A Christmas HeroRTÉ Two Sunday December 17, 11.40am A guardian angel shows a disillusioned war veteran what he means to others and that his life makes a difference. Songs of Praise BBC One Sunday December 17, 1.15pm Sharing the Joys of Christmas: Rev. Kate Bottley visits County Durham to find out why one primary school…
Category: TV & Radio
‘Suffer the little children…’
Last week I finished on a somewhat positive note with the release of child hostages in the Holy Land. However, the positivity was short lived – it was abhorrent to see the end of the ‘humanitarian pause’. Now it’s more like humanity itself being on pause. Once again, the news programmes last weekend featured images…
Thuggery in Dublin dishonoured those little children
When adults pursue their own selfish ends it’s often the children that suffer, even if the excess of individualism comes nicely wrapped and rationalised. Last Thursday I was listening to an interesting discussion on cribs (the Christmas kind) on Liveline (RTÉ Radio One). It was quite positive – the live animals were being restored to…
Newstalk works hard to foster a real diversity of viewpoints
With very little publicity, significant in itself, the ‘Safe Access Zones’ Bill passed in the Dáil last week. The only coverage I came across was on Newstalk Breakfast (Wednesday). It was unfortunately a short item, though the coverage was welcome and I thought presenter Shane Coleman (pictured right) was even-handed – increasingly Newstalk is the…
Religious programmes showcasing the best of Ireland
In the last few weeks, I’ve been welcoming new religious programmes on RTÉ – this week I’m lamenting the departure of one of them. Life and Soul (RTÉ One, Sunday) had a very short run but it ended well with a particularly uplifting episode. ‘Unbroken’ told the inspiring story of Tiglin. Fiachna Ó Braonáin (of…
A feast of drama to ease the dark evenings
Several drama series have been catching my attention of late – there are so many good ones it’s hard to keep track of them all. Time (BBC One, Sunday) is the second series of the prison drama by Jimmy McGovern, this time joined by Helen Black on writing credits. This series sees a change to…
A feast for lovers of religious-themed programmes
You know the old story of waiting ages for a bus and then a few come along together. I felt like that last week, with three new religious programmes on RTÉ.
A well needed injection of faith and positivity
It’s always worth taking notice when there’s a new religious programme, and the latest nearly flew under my highly sensitive radar! Witness (RTÉ Radio 1, Friday) is a new religious affairs programme presented by Siobhán Garrigan, and is a successor to the long running Leap of Faith, though I’m not sure of the logic behind…
Hidden heroes helping those in peril on the mountains
In such fractious times it’s reassuring to find a programme that accentuates the positive, and you’ll frequently find that on TG4. Tarrthálaithe na hÉireann (TG4, Thursdays) is a new series highlighting the work of the rescue services. Last week’s episode featured the work of mountain rescue teams, with a particular focus on Reek Sunday in…
A dark cloud of grief and horror in the Holy Land
Media bias can be subtle sometimes, other times it can be laughably blatant. I got what I think is a case of the latter last week.