Radharc

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Radharc was an Irish television documentary series broadcast by RTÉ Television from 1962 until 1996. The documentaries were created by a film unit funded by the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid, in anticipation of the inauguration of television broadcasting in Ireland by RTÉ in December 1961.[1]

History and operations[]

Initially founded in the late 1950s by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin,[2] the Radharc film unit was staffed exclusively by Catholic priests, including the founders Joe Dunn and Desmond Forristal (1930-2012),[1] as well as Peter Lemass. The Irish language word radharc means vision, view, or panorama.[1]

Radharc produced over 400 programmes, with filming occurring in over 75 countries.[3][4] It was also the first independently produced series on RTÉ Television.[3]

Fr. Dermod McCarthy, editor of RTÉ Religious Programmes from 1991–2008, worked as a producer for Radharc from 1965–1982.[5] Others who worked for Radharc include Fr. , Fr. Tom Stack and Liam O'Rinn. Others who featured in producing some of the films include, the actor Cyril Cusack who introduced and narrated a number of radharc films, Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich, the broadcaster Andy O'Mahony and journalist Richard Crowley.

Radharc Films ceased production following the death of Joe Dunn in 1996.[6][7]

Awards[]

The series won its only Jacob's Television Award in 1963, as Most Enterprising Programme.[8]

  • 1966 -"Turkana (Radharc/RTÉ)" First Prize UNDA/WACC Monte Carlo
  • 1968 - "The Restless Knives (Radharc/RTÉ)" First Prize - General Interest Category UNDA/WACC Monte Carlo
  • 1977 - "Heirs of the Father" (Radharc/RTÉ) First Prize Drama/Liturgy/Entertainment UNDA/WACC[9]

Influence and archive[]

Further information: Radharc Films

Radharc has been the subject of academic research, including about the changing representation of priests on Irish television.[10] The Radharc Squad produced and directed by Ruán Magan for Tyrone Productions in 2013, was a two part documentary on Radharc. It was shown on RTÉ and won the Irish Film & Television Academy "Best Current Affairs" prize in 2013.

The Radharc Trust is a charity which was formed to maintain and oversee the archive of Radharc materials.[11]

Documentaries[]

Irish documentaries[]

  • Brigid's Night - Lá 'Le Bríde (1961)
  • Croagh Patrick, Mass Rock & Men's Sodality (1962)
  • Paddy The Cope - Templecrone Co-op (1962)
  • Young Offender (1963)
  • Open Port (1968)
  • The Road to Nowhere (1971)
  • Dying for a Drink (1983)
  • When Ireland Starved (1): Causes Of Poverty (1992)
  • When Ireland Starved (2): THE Irish Holocaust (1992)
  • When Ireland Starved (3): Managing The Famine (1992)
  • When Ireland Starved (4): Exodus (1992)

International documentaries[]

  • Night flight to Uli – Famine in Biafra (1960)
  • High Noon In Chol Chol, Director Fr. Dermot McCarthy, editor Liam O'Rinn (1982)
  • Cuba – Land of Hope and Glory (1986)
  • Guatemala – Where the Pope is a Communist (1984)
  • Life and Death in Bali (1980)
  • Who is for Liberation (1980)
  • The Gaucho Irish – The Irish of Argentina
  • The Black Irish – the Irish of Montserrat in the Caribbean (1976)[12]
  • The French Connection' (1993)
  • Irish And The Making Of Canada (1993)
  • NYPD Green (1995)
  • Travellers of Murphy Village – Irish Travellers in the US (1995)

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Radharc A Celebration, RTÉ Archives, 2012-11-19.
  2. ^ "Family film wins Radharc award". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b McCarthy, Dermot (30 November 1999). "Forty years a sowing". CatholicIreland.net. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Matthew McAteer - University College Dublin". Academia.edu. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  5. ^ RTÉ head of religious programmes to retire by Patsy McGarry, May 28, 2007.
  6. ^ "Radharc (TV Series)". IMDB. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  7. ^ "Radharc sets up film company". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 26 March 1997. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  8. ^ The Irish Times, "Presentation of television awards and citations", 4 December 1963
  9. ^ Awards Archive www.rte.ie
  10. ^ McAteer, M. "A Scandalous Repression: Clerical Portraits in the Irish TV Documentary Series Radharc". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ^ The Radharc Film and Document Collection Irish Film Institute, www.ifi.ie
  12. ^ The Black Irish of Montserrat Irish accents in the Caribbean www.youtube.com

External links[]

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