The Apprentice is an Irish reality television series, in which a group of aspiring young businessmen and women compete for the chance to win a job as "apprentice" to Bill Cullen, an Irish businessman. The first series of the show aired on TV3 on 22 September 2008, and finished on 8 December 2008, with Brenda Shanahan as the winner. Shanahan worked at Cullen's company, Renault Ireland, on a 12-month contract worth €100,000. Steve Rayner, a Business Development Manager, won the second series in 2009. That series also featured Breffny Morgan. Michelle Massey won the job in the 2010 series, while Eugene Heary won in 2011. It was announced in May 2012 that the programme would not be renewed for a new series. The Apprentice is modelled on the American series of the same name, which starred entrepreneur Donald Trump, but is styled more closely around the British series starring business magnate Alan, Lord Sugar. Bill Cullen's assistants in the Irish version of The Apprentice were his partner, and former model, Jackie Lavin and PR "guru", Brian Purcell.

Celebrity version

Due to the success and growth of the series in 2009, it was announced that a Celebrity version of the show was being sought by the producers and TV3. The producers began the task of finding the main sponsor for the show, celebrities to take part and finally smaller sponsors of each individual task. The producers were able to find a main sponsor for the launch of the spring show and would have started production in January or February 2010, however, they were unable to find sponsors of each individual task. The producers also ran into trouble finding different personalities for the show and for them to give up a month of their lives for the show. The production of the celebrity version of the show was postponed until the third series finished production in August 2010. As part of TV3's 2013 Autumn Schedule, the Celebrity Apprentice Ireland launched in September 2013.

2011 series

The Apprentice Series 4 began airing on 3 October 2011. The Apprentice: You're Fired presented by Anton Savage also returned.

Candidates

The fourth series consists of sixteen candidates in total again this year. In the three previous series, the candidates were initially separated into two teams based on gender. This year, however, Bill split the teams into 'youth' and 'experience'. Four male and four female candidates made up the teams.

Weekly results

Challenges

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

** Episode dedicated to the memory of Hannah Bryan (1996–2011, former inpatient of Our Lady's Children's Hospital Crumlin) who appeared briefly in the programme.*

Week 10

Week 11: semi-final

Week 12: Finale

2010 series

The 2010 series of the show began filming in July. The candidates have been spotted in locations including the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre on 9 July 2010. The Apprentice: You're Fired presented by Anton Savage, returned alongside brand new spin-off, The Apprentice: At Home featuring what has been going on in the house the contestants live together in during the competition offering further insight into their personalities and relationships. The Apprentice 2010 began on 20 September 2010 and continued for 13 weeks in total. The winner of the 2010 series was Michelle Massey.

Candidates

The third series consists of sixteen candidates in total. As with the two previous series, the candidates were initially separated into two teams based on gender. The women chose the name 'Fusion', while the men chose the name 'Elev8'. Similar to the third series of the British version, in the first task, Bill swapped the project manager of the women's team with that of the men's before commencing the task. The candidates are:

• as of the date of the programme

Weekly results

Challenges

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12: semi-final

Week 13: Finale

2009 series

After the success of the first series, TV3 announced that the show would return for another series. The second series started broadcasting on Monday, 21 September 2009. In addition to the main show, an official after show called The Apprentice: You're Fired! started this series. The winner of the 2009 series was Steve Rayner.

Candidates

There were fourteen candidates taking part in the second series and initially they were separated into two teams based on gender, Bill later switches around the personnel on these teams. The women chose the name Platinum, while the men chose the name Cúchulainn. The candidates are:

• as of the date of the programme

Challenges

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12: semi-final

Week 13: The Grand Finale

2008 series

Candidates

There were fourteen candidates taking part in the series and initially they were separated into two teams based on gender. The women chose the name Phoenix, while the men chose the name Dynamo. The candidates are:

• as of the date of the programme

Challenges

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11: semi-final

Week 12: The Grand Finale