From breaking the secret to keeping it: Inside The Traitors at Slane

With the second series of The Traitors Ireland now underway, having launched on RTÉ on Sunday night, the secrets of Slane Castle are finally beginning to emerge.

Last year, the Meath Chronicle broke the news that ‘The Traitors Ireland’ was being filmed at Slane Castle, having picked up the story through our local reporting – much to the surprise, and presumably not delight, of those trying to keep the production under wraps.

So when an invitation arrived this year to visit the set, there was a certain irony to finding ourselves on the other side of the secrecy – with strict instructions that nothing from our visit could be revealed until the embargo lifted.

And what better day for such a secret mission than April Fool’s Day?

Under strict instructions to keep our phones firmly in our pockets, a group of journalists arrived at a hotel in Slane before being transported towards the castle.

Our invitation had come in the form of a mysterious parchment.

“The Round Table awaits. Will you be a Faithful or a Traitor?”

It went on to inform us that, “By order of The Traitors Ireland”, we had been summoned to Slane Castle for a secret set visit.

It all sounded rather suspicious.

And, as we soon discovered, secrecy is serious business on the set of RTÉ’s hit reality show.

Walkie-talkies crackled as crew members kept track of where the contestants were, while journalists were hurried away from certain areas when word came through that the players were on their way.

Phones were strictly forbidden and there was no chance of casually wandering into an area where filming was taking place.

For a show built entirely around deception, suspicion and secrets, it was all rather fitting.

But behind the skulduggery lies a huge television production – and one which came surprisingly close to being filmed somewhere else.

Producer Darren Smith of Kite Entertainment revealed that, despite Slane now seeming inseparable from the Irish version of The Traitors, the production was just two or three days away from signing a deal with another location.

The search for the right castle is one of the biggest challenges for a production like The Traitors, with Darren explaining that many of the obvious historic properties have been turned into hotels.

That creates its own problems.

The production needs somewhere which can accommodate a large television crew, elaborate challenges and extensive filming, while also providing the atmosphere and scale which makes the show work.

Slane, as it turned out, ticked rather a lot of boxes.

Darren had initially assumed the castle would be out of reach for the production, but then, just days before filming was due to begin, an email arrived from Alex Conyngham at Slane Castle.

It changed everything.

What followed was a deal which has now seen Slane become synonymous with The Traitors Ireland, with a third series already in the works.

And Darren believes the location gives the Irish production a significant advantage.

“The estate…the land – we are the envy of many Traitors locations,” he told us.

It is not difficult to understand why.

The sprawling grounds provide space for the increasingly elaborate missions, while the castle itself gives the programme its unmistakable gothic atmosphere.

The location has also allowed the production to make use of other parts of Meath, with host Siobhán McSweeney delighted that the second series features missions in locations beyond the castle grounds.

“I absolutely love Slane Castle. I suited very well, so I’ve told them I might not be leaving,” she joked.

She also praised the wider area, saying there were “a lot of new locations as well all around Meath in this part of the country, which is so beautiful.”

For Siobhán herself, returning for a second series was not quite as easy as viewers might imagine after the success of the first.

“I was nervous again,” she admitted.

But she had learned from the first series and was ready to return to the role of Lady Muck.

“It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” she said, “but it’s also great fun.”

She also revealed just how deeply she gets drawn into the game while filming.

“I don’t keep it together,” she laughed. “We’re all absolutely demented.”

And perhaps that is one of the secrets of The Traitors.

For all the carefully constructed drama, elaborate sets and strategic gameplay, there is still something distinctly Irish about the people making it.

The production has deliberately embraced Irish culture, including the use of the Irish language, Irish mythology and Irish designers in McSweeney’s costumes.

By the time our own visit to the castle came to an end, the production’s elaborate secrecy had become even more apparent.

For a few hours, we had been allowed a glimpse behind the walls of one of Ireland’s most closely guarded television sets – seeing the enormous scale of the operation, the constant movement of crew, the frantic walkie-talkie communications and the lengths taken to ensure nobody, particularly the media, accidentally crossed paths with a contestant.

Eventually, our own Round Table came to an end and we were allowed to leave – without being murdered, banished or forced to reveal any secrets.

And while we may have arrived on April Fool’s Day wondering whether the whole invitation was some elaborate trick, there was one thing that was definitely true:

The Traitors has found a very fitting home in Slane.