Radharc
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. Tom Stack and Liam O'Rinn.
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
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 - La 'Le Bride (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 Staved (1): Causes Of Poverty (1992)
- When Ireland Staved (2): THE Irish Holocaust (1992)
- When Ireland Staved (3): Managing The Famine (1992)
- When Ireland Staved (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
- Radharc A Celebration, RTÉ Archives, 2012-11-19.
- "Family film wins Radharc award". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- McCarthy, Dermot (30 November 1999). "Forty years a sowing". CatholicIreland.net. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
- "Matthew McAteer - University College Dublin". Academia.edu. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
- RTÉ head of religious programmes to retire by Patsy McGarry, May 28, 2007.
- "Radharc (TV Series)". IMDB. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
- "Radharc sets up film company". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 26 March 1997. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- The Irish Times, "Presentation of television awards and citations", 4 December 1963
- Awards Archive www.rte.ie
- McAteer, M. "A Scandalous Repression: Clerical Portraits in the Irish TV Documentary Series Radharc". Cite journal requires
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(help) - The Radharc Film and Document Collection Irish Film Institute, www.ifi.ie
- The Black Irish of Montserrat Irish accents in the Caribbean www.youtube.com