Culture
Traitors Ireland finale: A tense and thrilling conclusion to a spectacular first season
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Good night and thank you for your company. Watch out for Laura Slattery’s behind the scenes report and interviews with Traitors finalists on irishtimes.com in the morning
The winners!
Kevin McGahern asks Siobhán on UnCloaked who is your favourite child? She answers Diane because she wishes she got to see more of her.
And there we have it. The traitors outfoxed and the faithful walk away with the prize money. What a tense conclusion to a spectacular first season of The Traitors Ireland.
Hugs, tears… fireworks.. It’s like a Coldplay concert without the €400 tickets.
Vanessa has rung the bell – the game is over. “In a room full of people that you can’t trust it’s nice to know there’s at least two.”
Oyin votes to end the game. “I have full confidence. I know we’re all faithful.” Kelley agrees. What will Vanessa do?
“It’s been an absolute pleasure playing the game – but more importantly getting to know you…I am a traitor,” he says. Everyone’s crying – except Ben. Probably because he knows he’ll soon be back with Nick. Now the faithful must decide if there is another traitor.
Three votes for Ben. The faithful win!
Oooh…Oyin votes to banish Ben .Might the jig be up?
Cut to Slane Castle exterior and a big fire-pit straight out of Love Island. Siobhán is back – and the contestants are voting whether to end the game or banish again. White smoke from the fire – they’ve voted to banish again. Smartly played faithful. And Ben, who is pretending that he suspects there is a traitor out there.
Should there be a steward’s inquiry over Nick’s “half right” comment to the faithful. Is he trying to influence the outcome of the game and hand the win to Ben after he has been eliminated? The internet has opinions.
“I’ve dodged every murder. I’ve gotten rich to the finale,” says Ben. The contestants can end the game now if they believe everyone left is a faithful. But if they do, the traitor wins.
If you’d like to share your thoughts with us, click into the box below
Ben pretends to be shocked at the departure of Nick. But as last traitor standing / skulking he’s in pole position to win. Next comes the end game. Stay under the radar and all that lolly is his. Perfect time for another ad break and a deep breath.
How are you holding up? I didn’t think The Traitors could top the Joanna/Faye round tables for sheer tension. But we’re only halfway through the final and already I’ve run out of nails to bite.
The estate agent has lost the keys to the castle. The Nick-aissance ends tonight!
Nick has chosen to banish Vanessa. She goes for Nick. Ben writes down Vanessa’s name. Oyin thinks it’s Nick. What will Kelley write?
“I’m so confused,” says Kelley. She suspects she’ll have the swing vote at the round table – might she be the kingmaker and traitor slayer?
“There’s not a scrap of evidence. You’ll make the wrong decision on me,” says Nick. This could be the end of the road for him.
Nick and Ben kept schtum when the faithful turned on Faye the previous night – and Oyin seems to have twigged something is amiss. Nick on the backfoot here.
Oyin has Nick in her sights. Was he recruited by Paudie? She suspects he’s “slipping between the cracks” at the round tables. He is rattled – but here comes to Ben to defend him. Peak Ben.
Quick recap from Siobhán. If only faithful are left at the end, they get the loot. If there’s a traitor among them, the conspirators walk away with the dosh.
Back to the show …
Side-eye from Kelley as she suggests Paudie recruited Nick and Nick nods along. And now the round table. Can you taste the tension?
Laura Slattery is reporting from the Clayton Hotel
Irish wolfhounds, hooded people in gold masks and RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst are all in attendance at an RTÉ screening of the finale in Clayton Hotel Ballsbridge.
The cast — including the final five — and host Siobhán McSweeney are the guests of honour at the event, compered by Uncloaked presenter Kevin McGahern.
RTÉ and the producers, Kite Entertainment, have been toasting a massive hit for the broadcaster, with commissioning editor Gráinne McAleer, describing the series as being “like 12 All-Irelands” in terms of viewer ratings.
They’ve bagged the ten grand – which is good. Aaaand they’re singing ole, ole, ole – which is bad. Now Nick is trying to turn Kelley in the car journey back to the castle. It’s like Game of Thrones with added estate agent.
The challenges are always a bit of filler. But at least this one has decent production values. That tower looks spectacular.
They’re talking to a man on a walkie talkie. Now there’s a helicopter. Carry on like this and there won’t be any money left for another of Siobhán’s statement capes. Just to reiterate I have no idea what’s going on: I have unleashed the Wilkin within.
Ooh cinematic drone shots of the players pegging it across the countryside in their huge golf-carts. That’s one fifth of the budget gone right there. And now they’re in a dungeon. They see an orc guarding a chest. Only joking – Vanessa has found clues leading to the next elements. Is anyone following this?
It’s all gone a bit ZX Spectrum text adventure. They’re looking for crystals to unlock a spire – I’m having flashbacks to that time I was locked in the goblins’ dungeon playing The Hobbit.
We’ve reached the first ad break. What do we think of Nick and Ben’s plan to separate Vanessa and Oyin by turning Kelley against Vanessa? It was all tears and hugs at the last supper the previous evening – but the traitors are ruthless out of the gate tonight. This could turn nasty. Who am I kidding. This WILL turn nasty.
The last mission. Siobhán in another statement ruff – and ten grand potentially added to the pot. She explains the mission – something to do with the elements. I’m not sure the players understand. I certainly don’t.
“I know it has to be one of the boys. I’m just trying to figure out which one,’ says Kelley. Then the penny drops. “Is it there a chance it’s both of them?”
Oyin isn’t buying it. “I would jump in the river she says.” Oh Oyin – can’t you see?
Vanessa has arrived for brekkie. “The highs are really highs, the lows are so low,” she says. She sounds traumatised – as she would having faced down round table truth bombs from Joanna and Faye over the last two round tables.
Enter Nick, the estate agent who has been selling himself as Mr Trustworthy over the past three weeks. He and Ben have a plan – persuade Kelley to vote Vanessa out at the round table. Devious. But will it work?
Aah, we begin with an emotional flashback to the start of the series. How innocent and hopeful they look. Except for Wilkin. He was just giving us peak Wilkin from the outset.
We open with creepy music, Siobhán sounding severe…and breakfast. “I didn’t think I’d make it this far,” says Oyin. Too modest! Viewers had her tagged as one of the sharpest faithful from the start.
Daggers at the ready, here we go. May the best faithful or traitor win. Actually could they just bring back Paudie and give him the money. Who would object? Aside from Ben and Nick, who weirdly have yet to receive their own portmanteau (Bicholas? Brick?)
As we prepare to visit Traitors Castle for the last time, it as good a moment as any to look back at the highlights and lowpoints of the season.
Where to start? The Nick and Ben bromance becoming a “bow-mance” when they mimed pinging a target with their arrows of truth.
Paudie’s “I’m not a hugger” speech – the Gettysburg Address of auld fella banter… We could go on – but, much like Wilkin at the round table, we’re just going to sit in silence for a while instead.
Welcome to the Irish Times’ coverage of the final of The Traitors Ireland. This is your last warning before the backstabbing begins for the final time (sob).
Culture
Giorgio Armani creations interplay with Italian masterpieces at new Milan exhibition
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“Giorgio Armani, Milano, for love’’ at the Brera Art Gallery opens today, mere weeks after the celebrated designer’s death at the age of 91.
Featuring 129 Armani looks from the 1980s through the present day, the exhibition places his creations among celebrated Italian masterpieces by such luminaries as Raphael and Caravaggio.
It is one of a series of Milan Fashion Week events that were planned before Armani’s death, to highlight his transformative influence on the world of fashion.
“From the start, Armani showed absolute rigor but also humility not common to great fashion figures,’’ said the gallery’s director Angelo Crespi. “He always said that he did not want to enter into close dialogue with great masterpieces, like Raphael, Mantegna, Caravaggio and Piero della Francesca.’’
Instead, the exhibition aims to create a symbiosis with the artworks, with the chosen looks reflecting the mood of each room without interrupting the flow of the museum experience – much the way Armani always intended his apparel to enhance and never overwhelm the individual.
A long blue asymmetrical skirt and bodysuit ensemble worn by Juliette Binoche at Cannes in 2016 neatly reflects the blue in Giovanni Bellini’s 1510 portrait “Madonna and Child”; a trio of underlit dresses glow on a wall opposite Raphael’s “The Marriage of the Virgin”; the famed soft-shouldered suit worn by Richard Gere in American Gigolo, arguably the garment that launched Armani to global fame, is set among detached frescoes by Donato Bramante. Every choice in the exhibition underscores the timelessness of Armani’s fashion.
Armani himself makes a cameo, on a t-shirt in the final room, opposite the Brera’s emblematic painting “Il Bacio” by Francesco Hayez.
“When I walk around, I think he would be super proud,’’ said Anoushka Borghesi, Armani’s global communications director.
Armani’s fashion house confirmed a series of events this week that Armani himself had planned to celebrate his 50th anniversary. They include the announcement of an initiative to support education for children in six Southeast Asian, African and South American countries. The project, in conjunction with the Catholic charity Caritas, is named “Mariu’,’’ an affectionate nickname for Armani’s mother.
In a final farewell, the last Giorgio Armani collection signed by the designer will be shown in the Brera Gallery on Sunday, among looks he personally chose to represent his 50-year legacy.
“Giorgio Armani – 50 Years” opened to the public today at the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, Italy. The exhibition lasts until 11 January 2026.
Culture
The last day of doomsday: What is the viral ‘RaptureTok’ trend?
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If you’re reading this today, Wednesday 24 September 2025 could be the last day before the end of the world as you know it.
If you’re reading this tomorrow, you weren’t blipped out of existence and good luck with all the rebuilding. Please do better.
Confused? We’ve got you covered.
According to the more holy corners of TikTok, it has been prophesized that yesterday – or today, they couldn’t make their minds up on which one, so just go with it – is the day of the Rapture.
For the filthy heathens among you, that’s the long-awaited end-time event when Jesus Christ returns to Earth, resurrects all dead Christian disciples and brings all believers “to meet the Lord in the air.”
It wasn’t yesterday, clearly, so today’s the day… And turn off that R.E.M. song, this is serious.
This all stems from South African pastor Joshua Mhlakela, who claimed that the Rapture will occur on 23 or 24 September 2025. Mhlakela said that this knowledge came directly from a dream he had in 2018, in which Jesus appeared to him. Mhlakela reiterated all of this on 9 September in an interview with CettwinzTV and since then, the prophecy has become a viral sensation on TikTok.
Many individuals on the social media platform have taken this literally and very seriously, with more than 350,000 videos appearing under the hashtag #rapturenow – leading to the trend / popular subsection dubbed ‘RaptureTok’.
Some videos mock the prophecy, but you don’t have to scroll for too long to find those who are completely convinced that it’s happening today.
There’s advice on how to prepare; tips on what to remove from your house should certain objects contain “demonic energy”; and testimonies of people selling their possessions. One man, who goes by the name Tilahun on TikTok, shared a video last month, in which he said he was selling his car in preparation for the big day. “Car is gone just like the Brides of Christ will be in September,” he said.
One woman in North Carolina was live recording yesterday from the Blue Ridge Mountains, fervently keeping an eye on any holy activity in the sky. Another claimed that her 3-year-old started speaking in Hebrew, thereby confirming that it’s all legit.
Some more distressing videos include American evangelicals saying goodbye to their children for the last time… We won’t share those, as they’re actually quite depressing.
It’s hard to completely blame TikTok users for wanting the final curtain to drop, as things aren’t going too great down here on Earth. That being said, it’s worth noting that the Bible never actually mentions the Rapture; it’s a relatively recent doctrine that originates from the early 1800s, one which has gained traction among fundamentalist theologians – specifically in the US, where everything is fine, civil conversation is alive and well, no one’s worried, and they’re all enjoying their “God-given freedoms”.
So, if the Rapture does come to pass, we here at Euronews Culture will be eating a whole concrete mixer full of humble pie. If it doesn’t, see you tomorrow, and do spare a thought for those who are going to be very disappointed on Thursday 25 September.
And if extra-terrestrial beings followed Tara Rule’s advice (see below), thank you alien visitors for joining in on the fun. And if you could provide some much-needed guidance on how to do better, that would be grand.
Only a few more hours left to find out…
Culture
‘Dawson’s Creek’ reunion sees James Van Der Beek make surprise appearance amid cancer battle
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