Балалар бағдарламаларының тарихы: «The Den» және оның эволюциясы

In mid 2010, RTÉ Television announced an overhaul of its children's output, with the launch of RTÉjr and TRTÉ.]] Following on from the success of a Children's BBC strand in the UK, RTÉ launched its own strand for children's programming, Dempsey's Den, on 29 September 1986. Initially it was a two hour strand each weekday afternoon on RTÉ 1 featuring nearly all of the broadcaster's youth output (the main exceptions being Bosco and Jo Maxi). Taking a cue from CBBC's Broom Cupboard format, Dempsey's Den was broadcast live from a tiny, single camera presentation studio at RTÉ Television Centre, used mostly for in vision continuity. Upon its move to Network 2 in September 1988, Dempsey's Den gained an extra hour of airtime each weekday. Ian Dempsey fronted the strand until the summer of 1990, although he continued to present the music feature Pop Goes the Den for a number of years. Ray D'Arcy took over The Den from 1990 to 1998, followed by Damien McCaul (1998 2003), Francis Boylan Jr (2003 2005) and Kathryn McKiernan (2005 2008).

The Den launched as Dempsey's Den in 1986, with Ian Dempsey as presenter. He was joined by Zig and Zag in 1987. They were joined by Dustin the turkey in December 1989, after Zag won Dustin in a golf tournament. The Den format changed little over its first decade on air. It generally consisted of several cartoons and music videos, at least one RTÉ production, a daily birthday slot, and on certain days of the week, a viewers' quiz. Occasional features included location inserts, interviews and sketches. In September 1990, following Ian Dempsey's departure, Ray D'Arcy became the presenter, and the programme was relaunched under the name The Den. In September 1993, the name was changed to Den TV. The studio set changed frequently. Themes included Number 10 Celebrity Square (in which Dustin set up a chip van for a period) (1992 1993), a building site, a treehouse (1995 1996), a caravan (1996 1997), a smelly shed (1997 1998), a big bus (1998 1999), a hair salon called On The Noggin (1999 2000) and a spaceship. The presenter tended to sit behind a desk (or counter in the chip van), with any puppets perched between the desk and the camera. In September 1992 Zig and Zag joins Channel 4's The Big Breakfast in the UK and they left The Den after the 1992 1993 season to spend more time appearing live on British television. Shortly into the 1993 1994 season, Dustin neglected to do the laundry for so long that the smelly socks in the linen bin at the back of the set eventually came to life in the form of Soky the sock monster. D'Arcy's last broadcast was on Friday 29 May 1998.

In September 1998, the Den was relaunched under the name Den 2, with Damien McCaul taking over as presenter. A morning show, presented by Geri Maye (joined by Soky) was launched for the first time. A further strand aimed at older children, iD, aired from 5 pm to 7 pm. Den 2 was broadcast continuously from morning to evening, but in vision continuity was confined to the morning and afternoon strands. As Den 2, the programme launched a website in October 1999. In 2003, the strand gained its own daily news bulletin, news2day, similar in format to the BBC's Newsround. The programme's name changed to The Den in 2002. Damien McCaul left the presenter's role at the end of the 2002 2003 season and was replaced by Francis Boylan Jr in September 2003. Boylan remained as presenter until June 2005.

The Den was revamped again on 17 September 2005 with a new graphics package designed by Dunning Elley Joans (now Dunning Penny Joans). By now, the strand had been split into several daily shows, including Wakey Wakey, Den Tots and The Club, alongside the existing news2day bulletin at 5 pm. This final revamp removed much of the cast (bar Dustin, Soky, Charly and Zuppy), with Dustin moving to his own programme, Dustin's Daily News. It also refocused the breakfast slot away from pre school children and towards older viewers, with one continuity presenter, Kathryn McKiernan, fronting both morning and afternoon shows. In September 2008, the separate shows were axed and in vision presentation was replaced with out of vision announcements. The Den ceased in September 2010 when RTÉ launched two new strands for its children's output: RTÉjr and TRTÉ.

Following a popular Comic Relief special reunion episode in June 2020, on 22 September 2020, RTÉ confirmed the return of The Den as a new weekend family show, reuniting Ray D'Arcy with Zig and Zag and Dustin the Turkey. The show returned on 8 November 2020 and ran for six episodes including a Christmas Special, airing on Sundays. The show was aired on RTÉ One, whereas previously, the slot was on RTÉ 2.

These included programming such as Echo Island, The Grip and The Works.

On 27 October 2008, a compilation episode, Best Bitz From Back Den, was broadcast on RTÉ One. The episode featured clips dating back to Zig and Zag's origins on The Den. It was compiled to celebrate the 21st anniversary of Zig and Zag. It was released on DVD a month later. Presenters D'Arcy and Dempsey featured heavily in the special. Other highlights included assaults perpetrated by Ted (a malicious panda) on the presenters, Christmas specials of The Den, footage of other characters such as Captain Joke, Captain Pillowcase and Cousin Nigel, and the 1989 Irish Film and Television awards at which Zig and Zag "accidentally" mistook then Taoiseach Albert Reynolds for actor Burt Reynolds and addressed him as "your majesty". On 14 November 2008, an edition of The Ray D'Arcy Show (then of Today FM) aired live from Vicar Street in Dublin, reflecting on the formative years of The Den from 1986 1994. On 8 November 2009, a compilation episode, Dustin: 20 Years a Pluckin', was broadcast on RTÉ One. It was also released on DVD. It was compiled to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Dustin the Turkey. The Den returned for a Comic Relief charity special on 26 June 2020.