Tag Archives: Brian Purcell

Return of the Culch.ie Apprentice Ireland Liveblog

  By Darren Byrne | October 3, 2011 – 6:02 pm | TV
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Being that I’ve been in hiding for the past year, I hadn’t really planned on running a liveblog for this year’s Apprentice Ireland, but now that the first episode is only hours away, I realise that half the fun of watching the show was sharing it with you guys. So, here we are! Pull up a chair, have your PC, laptop, iPad, SmartPhone at the ready to help us to berate and congratulate, to cheer and sneer, to laugh with and laugh at this year’s hopefuls. The show begins at 9 o’clock this evening on TV3 and our liveblog will kick off a few minutes before that. For those of you who don’t know, the liveblog is just a chatroom on this site where we talk about the show while watching it. It’s all very informal and tongue in cheek, so if you don’t like one of (or all of) … There’s more →

Competition Closed: Cadburys and the Apprentice

  By Darren Byrne | November 2, 2010 – 9:00 am | Apprentice, Apprentice, Competitions, Featured Post, Movies & TV, Site News, The Culch, TV
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*** Competition Closed *** *** Congratulations to Corina Stone and Jamie Z *** This week’s Apprentice task should have been fun and frolics for teams Fusion and Elev8. Instead, the two teams faltered, floundered and fell foul of their own egos and infighting. Set by Cadbury Spots v Stripes, this week’s challenge sent the two teams travelling to Timahoe and Tyrrells Pass to organise community games and sign people up to Spots v Stripes. What should have been exciting and a great opportunity for candidates to shine, became another example of how this year’s hopefuls seem to be incapable of working together. With Panos’s whining, Will’s panicking, Barry’s over-inflated head, Nagaite’s grumpiness and Michelle’s inability to grasp the basics of money, the boardroom was destined to be one of the most riveting yet. Bill Cullen was again appalled by both Fusion and Elev8, unimpressed with the leadership from either Will … There’s more →

Competition Closed: Ryobi and the Apprentice

  By Darren Byrne | October 12, 2010 – 12:00 pm | Apprentice, Apprentice, Competitions, Movies & TV, Site News, TV
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*** Competition Closed *** *** Congratulations to Eoin Moynihan who has won the Ryobi competition *** Week Four of this year’s Irish Apprentice began very slowly. There was little excitement as both teams spent an age discussing ‘strategy’ and not doing very much. They were tasked with selling Ryobi power tools in two Woody’s DIY stores. But before that, they had to record a product demo with TV3′s Alan Hughes. Jamie Moran was efficient if a little dull, while Barry Caesar Hunt was annoying, messy, confused……and surprisingly entertaining. The PM this week for Team Fusion, who were sent to Woodys in Bray, was Kieran Walsh. Team Elev8, based in Woodys Tallaght, had Dave Cashman in the lead role. It became clear that neither PM could cope with their teams in a task that was purely based around selling. The seemingly simple task of selling Ryobi power tools in a DIY … There’s more →

Brian Purcell

  By Darren Byrne | September 20, 2010 – 9:00 am | Apprentice, The Culch, TV
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Brian Purcell forms one half of Bill Cullen’s trusted team of aides on the show, alongside entrepreneur Jackie Lavin and is a partner with Insight Consultants, a full service public relations and communications company, where he serves as Director of Communcations Campaigns. So says TV3′s biography of Brian. He has over 14 years experience in the Irish Public Affairs/Government Lobbying sector where he has helped clients in the financial, healthcare, leisure, utilities and marketing/sponsorship sectors. As Senior Marketing Communications Director at the Glencullen Group he has become one of Bill’s most trusted advisors and his experience as Bill’s right-hand man will enable him to spot the right attributes needed to be The Apprentice.

The Apprentice Week Five – What Happened?

  By Darren Byrne | October 22, 2009 – 5:01 pm | Apprentice, Apprentice, The Culch, TV
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Week 4 really got on my nerves. I understand that the show needs to make money and needs sponsorship, but Week 4 was a blatant hour long advert for B&Q. The show is The Apprentice – it’s supposed to test the potentials’ business acumen. I can’t fathom how Jennifer browsing around B&Q, while Brendan beats a few paving slabs tests anything. But that’s an argument for another post. Right now, I’m supposed to be talking about Week Meteor……sorry, Week 5. After the demise of Jennifer last week, the teams were beginning to even out again. The girls still outnumbered the lads 6 to 4, but the gap was lessened by the screentime given over to Harvard Boy Accident Prone Breffny. [Comment From Anthony McG] Jennifer was rubbish last week [Comment From Lottie] Who fell up the stairs? [Comment From Dr. M ] haha Breff fell….oh wait I’m a bit late … There’s more →

The Irish Apprentice 2009

  By Darren Byrne | September 19, 2009 – 9:06 am | Apprentice, Featured Post, The Culch, TV
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On Monday night, September 21st, Bill Cullen and The Irish Apprentice return to our TV screens. The first season ran from September to December last year and was a roaring success, spawning catchphrases like “You’re Barneybracked” and “Have you got the liathroidi?” The show even won the IFTA Award for Best Entertainment Show. This year promises to be an even bigger affair, with 14 new contestants vying to become Bill Cullen’s new Apprentice. The big man himself says that this year’s contestants are more feisty than he’s seen before and have forced him to up his game too. Does this mean we’ll be seeing a more fierce Bill? Will he, Jackie Lavin and Brian Purcell crack the whip like never before? In many ways the fun of The Apprentice starts after the person has been fired and the main show ends. You have this person who is hurt and bitter, … There’s more →