Sex & Sensibility is an RTÉ television series which reflects on changing attitudes to sex in Ireland. The four-part series was presented by Simon Delaney. Directed by Imogen Murphy, it was filmed in April and May 2008 on location in Dublin. It was broadcast in June and July 2008.
Features included some commentary from Bill O'Herlihy, Mary O'Rourke, Michael McNiff, Claire Tully, John Kelleher and night club owners Valeria Roe and Maurice Boland.
The series reflected on the changes that had taken place in Ireland since the 1960s, an era when the sexual revolution had not yet reached the shores of the island. It showed how television had played a major part in "loosening everyone up" and altered Irish society "from a gloomy 'Irish Taliban'-style theocracy to the nation of fun-loving sex maniacs we are today". Terry Prone demonstrated her view that soaps, rather than "dusty old current affairs programmes", had been central to social change. The Riordans caused scandal when one of the characters, named Maggie,
A team of expert presenters in engineering, architecture and geography explore some of the finest example of Ireland’s building and engineering heritage.
In this two-part series, veteran broadcaster Cathal O'Shannon sets out on a journey across three continents to uncover the true story of Ireland's Nazis.
In the 1840s, a catastrophic famine brought about the decimation of Ireland’s poor and the exodus of millions from the island. This major, ground-breaking documentary, narrated by Liam Neeson, explores the famine’s international origins and development in Europe, Britain and Ireland and charts its long-term legacy as it plays out for much of the century that follows. Today the Irish famine is recognised as the worst humanitarian disaster of the 19th Century but what is less recognised is that the crisis impacted far beyond Ireland’s shores. The story of the Blight pathogen that killed the potato crop, starts in the Andes of South America and then reaches into the heart of northern Europe where the collapse of potato crops causes the deaths of 100,000 people adding further fuel to social tensions that lead to Europe’s year of revolutions in 1848.
Every year in Ireland, about 120 people donate their bodies to medical science and education. Unlike organ donation, the person decides to gift their entire corpse to one of Ireland's six medical schools; becoming 'silent teachers' after death. In the Anatomy Department at Trinity College Dublin, the Body Donation programme is overseen by Joint Chief Technical Officers Siobhan Ward and Philomena McAteer. Their job is to look after each new donor, as well as their bereaved families. A PARTING GIFT follows 1st year medical students as their education is enriched by direct contact with the donor remains. The documentaries encompass science & medical history, cultural attitudes towards death & bereavement and the big questions of mortality & spirituality.
Hall's Pictorial Weekly, Incorporating the Provincial Vindicator is an Irish satirical television series which was broadcast on Radio Telefís Éireann from 1971 to 1980.
Regarded as RTÉ's flagship comedy show, it featured satirical sketches on current news stories and popular culture, as well as parody songs, comedy sketches, re-edited videos, cartoons and spoof television formats. The show was scripted and presented by Frank Hall, while a large ensemble cast, including Frank Kelly and Eamon Morrissey amongst others, performed the sketches.
A two-part true-crime series looking at some of the most notorious cases of women who disappeared within a so-called Vanishing Triangle throughout the 1990’s.
One to One is an Irish television series which airs on RTÉ One. Since the first edition was broadcast at 12:15pm on 1 October 2006, the programme has featured personal interviews with a well-known figure from Ireland and abroad, one per episode. The second series moved to a Monday slot, beginning on 1 October 2007. A third series was broadcast during the summer months of June and July 2008. The fourth series commenced airing on 10 November 2008.
Series presenters have included Aine Lawlor, Bryan Dobson, George Lee, Richard Crowley, Paul Cunningham, John Murray and Cathal Mac Coille. Guests to have featured in the series include Hans Blix, Michael Smurfit, Michael Colgan, Ben Dunne, clergymen Diarmuid Martin and Peter Sutherland, Ulick McEvaddy, T. K. Whitaker, Seymour Hersh, Alan Johnston, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Seán FitzPatrick, Roy Foster, Samantha Power, Declan Ganley and Jeffrey Sachs. Each edition is typically approximately forty minutes length in total, with all the interviews available to watch
Growing Up Gay was a groundbreaking two-part documentary series broadcast on RTÉ One, which began on Monday 19 April 2010 at 9.35pm. It explored the experiences of the first generation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people growing up in an Ireland where it was legal to be themselves. Filmed over 18 months, it was made by Crossing the Line Films with the ongoing support and advice of Ireland's national organisation for Lesbian, Gay, Biseuxal and Trans young people, BeLonG To. It featured LGBT school-goers, Muslims, and young people facing persecution in their hometowns across Ireland.
RTÉ courted controversy by recommending that the documentary be suitable for viewing by "mature audiences" only, despite its stars all being teenagers. There was also a delay in the appearance of the second episode on RTÉ player.
Growing Up Gay was nominated for "Event of the Year" at the GALAs.
An intimate portrait of a river and the people it meets on its way to the sea. The six-part documentary series captures the lives and stories of a diverse group of people who are unified by one thing, the river Liffey.
Winning Streak is a weekly Irish game show in which five contestants play a number of games to win cars, holidays, and cash prizes up to €500,000. Broadcast on Saturday nights between September and June on RTÉ One, the game show is among the channel's most popular programmes, often ranking among the top five in the ratings. However, there was a significant drop in viewership in the 2008/2009 series. The game show began on 21 September 1990, and has been hosted by popular television personalities Mike Murphy and Derek Mooney. Prize money for the show is funded by the Irish National Lottery, with entry to the game based on National Lottery scratchcards.
Mooney stepped down as the show's host at the end of the 2007–08 season. The 2008–09 season was rebranded Winning Streak: Dream Ticket and was co-hosted by Kathryn Thomas and Aidan Power. They were the first duo to host the programme and Thomas was the show's first permanent female presenter. Aidan Power stood down, after the 2008/09 season en
The six part series, presented by Claire Byrne, tells the story of Ireland's Search and Rescue across the country, from Kerry to Donegal, Doolin to Dublin, working with all four Irish Coast Guard helicopter bases in Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo as well as RNLI stations and Mountain Rescue teams nationwide. This series also shows the work of Cork City Fire Brigade and volunteer Coast Guard groups like Doolin and Howth. As well as showing rescue footage, we also profile individual groups and show how many agencies work together in dangerous environments to save lives. Volunteers are a vital part of Search and Rescue across Ireland. Across the country builders, fisherman, nurses, engineers and doctors give up their spare time to organisations like the RNLI, Mountain Rescue and the Irish Coast Guard units.
Broadcaster and gay activist Bill Hughes documents his friendship with the radio and TV star, revealing the story of his life and his death from an Aids-related illness in 1987.