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
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 - 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
  1. 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. 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
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.