Street 8.30pm
FridayFair City 7.30pmEmmerdale 8pm, Coronation Street 8.30pm
SundayFair City 8.30pmNone

All times are Irish time. The Virgin Media slots come from Virgin Media's TV guide for Friday 25 September to Friday 2 October; the Fair City times come from RTÉ's own episode previews for its last few weeks of episodes. Saturday has no new soap on either channel.

Week of 28 September 2026 — Virgin Media's guide has no Emmerdale or Coronation Street on Virgin Media One on Tuesday 29 September. That evening Virgin Media Two is showing the Nations League match between Czechia and England from 7pm to 10.30pm; the guide doesn't give a reason for the gap. The late-evening Virgin Media Three repeats are also missing that night, but the afternoon ones at 3.50pm and 4.20pm go ahead. (Checked on Thursday 24 September against the Virgin Media TV guide.)

Is EastEnders on BBC One or RTÉ in Ireland?

RTÉ One is the Irish answer. RTÉ's own soap coverage says EastEnders airs on RTÉ One and BBC One from Monday to Thursday, and points viewers to RTÉ Player to catch up.

BBC One starts it at 7.30pm in the UK. RTÉ's articles don't give the RTÉ One start time, and the one Irish listing we saw, for Wednesday 23 September, also had 7.30pm, so check the RTÉ schedule before relying on a particular evening.

When is Fair City on?

Fair City is RTÉ's own soap, set in the fictional Dublin suburb of Carrigstown, and it's the only one of the four made in Ireland. RTÉ says it airs on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

The start time moves around. RTÉ's recent previews put Tuesday's and Thursday's episodes at 8pm, Friday's at 7.30pm and Sunday's at 8.30pm. On Tuesdays and Thursdays that means Fair City and Emmerdale start at the same moment on different channels.

Information card showing the soap line-up on RTÉ One and Virgin Media One in Ireland
Two broadcasters, four soaps.

Where are the soap repeats in Ireland?

Virgin Media Three is the catch-up channel for the ITV pair. On weekday afternoons it shows Emmerdale at 3.50pm and Coronation Street at 4.20pm (3.40pm and 4.15pm on Thursday 1 and Friday 2 October). Late in the evening it runs them again, Corrie first and then Emmerdale, usually from 10pm; on Thursday 1 October the pair move to 11pm.

Weekends bring the blocks. Saturday 26 September has five Emmerdale episodes from 12.30pm to about 3.10pm, and Sunday 27 September gives Coronation Street the same treatment from 12.30pm to 3pm.

That matters because the British catch-up routes don't carry over. ITV's help pages say ITVX only works in the UK, and Virgin Media Play, the Irish streaming service, needs a login we couldn't use to check what's on it.

How different is this from the UK line-up?

Less than you'd expect on timing, more on channels. In Britain, Emmerdale is on ITV1 at 8pm and Coronation Street at 8.30pm on weeknights, the same minutes as Virgin Media One here. EastEnders keeps its Monday-to-Thursday run.

The differences are elsewhere: the channel names change, Fair City has no British counterpart, and Ireland gets a lot of extra ITV soap repeats on Virgin Media Three, two a day for each show on most weekdays plus the two five-episode weekend blocks.

For the full British picture, including Hollyoaks, our UK sister site keeps its own night-by-night soap guide and a separate page on how to watch EastEnders in Britain.

If you're in Northern Ireland

You're on the UK schedule, so BBC One and ITV1 apply, with iPlayer and ITVX.

More from Watch Ireland On Air

If you're flicking over at teatime, The Chase is a Virgin Media fixture too, with six weekday showings across three channels. Saturday night on Virgin Media One belongs to The Graham Norton Show, and RTÉ's big autumn reality result is on our Traitors Ireland winners page. The Late Late Toy Show 2026 guide has the application deadline.

More sections: Guide · Virgin Media · UK Shows in Ireland

FAQ

What soaps are on in Ireland on a weeknight?
Emmerdale at 8pm and Coronation Street at 8.30pm on Virgin Media One, plus EastEnders on RTÉ One from Monday to Thursday and Fair City on RTÉ One on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Is Hollyoaks on Irish TV?
It didn't appear in the Virgin Media listings we checked for this guide.

Are the soaps on at the weekend in Ireland?
Only as repeat blocks on Virgin Media Three, apart from Fair City's Sunday episode on RTÉ One.

Sources

By the Watch Ireland On Air desk · Updated 25 September, 8.14am Irish time

#Emmerdale#Coronation Street#EastEnders#Fair City#RTÉ One#Virgin Media One#Ireland