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RTÉ Unveils Ambitious Content and Events Programme for 1916 Centenary

 

RTÉ

RTÉ Unveils Ambitious Content and Events Programme for 1916 Centenary

  • Unprecedented range of programming announced
  • Extensive content in Irish, and for younger people
  • Digital emphasis to guarantee accessibility of content
  • Major on-street events to follow in footsteps of RTÉ Road to the Rising event

 

www.rte.ie/1916 Website Live at 5pm

 

RTÉ today unveiled RTÉ 1916, an ambitious programme of content and events across television, radio, mobile and online. RTÉ 1916 invites people, at home and throughout the world, to watch, listen and take part as they commemorate and celebrate, debate and analyse the centenary of the 1916 Rising.

 

Featuring major television drama, groundbreaking documentary, curated on-street events and a slate of young people’s programmes, RTÉ 1916 will consider the event itself as well as the broader cultural, political and historical complexities of the Rising, and its impact on the decades and century that followed. Programmed in both languages, RTÉ 1916 will reach out to Irish people of all ages.

 

Announcing RTÉ 1916, Noel Curran, Director-General, RTÉ, said: “1916 is a year of huge emotional and political significance in Irish history. In our approach to covering and commemorating the centenary of 1916, RTÉ is embracing all of its complexity of by planning a range of diverse programming and events – across television, radio, mobile and beyond – where audiences can understand, debate, commemorate, and celebrate. Our coverage will include the many planned events that will commemorate and celebrate, but it is not limited to the Rising itself – it will also look back at the last hundred years in Ireland and look to the decades ahead of us now. It will embrace music, the arts and street events, as well as historical programming. The scale and range of our programming is suitably wide-ranging and ambitious. I believe that in this special commemorative year, this is RTÉ’s role and responsibility. We hope our audiences will join us for a unique series of programmes and events that chart, explain, critique and celebrate a century of Irish life.”

 

Commenting at the launch of RTÉ 1916, An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny said: “In commemorating 1916, RTÉ has unique responsibilities as a public service media organisation. The various strands of programming planned by RTÉ for the coming months will play an enormously important role in educating, enlightening and empowering the Irish public, young and old, with an authentic sense of our culture, history and identity. I am delighted to see that RTE has embraced the significant challenge of doing so and created an impressive and wide-ranging slate of programmes and events. I would like to thank Director-General Noel Curran and all those in RTÉ who are involved in the creation of this diverse and imaginative suite of programmes which draws on our wealth of artistic talent.”

 

Moya Doherty, Chair, RTÉ Board, said:RTÉ 1916 offers a unique opportunity to showcase the value and uniqueness of public service media. On radio, on television, on mobile and online, in both Irish and English, RTÉ will offer a breadth of content across its 25 services, to audiences of all ages, in Ireland and across the globe. From the dramatic intensity of Rebellion to the intimacy of radio documentary; from the impressive scale of major choral and orchestral performances to the contemporary insights of younger audiences, this schedule will illuminate the deep complexities of that pivotal moment in the birth of our nation, and our complex relationship to it, through entertainment, spectacle, examination, discussion and, most importantly, participation. It allows RTÉ to do what I believe it does best – make the good popular, and the popular good.”

 

RTÉ acknowledges that the extent of this programme has only been made possible through the cooperation and support of a wide range of State institutions, the national 2016 programme, and collaboration with Ireland’s vibrant creative and artistic sector.

 

  • Follow content and information streams with #rte1916 on @rte on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Vine and Instagram
  • Full brochure live from 5pm at rte.ie/1916
  • NOTES: for full details in text format, see below.

 

ENDS

  • Images from the launch of RTÉ 1916 have been sent to pictures desks by Robbie Reynolds
  • Programme images are available on request

 

 

For further information:

  • Joseph Hoban, Head of Communications & Brand Development, RTÉ, 086 8128662
  • Neil O’Gorman, RTÉ Communications, 087 2077192
  • Vivienne Flood, Corporate Communications Manager, RTÉ, 087 7447455

 

 

 

 

COSC go dtí 6 i.n. an 4 Samhain 2015

Foilsíonn RTÉ Clár Leathan Ábhair agus Imeachtaí maidir le
Comóradh Chéad Bliain Éirí Amach 1916

  • Fógraítear réimse clár níos fairsinge ná riamh
  • Cuid mhór ábhair i nGaeilge, agus cuid mhór do dhaoine óga
  • Béim ar réimsí digiteacha ionas gur cinnte an t-ábhar ar fáil go furasta
  • Imeachtaí móra ar na sráideanna d’fhonn leanúint den rath a bhí ar imeacht RTÉ maidir le Road to the Rising

 

www.rte.ie/1916

 

D’fhógair RTÉ inniu RTÉ 1916, clár leathan ábhair agus imeachtaí ar teilifís, ar raidió, ar an idirlíon agus ar ghléasra póca. Tugann RTÉ 1916 deis do dhaoine, in Éirinn agus ar fud an domhain, cluas a thabhairt d’ábhar fuaime, súil a chaitheamh ar ábhar físe agus páirt a ghlacadh in imeachtaí le linn dóibh ceiliúradh agus comóradh, plé agus anailís a dhéanamh ar bhliain an chéid ó tharla Éirí Amach 1916.

 

Beidh drámaíocht teilifíse den suntas, cláir faisnéise den nuacht, imeachtaí sráide faoi stiúir coimeádaí agus cláir do dhaoine óga mar chuid de RTÉ 1916. Beidh ábhar machnaimh ann ar an eachtra chinniúnach féin chomh maith leis na gnéithe castachta níos leithne a bhain léi ó thaobh an chultúir, na polaitíochta agus na staire de, agus ar an tionchar a bhí aici ar na blianta agus go deimhin ar an gcéad bhliain ina diaidh. Beidh RTÉ 1916 dírithe sa dá theanga ar Éireannaigh de gach aoisghrúpa.

 

Ag fógairt RTÉ 1916 dó, dúirt Noel Curran, Príomh-Stiúrthóir, RTÉ: “Bliain ardsuntais an bhliain 1916 ó thaobh mothúchán agus cúrsaí polaitíochta i stair na hÉireann. Ag cur chuig tráchtaireacht agus comóradh a dhéanamh ar cheiliúradh céad bliain 1916 do RTÉ, tá na gnéithe castachta ar fad á dtabhairt san áireamh trí réimse iléagsúil clár agus imeachtaí a leagan amach – ar an teilifís, ar an raidió, ar ghléasra póca agus eile – ionas gur féidir leis an lucht féachana agus éisteachta cur leis an tuiscint, leis an díospóireacht, leis an gcomóradh agus leis an gceiliúradh. Beidh cuid mhór imeachtaí faoi thrácht againn atá pleanáilte don chomóradh agus don cheiliúradh, ach ní ar an Éirí Amach féin amháin a bheidh trácht á dhéanamh. Beifear ag breathnú siar ar an gcéad bliain ó shin i leith in Éirinn agus ag breathnú romhainn ar an am atá le theacht. Beidh ceol, cúrsaí ealaíne agus imeachtaí sráide i gceist chomh maith le cláir faoi ábhar staire. Tá scála agus réimse an ábhair chomh huileghabhálach agus a fhóireann. Creidimse gurb é sin atá de dhualgas agus de chúram ar RTÉ i rith chomóradh speisialta na bliana seo. Táthar ag tnúth go dtabharfar an lucht éisteachta agus féachana linn le sraith shainiúil clár agus imeachtaí trína ndéantar rianú, míniú, léirmheastóireacht agus ceiliúradh ar chéad bliain de shaol na hÉireann.”

 

Ag labhairt dó ag seoladh RTÉ 1916, dúirt an Taoiseach, Éanna Ó Coinnigh: “Tá freagrachtaí ar leith ar RTÉ mar an eagraíocht meán seirbhíse poiblí 1916 a chomóradh.   Beidh ról tábhachtach ag na sraitheanna éagsúla clár atá beartaithe ag RTÉ sna míonna atá ag teacht eolas, cumas agus tuiscint a thabhairt do mhuintir na hÉireann ar a gcultúr, a stair agus a bhféiniúlacht féin.  Tá ríméad orm gur ghlac RTÉ leis an dúshlán mór seo le fonn agus go bhfuil réimse leathan clár agus imeachtaí den scoth curtha i dtoll a chéile aige.   Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an bPríomh-Stiúrthóir Noel Curran agus leosan ar fad in RTÉ a bhfuil baint acu leis an réimse agus an éagsúlacht shamhlaíoch clár seo atá bunaithe ar shaibhreas ár n-ealaíon.

Dúirt Moya Doherty, Cathaoirleach, Bord RTÉ: “Tugann RTÉ 1916 deis faoi leith an fiúntas agus an tsainiúlacht a bhaineann le meáin chumarsáide seirbhíse poiblí a léiriú. Beidh réimse leathan ábhair á chur ar fáil ag RTÉ do dhaoine de gach aois, in Éirinn agus thar lear, ar fud 25 seirbhís éagsúil dá chuid, tríd an raidió, an teilifís, ar an idirlíon agus ar ghléasra póca. Idir dhrámatúlacht Rebellion agus chaidreamhacht chláir faisnéise raidió, idir mhórscála cheolchoirmeacha cór agus ceolfhoirne agus dhearcadh agus thuiscint dhaoine óga na linne seo, beidh léargas ar an gcastacht aimhréidh a ghabhann le tráth na cinniúna i nginiúint an náisiúin, agus a chasta atá an ceangal atá againn féin leis, trí shiamsaíocht, spleodar, mhionscrúdú agus phlé an sceidil seo. Ligeann sé do RTÉ an ní sin is fearr a dhéanann sé a dhéanamh – tóir na ndaoine a tharraingt ar an rud atá fiúntach, agus an rud a bhfuil tóir ag daoine air a dhéanamh ar bhealach fiúntach.”

 

  • Is féidir sruthanna ábhair agus eolais a thapú le #rte1916 ar @rte trí Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Vine agus Instagrm
  • NÓTAÍ: maidir le sonraí iomlána i bhfomáid téacs, féach thíos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

***HIGHLIGHTS & NOTES***

 

RTÉ 1916: Watch – Listen – Take Part – Discover

 

*** WATCH ***

From drama to factual, from music to news and current affairs, RTÉ One, RTÉ2, RTÉjr and RTÉ Player will be at the centre of Ireland’s 1916 commemorations and celebrations. Among the highlights:

 

Rebellion is a five-part serial drama set over three weeks of Easter 1916 which charts the violent birth of modern Ireland and stars Charlie Murphy, Brian Gleeson, Ruth Bradley, Barry Ward and Sarah Greene.  Narrated by Liam Neeson, 1916 is a three-part landmark documentary developed by the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at the University of Notre Dame which examines the Easter Rising and the subsequent events that led to the creation of an independent Irish state and, indirectly, the breakup of the British Empire.

 

Ireland’s Rising will feature broadcasters, Ryan Tubridy and Anne Doyle, actor, Fiona Shaw and football manager, Jim McGuinness as they travel back to their homesteads to discover what particular connection their county has with the events of 1916, and what the people of their county are planning to commemorate it.  In Children of the Revolution Joe Duffy uncovers the tragic stories of the 40 children killed during the Easter Rising, while The Enemy Files sees Michael Portillo present a challenging and controversial documentary that will offer a valuable counterview of the events of 1916.

 

Musician and political activist, Bob Geldof will examine the life and work of WB Yeats in the context of the 1916 centenary celebrations in He’s So Modern: Geldof on Yeats, a two-part co-production with BBC, written by Geldof in collaboration with historian and Yeats scholar, Roy Foster, while Christy Moore: Journey sees the legendary musician collaborate with award-winning film-maker Mark McLoughlin for a very personal musical journey through contemporary Irish history revealing a deeply human story of a changing country.

 

7 Women will tell the story of Easter 1916 through the eyes of seven women, including the rebel leader, Constance Markievicz, the ace sniper, Margaret Skinnider, the battalion commander, Rose McNamara and the civilian eyewitness, Lilly.

 

The Rubberbandits’ Guide to 1916 tells the stories, both big and small, famous and obscure, of Irish revolution, through the skewed eye of the Rubberbandits who explore and re-enact (and frequently get wrong) key moments in Irish history.   #WHOAMI takes us to the underbelly of the world of 18–34 year-olds in Ireland as it asks seven of the country’s top social media influencers (across Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram) what it means to them to be Irish in 2016.

 

1916 Children will reconnect today’s children with the reality of the past in an immersive adventure as eight children spend 24 hours in the lives of their ancestors in 1916. Stripped of all modern trappings they will undertake 10 challenges typical for a 1916 child.

 

RTÉ One’s Nationwide will feature three special hour-long programmes in the week leading up to Easter 2016:  One will feature the story of Fr Joseph Mallin who, aged 102, is the only person born to one of the 1916 leaders still alive; another will look at the origins, meaning and relevance today of the Proclamation, the National Anthem and the Tricolour. a third programme will examine how Dublin was rebuilt after its partial destruction in 1916.

 

Four Irish-language programmes on RTÉ One will explore some fascinating stories, including Knight of the Realm, humanitarian and anti-Imperialist Roger Casement who was motivated by disillusionment with and disgust for the Empire, and the National Essay Competition 1966 to discover how the rebellion was commemorated then, before the Troubles, and how it delivered on the expectations at the time.

 

RTÉ One will also produce a number of special events for broadcast across television, radio, mobile and online over Easter Weekend:

 

On Easter Sunday 2016, RTÉ One and RTÉ Radio 1 will live broadcast A Nations Voice featuring 1,000 voices from all over Ireland who will join with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in Collins Barracks, Dublin to perform a major new orchestral and choral work commissioned by RTÉ from composer Shaun Davey and writer Paul Muldoon.

 

‘16 Letters is an innovative and ambitious digital humanities project, gathering correspondence from ordinary people, private collections and national archives and providing new and often very personal perspectives on 1916. RTÉ will stage a 75-minute landmark television event on RTÉ One, with an invited audience, at the GPO on O’Connell Street on Easter Sunday. The audience will include the descendants of the letter writers of 1916, adding a personal and emotional perspective to stories that will play out via big screen sequences throughout the programme.

 

On Easter Monday, RTÉ will present Centenary, a live musical spectacle from the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre which will tell the story of the 1916 Rising and the foundation and building of our country. It will also incorporate pre-recorded elements from locations around Dublin, Ireland and the world.

 

 

***LISTEN***

Across RTÉ’s four primary FM services – RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ 2fm, RTÉ lyric fm and RTÉ Raidio na Gaeltachta – and RTÉ’s digital radio services, RTÉ 1916 will come to life in sound across a rich range of arts, documentary and current affairs programming, in English and Irish.

 

On RTÉ Radio 1 the voices of the past and present will combine to commemorate, celebrate and debate the legacy of the men and women of 1916, through a truly vast schedule of drama, documentary, music and current-affairs programming. The Rising on RTÉ 2fm will cover Easter Weekend 2016 as if the events of Easter 1916 are happening in 2016 – all shows, news and social media channels will have the urgency and drama of the moment, and the station will delve into the National Archives for famous and not so famous recollections, and retell them for today’s younger audience.

 

As well as regular contributions on different themes in the lead-up to the 2016 centenary, Today with Sean O’Rourke will feature monthly items in which editors of Handbook of the Irish Revival, Declan Kiberd and P.J. Mathews, talk about the cultural revival that took place in Ireland between 1891 and 1922 and, with the help of actors, explore key political and cultural texts that influenced the road to an independent Ireland.

 

In addition to a number of Drama on One and Documentary on One one-off specials on RTÉ Radio 1, One Hundred Years of Anglo-Irish Relations is a seven-part live special from the Round Room of The Mansion House in Dublin where Diarmaid Ferriter and guests will offer a comprehensive overview of the history of Anglo-Irish relations in front of a live audience.

 

Éirí Amach 1916 – Ceisteanna, Tuairimí agus Freagraí is one of many highlights on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta and features seven programmes, each recorded before an audience in one of the seven Gaeltacht regions, which will present discussions around important themes from 1916. Comórtas Raidió Éire 1916–2016 is a competition for secondary schools, with the assistance of the Department of Arts, Heritage and The Gaeltacht, which invited schools nationwide to consider a theme involving the 1916 commemorations, with the five best submissions being chosen to produce the five programmes within the series. An Piarsach agus 1916 is a twelve-part special series which deals with Patrick Pearse and his association with the Irish language, his words, his actions and his legacy. The project, will record papers delivered by historians and academics dealing with the topics involved and will be published in book form by Easter 2016.

 

Music and arts programming will also enjoy prominence across on radio: In Songs of the Century contemporary popular songs of 1916 will be reimagined and interpreted by a selection of Irish bands and solo artists is an RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ 2fm co-production, presented by Fiachna ÓBraonáin and Louise McSharry; Widows of The Rising will broadcast composer Simon O’Connor’s song cycle Left Behind from Kilmainham Royal Hospital on International Women’s Day, showcasing this unique set of songs, marking the centenary of the Rising through poems and the experiences of the wives of the rebel leaders;

 

In Composing the Island audiences will have a unique opportunity to encounter the music of Irish composers written between 1916–2016, during a three-week period in September 2016, performed at the National Concert Hall and broadcast on RTÉ lyric fm. Presented by Bord na Móna in association with RTÉ and the National Concert Hall, the festival will include six major orchestral concerts given by the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and RTÉ Concert Orchestra and a further 20 concerts featuring choral, instrumental, song and chamber music given by a range of performers including the RTÉ Philharmonic Choir, RTÉ Cór na nÓg and the RTÉ Contempo Quartet.

 

The RTÉ Concert Orchestra and Chamber Choir Ireland will perform the Mozart Requiem under the baton of John Wilson. The concert will be broadcast live from Dublin on RTÉ lyric fm as part of the RTÉ 1916: Reflecting the Rising event.

 

 

***TAKE PART***

RTÉ will follow the spectacular success of the RTÉ Road to the Rising event in 2015, and again take to the streets with a large-scale series of public events, RTÉ 1916: Reflecting the Rising.

 

RTÉ 1916: Reflecting the Rising is a large-scale multi-locational public event that will take place in Dublin on Easter Monday 2016, with hundreds of talks, walking tours, music, dance, street art, street theatre, and moments of reflection and celebration. RTÉ 1916: Reflecting the Rising aims to provide Irish people of all ages with a one-day canvas on which to explore the Rising and our relationship with it, both historically and contemporaneously. In locations on both sides of the River Liffey and on the river itself, the event is a public invitation to commemorate, to celebrate and to understand this significant moment in our collective history.

 

RTÉ will also deliver widespread television coverage of a number of significant commemorative events throughout Easter weekend and April, including: Garden of Remembrance Ceremony on Saturday 26 March, which will include a cultural element, with music, poetry and song, live on RTÉ One; Easter Ceremonies at the GPO on Sunday 27 March, which will present live coverage of the military ceremonies at the GPO, including a reading of the Proclamation, a wreath laying by the President, and a march-past by members of the Defence Forces, An Garda Síochána and other State Emergency Services; Coverage of Liberty Hall Ceremony  on Tuesday 29 March, which will  reflect the contribution of the Irish Citizen Army and James Connolly to the 1916 Rising; The Remembrance Ceremony at Glasnevin Cemetery on Sunday 3rd April will present event coverage of the Interfaith Service at the Remembrance Walls in Glasnevin Cemetery to honour all those who lost  their lives in the 1916 Rising; Arbour Hill Ceremony on Sunday 24 April will include Requiem Mass and interfaith prayers at the graveside of 14 leaders of the 1916 Rising, and a wreath laying by the President.

 

Two masses will also be broadcast live on RTÉ One and RTÉ.ie on Easter Saturday and Sunday from the Capuchin Priory, Church Street, Dublin. In 1916, Capuchin friars ministered to many of the rebels during and after the Rising, right up to the rebels’ executions. But Capuchins also worked alongside British forces as chaplains during World War I and were trusted by all sides.

 

 

***DISCOVER***

RTÉ.ie/1916 and Century Ireland: Following the successes of World War I on RTÉ and the RTÉ Road to the Rising event, an ambitious mobile website will provide access to all of RTÉ’s 1916 content. The site will have an interactive map of key events of the 1916 Rising, eyewitness accounts and profiles of the people involved. RTÉ.ie/1916 will allow access to all RTÉ programming, output and events across all platforms. It will also highlight content from Century Ireland, the online historical newspaper. A range of potential projects is being explored, including a photographic exhibition centred on memories of Ireland in 1916.

 

RTÉ Player will be home to a dedicated 1916 collection featuring documentaries, drama and news coverage throughout the centenary celebrations. National events will be made available live and on-demand through RTÉ Player International, connecting the Irish diaspora to home throughout the year.

 

During the 1950s and the 1960s RTÉ radio and television recorded interviews with participants in and witnesses of the Easter Rising. In the lead-up to the 100th anniversary of the Rising, RTÉ Archives will make some of this content available at www.rte.ie/archives. RTÉ Archives will also make more of these eyewitness accounts and testimonies available online for Easter 2016.