Content & Catalog
What to watch on RTÉ Player?
Content TypesMovies · Series · Live TV · Live Sport · Documentaries · Kids · News · Originals
SubtitlesEnglish
Public BroadcasterWorks with VPNUpdated June 14, 2026
Reviewed by Radek Vlcek · Affiliate DisclosureOur website contains affiliate links. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.
How to Watch RTÉ Player from Anywhere: VPN Guide 2026
For anyone Irish living away from home, the GAA highlights, the Nine O’Clock news and the latest twist in Fair City sit just out of reach the moment the plane lands. RTÉ funds its catch-up service through the licence fee, so it stays completely free, with adverts rather than a paywall. The catch is the border: RTÉ Player only streams inside the Republic of Ireland, and the second you load it overseas you hit a polite notice that the content is not available in your region.
The fix takes about a minute. Connect Surfshark to a server in Dublin, pick up an Irish IP, and the app treats you as if you never left. From there you sign in, browse the live channels and the full archive, and watch in 1080p on whatever screen you have to hand. Acquisitions like EastEnders and Home and Away land here too, often ahead of the curve elsewhere.
Free
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1080p
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Ready in
Quick answer
Can I watch RTÉ Player while travelling abroad?
Not on its own, since the service checks your IP and blocks anything that is not Irish. Run Surfshark, connect to a server in Ireland, and your device looks Dublin-based again. Open the website or app, sign in with your free account, and the geo-notice disappears. You stream live RTÉ One, RTÉ2 and the on-demand library in 1080p at no cost, because the broadcaster is paid for by the licence fee rather than subscriptions.
VPN Compatibility
Best VPN for RTÉ Player
Tested weekly by our team. Green: works, amber: partial, red: blocked.
| VPN Service | Price | RTÉ Player | Tested | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SurfsharkBEST | From $1.78/mo | ✓ Works | June 14 | Try it |
 ExpressVPN | From $2.79/mo | ✓ Works | June 14 | Open |
 NordVPN | From $2.99/mo | ✓ Works | June 15 | Open |
 ProtonVPN | From $3.59/mo | ✓ Works | June 15 | Open |
 Private Internet Access | From $1.79/mo | ✓ Works | June 11 | Open |
 CyberGhost | From $1.75/mo | ✓ Works | June 11 | Open |
 IPVanish | From $2.19/mo | ✓ Works | June 14 | Open |
✓ WorksTested June 14
✓ WorksTested June 14
✓ WorksTested June 15
✓ WorksTested June 15
✓ WorksTested June 11
✓ WorksTested June 11
✓ WorksTested June 14
Tested on June 15, 2026 · 7 VPNs, 7 working · residential IP from Ireland · RTÉ Player updates detection continuously, results may change.
Streaming service blocking your VPN? Just disconnect and hop onto a different server in the same country. Stick to the ones labeled “streaming” or “optimized” because they’re literally built for this.
How-to
How to Unblock RTÉ Player with a VPN
Takes about 2 minutes. Works on your phone, tablet, TV, PC, or laptop.
- Pick a dependable VPNGo with Surfshark for its fast Irish servers and reliable streaming track record. Plans start at $1.78 on the annual term.Skip unknown free VPNs; they throttle speeds and rarely beat the geo-check.
- Connect to a server in IrelandChoose an Irish location, ideally Dublin, so you are handed a local IP address that the service will accept.
- Open RTÉ PlayerHead to rte.ie/player or launch the app and sign in. The free account restores your watchlist and continue-watching across devices.
- Press playPick a live channel or a title from the archive. Picture quality climbs to 1080p when your connection allows it.
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Availability
Which countries is RTÉ Player available in?
RTÉ Player is only available in Ireland. To access it from anywhere else, use a premium VPN.
Available in 1 country No VPN needed
Blocked in 193 countries VPN required
United StatesUnited KingdomAustraliaCanadaNew ZealandGermanyFranceJapanIndiaNetherlandsSouth AfricaBrazil
Show all 181 more countries
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British Virgin Islands
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Available
Blocked / unavailable
Last tested: June 14, 2026
Steer clear of free VPNs. Most of them actually collect and sell your data, lack proper security audits, and can even expose you to malware. They’re also useless for streaming. Platforms block them instantly, leaving you with more headaches than solutions. Stick to paid VPNs with verified audits, like Surfshark, if you want something that actually works.
About the platform
Who’s behind the service?
What is RTÉ Player
RTÉ Player is the free, ad-supported streaming and catch-up home of Ireland’s public broadcaster RTÉ. Watch the live channels RTÉ One, RTÉ2, RTÉ News and RTÉ Kids alongside homegrown drama like Fair City, news, sport, documentaries, RTÉ Player Originals and a few familiar acquisitions. There’s no subscription and no trial, with everything covered by the TV licence. Stream up to 1080p across web, mobile, Apple TV, Chromecast and smart TVs.
Company and history
Major changes
- RTÉ launched its catch-up service on 21 April 2009 as a Flash-based player, giving Irish viewers their first legal way to stream the broadcaster's programmes online up to 21 days after transmission.
- RTÉ extended the brand with a companion service, RTÉ Radio Player, which gathered its digital radio stations in one place and added on-demand audio alongside the video catch-up offering.
- After years on Flash, the service moved to a stable HTML5 build on 5 December 2018, opening playback to modern browsers and devices and shedding the ageing plug-in that had powered it.
- A rebuilt app rolled out with a fresh interface, sign-in and personalised recommendations, letting viewers save shows to a watch-later list and resume titles from where they had left off across devices.
- The reality hit The Traitors Ireland, hosted by Siobhán McSweeney, premiered on RTÉ One on 31 August 2025 and quickly climbed into the most-streamed titles on the catch-up service for the year.
- On 9 January 2026 RTÉ reported a record year of 157 million streams, up ten percent year on year, with EastEnders, Fair City and Home and Away topping the 2025 rankings on the service.
- RTÉ completed its exit from GAA streaming, selling its 50 percent stake in GAAGO to the GAA for three million euros as the service was rebranded GAA+ (gaaplus.ie).
Trust signals
Still can’t open RTÉ Player where you are?
Connect Surfshark, pick a supported country, and you’re streaming RTÉ Player in minutes, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Devices & Quality
Watch on all your devices
Supported devices
Video quality
1080pHDRDolby VisionDolby AtmosSmart DNS
UX features
Continue watching
Accessibility
Audio descriptionClosed captionsSign language
Insider Tips
Tips & tricks you should know
5 tips from our RTÉ Player testing team · Updated June 14, 2026
- The whole service is genuinely free with no subscription, but sign in first to unlock your Favourite watchlist, cross-device resume and tailored picks.
- Watching from outside Ireland: switch on Surfshark with an Irish IP, otherwise the RTÉ Player geo-block stops you cold.
- RTÉ Player carries every 2026 FIFA World Cup match (11 June to 19 July), but note some GAA championship games sit behind the paid GAA+ service, not here.
- Picture goes up to 1080p on a 5 Mbps line, just don't expect offline downloads, the player is stream-only.
- Cast or install it on Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast and LG or Samsung smart TVs, so you get the big screen without extra kit.
Alternatives
Other services you can watch
Not the right fit? Here are services in the same category you can compare.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know before subscribing to RTÉ Player.
Yes. RTÉ Player is funded by the Irish licence fee, so there is no subscription and no one-off charge for the catch-up service, just adverts around the programmes. From outside Ireland you only need Surfshark on an Irish server to reach the catalogue in the first place. The account and the content stay free; the VPN simply restores your Irish location so the library loads.
RTÉ Player runs in any modern browser plus dedicated apps for iOS, Android, most smart TVs and streaming sticks. Setting up a VPN on a TV can be fiddly, so run Surfshark on your router or share a connection from a laptop. Once your IP looks Irish you sign in and stream in 1080p. If a TV proves awkward, test the whole flow on your phone first, where the app installs in seconds.
Live channels open without one, but a chunk of the on-demand library sits behind a free sign-in. Registering takes a minute with an email address and unlocks your favourites, continue-watching and personalised picks across devices. Connected through Surfshark to Ireland, the sign-up works exactly as it would at home. You will not be asked for a card or an Irish postal address.
Live RTÉ One, RTÉ2, the news channel and a kids strand, plus a deep archive. Homegrown staples include the long-running soap Fair City and the reality hit The Traitors Ireland, while acquisitions cover EastEnders and Home and Away. With Surfshark pointed at Ireland you reach all of it from abroad. RTÉ Player Originals add formats made for the service itself.
Not from a foreign IP address. RTÉ Player checks your location every time and blocks anything outside Ireland with an unavailable-in-your-region notice. Switch on Surfshark, pick an Irish server, and the local IP clears the gate. Without changing your location the catalogue stays shut whether you try the website or the app, which is why a VPN with fast Irish servers is essential.
It behaves like a public catch-up service rather than a paid library, so it is closer to BBC iPlayer than to Hulu. The big difference is the geo-fence: the content is locked to Ireland, exactly as iPlayer is locked to the UK. To reach RTÉ Player from abroad you point Surfshark at an Irish server. Each broadcaster guards its own territory, so one VPN region unlocks one service.
Both the catch-up service and a VPN are legal tools used by travellers and expats every day. Changing your location with Surfshark may bend the terms of service, but it is not against the law, and you are not pirating anything, just reaching a public broadcaster that is free in Ireland. Steer clear of pirate sites, which have nothing to do with the official app and carry real risks.
The picture tops out at 1080p, which is plenty for a phone, tablet or living-room TV. Quality adapts to your connection, dropping on a weaker line so playback does not stall. Through Surfshark, choose a nearby Irish server to keep latency low and the stream smooth. Do not expect 4K or HDR here; the service prioritises broad access over premium picture fidelity.
Some of it, mainly home Gaelic football and hurling under The Sunday Game banner plus selected rugby fixtures. The biggest exclusive rights packages often sit elsewhere, such as the separate GAA+ service, formerly GAAGO. With Surfshark connected to Ireland you reach whatever the broadcaster streams for free. Before a match, check exactly where that specific fixture is airing so you land on the right platform.
Saving programmes to watch offline is not offered yet; the service is built around online playback. If you are travelling, line up a stable connection and keep Surfshark on an Irish server within reach before you settle in. Titles also leave the archive after a set window, so do not save a favourite episode until the last minute. Plan your viewing around how long each title stays up.
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