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12 Sept 2025
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12 Sept 2025
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Limerick teacher Carol Cronin on the left with her fellow contestants Niamh Duffy from Monaghan and Aidan McIntyre from Tipperary
A SCIENCE teacher from Limerick will be the first contestant to face Claire Byrne on her new RTÉ quiz this Sunday evening.
Carol Cronin, who teaches at secondary level, and has also had educational books published, took part in Ireland's Smartest, a quest to find the best quizzer in the country.
The show airs at 7.30pm on RTÉ One, and the RTÉ Player, where it will be available to view thereafter.
For the next 10 weeks, Claire will be putting three contestants through their paces in a tournament-style competition.
Initially there will be a number of heats to the semi-finals and the final, where the winner will receive a trophy.
Speaking on the show, Carol admitted she is a committed quizzer.
She told Claire of how she runs an annual table quiz at her school - a well established part of the academic calendar.
Claire Byrne puts Ireland’s cleverest contestants to the test in a new RTÉ One quiz show "Ireland's Smartest"
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) March 22, 2023
The new ten part series starts Sunday, April 2nd at 7:30pm on RTÉ one and @RTEplayer #IrelandsSmartest pic.twitter.com/680oIdR2hN
As a youngster, she watched a lot of quizzes at home, and she also attended many table quizzes in her community - where she would more often than not win!
Presenter Claire said: "Ireland’s Smartest has found the cleverest people in this country to compete in a quiz that tests their knowledge and their nerve to the limit."
"This is a completely new type of show for me, and I was left in awe of these contestants from all over Ireland who can produce correct answers to some really tricky questions under the glare of the lights, in the intensity of the studio, in front of an audience and with the clock ticking all the while. It’s great fun, with lots of tension and you’ll get to test yourself against the best too from the comfort of your own sofa to see who will be awarded the title of Ireland’s Smartest," she added.
It's the first time the current affairs presenter has ventured into the world of quizzing.
Carol was joined on the first show of the new series by Tipperary man Aidan McIntyre and Niamh Duffy from Monaghan.
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