On the 22nd June 1921 King George V and Queen Mary arrived in Belfast for the official opening of the first Northern Ireland parliament. Fearful for their lives, they had come to a city scarred by bitter sectarian violence. The King’s visit to Belfast was the culmination of three centuries of history – and three years of political brinkmanship and brutal communal violence. The occasion marked the creation of the new state of Northern Ireland. A line had been drawn on the map – a new border that separated the north and south of the island.
One hundred years on, this is the story of the dramatic events that led to the partition of Ireland. A story that continues to reverberate to the present day - and dominate relationships between the islands of Britain and Ireland.
Through new discoveries in science and archaeology, explorers take a look at the origins of the Vikings and how they influenced history.
Travel county by county to reveal the best of Ireland: from the broad golden shores of Sligo and the rolling green hills of Antrim to the misty mountaintops of Kerry and the bustling excitement of Dublin.
This new series for RTÉ One reveals the hard work and imagination ordinary people have put into their gardens across the island. We’ve sought out the best amateur gardeners to celebrate the joy of transforming your own space. Each week three contestants will open their gates to our experts horticulturalist Jimi Blake, garden designer Niall Maxwell and landscape designer Ingrid Swan. The experts will take the tour, examining every leaf and sniff every flower, to evaluate the gardens. How the garden is laid out, how the planting has been done, and what features have been added, are all investigated. But we also want to know what the garden means to the owner. Maybe it’s a place of adventure for kids, perhaps it’s a special space for relaxation, or maybe it’s a fully functional extension of your home, for entertaining and dining. How the garden fits into and enhances your life is an important factor too.
Ireland’s Deep Atlantic sees underwater cameraman Ken O’Sullivan embark on a series of voyages out into the open North Atlantic in search of large whales, sharks and cold water coral reefs 3,000 down on Ireland’s deep sea bed. The two-part series will document many of these creatures’ behaviour for the first time in any TV programme and investigate the health of our deep Atlantic waters.
Great Lighthouses of Ireland tells the story of Ireland’s lighthouses and their continuing importance to the country’s survival. For all their romance and mystery, lighthouses remain a vital part of Ireland’s maritime infrastructure.
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.
Documentary series which goes behind the scenes of the five-star Merchant Hotel in the centre of Belfast
'Stardust' is a 2006 miniseries produced for RTÉ by Brackside Merlin Films. The first episode surrounds the night a fire broke out at the Stardust Disco in North Dublin on 13 February 1981, in which 48 people died. The second episode depicts the search for answers and justice by families and survivors. It was screened over two nights on the 25th anniversary of the fire in 2006.
Murder in Eden is a British television series directed by Nicholas Renton and featuring Ian Bannen, Peter Firth and Alun Armstrong. It was first aired on the BBC in 1991 in three episodes of 55 minutes. It was set in a remote part of rural County Donegal where a landlord of a pub murders his barmen. He is blackmailed by one of the other inhabitants, while the police are busy hunting for the killer. It was based on the novel Bogmail by Patrick McGinley.
An exploration of Ancient Ireland, from 2000 B.C., when Stone Age farmers built some of Europe's largest and most spectacular Neolithic monuments, to 1167 A.D., when invading Normans seized Ireland for England's king.
So You Want To Be Taoiseach is a three-part series on RTÉ One hosted by Ardal O'Hanlon in 2007.
The story of the Irish politician Charles Haughey, told by his family as well as those who worked most closely with him in politics and in the private business circles from which his most controversial payments were drawn.
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, went on the pill. The "contraceptive train" to Belfast was also focused on, evoking memories of an era when the devices were illegal in the Republic of Ireland, prompting people to travel to Northern Ireland to stock up on their contraceptive needs. Also featured was The Late Late Show and the uproar it caused when it gave airtime to a group of lesbian nuns, Bill Hughes, who spoke about the underground gay scene in Ireland, Senator David Norris having his sexuality called into question when he was asked if he was "sick" by a TV presenter, the Leeson Street clubbing scene in its early years and Toni the Exotic Dancer, a housewife from Tallaght, Dublin who flashed her ample bosom for the crowds who thronged the urban pubs after mass. Video of protesters with portable Virgin Mary statues at work outside the RTÉ studios were also shown.
The political and personal life of Charlie Haughey during his time in office.
The story of reunited Dublin friends – Carmel, Gerry and Marie. Three very different worlds, three very different women - but everything in common. Upbeat and optimistic, BitterSweet celebrates their lives and loves. Everything’s looking rosy - until reality bites…
A docudrama telling the story of the events that unfolded when a Scottish army led by Robert Bruce tried to drive the English out of Ireland 700 years ago.
The adventures of Piggley, a spunky eight-year-old pig, and his friends Dannan the Duck and Ferny the Bull on Raloo Farm in Ireland.
The Irish R.M. refers to a series of books by the Anglo-Irish novelists Somerville and Ross, and the television comedy-drama series based on them. They are set in turn of the 20th century west of Ireland.
The Clinic is a multi award-winning Irish primetime television medical drama series produced by Parallel Film Productions for RTÉ. It debuted on RTÉ One in 2003 to positive reviews and proved to be one of the network's most popular shows. The drama ran for seven seasons between September 2003 to November 2007. The last ever episode aired on RTÉ One on Sunday 15 November 2009 and on YLE1 in Finland on Wednesday 25 November 2009. The complete series of The Clinic was released on DVD in November 2010 by RTÉ.