INSURRECTION

Insurrection Image Ref. No. 0340/012 Image Name: Insurrection Image Ref. No. 0340/012 Description: A scene from the RTÉ Television Drama Programme 'Insurrection' about the 1916 Rising, shown here is Patrick Pearse played by Eoin O'Suilleabhain with the Proclamation of Independence Copyright: RTÉ
Insurrection Image Ref. No. 2677/077 Image Name: Insurrection Image Ref. No. 2677/077 Description: Extras play soldiers at a British Army barricade in a scene from the Telefís Éireann (RTÉ Television) drama series 'Insurrection', during location filming on Little Mary Street, Dublin city, in early 1966. The scene depicts the surrender of rebels/insurgents on Moore Street in 1916. The actors/extras playing British soldiers may be members of the Eastern Command of the Irish Army. Central Stores is visible at number 26, as are Clothing Bureau at number 27 and The Casket at number 28. This episode was first broadcast on 16 April 1966. 'Insurrection' was an eight-part dramatised reconstruction of the events of Easter Week 1916, shown to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The series was shown on eight consecutive nights on Telefís Éireann from 10-17 April 1966. The RTV (RTÉ) Guide extensively previewed the series in a special anniversary edition published on 8 April 1966. Copyright: RTÉ
Insurrection Image Ref. No. 2677/068 Image Name: Insurrection Image Ref. No. 2677/068 Description: Eoin Ó Súilleabháin as Patrick Pearse and Sheelagh Cullen as Elizabeth O'Farrell surrender to British Army soldiers in a scene from the Telefís Éireann (RTÉ Television) drama series 'Insurrection', during location filming on Little Mary Street, Dublin city, in early 1966. The actors/extras playing British soldiers may be members of the Eastern Command of the Irish Army. Mike Nolan's at number 25 and Central Stores at number 26 are visible. This episode was first broadcast on 16 April 1966. 'Insurrection' was an eight-part dramatised reconstruction of the events of Easter Week 1916, shown to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The series was shown on eight consecutive nights on Telefís Éireann from 10-17 April 1966. The RTV (RTÉ) Guide extensively previewed the series in a special anniversary edition published on 8 April 1966. Copyright: RTÉ
Insurrection Image Ref. No. 2674/079 Image Name: Insurrection Image Ref. No. 2674/079 Description: Irish actor Eoin Ó Súilleabháin as Patrick Pearse (centre) in a scene from the Telefís Éireann (RTÉ Television) drama series 'Insurrection', during location filming in Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin, in early 1966. An unidentified extra behind him playing a ssoldier may be a member of the Eastern Command of the Irish Defence Forces who participated in this production. This episode was first broadcast on 17 April 1966. 'Insurrection' was an eight-part dramatised reconstruction of the events of Easter Week 1916, shown to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The series was shown on eight consecutive nights on Telefís Éireann from 10-17 April 1966. The RTV (RTÉ) Guide extensively previewed the series in a special anniversary edition published on 8 April 1966. Copyright: RTÉ
Insurrection Image Ref. No. 2673/067 Image Name: Insurrection Image Ref. No. 2673/067 Description: Unidentified extras playing Volunteers/rebels take over the GPO in a scene from the Telefís Éireann (RTÉ Television) drama series 'Insurrection', during filming in Studio 1 in early 1966. Eoin Ó Súílleabháin as Patrick Pearse (left) and Ronnie Walsh as James Connolly (centre) are standing in the foreground; Declan Harvey as Joseph Plunkett can be seen in the left background. This episode was first broadcast on 11 April 1966. 'Insurrection' was an eight-part dramatised reconstruction of the events of Easter Week 1916, shown to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The series was shown on eight consecutive nights on Telefís Éireann from 10-17 April 1966. The RTV (RTÉ) Guide extensively previewed the series in a special anniversary edition published on 8 April 1966. Copyright: RTÉ
Insurrection Image Ref. No. 2673/045 Image Name: Insurrection Image Ref. No. 2673/045 Description: Irish actor Gerry Alexander plays a reporter in a scene from the Telefís Éireann (RTÉ Television) drama series 'Insurrection', during location filming of the Battle of Mount Street Bridge on Lansdowne Road, Dublin city, in early 1966. Extras playing dead or injured British soldiers from the Sherwood Foresters regiment can be seen on the left; they may be members of the Eastern Command from the Irish Defence Forces who played soldiers in this production. Location filming of this scene also took place on Northumberland Road. This episode was first broadcast on 13 April 1966. 'Insurrection' was an eight-part dramatised reconstruction of the events of Easter Week 1916, shown to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The series was shown on eight consecutive nights on Telefís Éireann from 10-17 April 1966. The RTV (RTÉ) Guide extensively previewed the series in a special anniversary edition published on 8 April 1966. Copyright: RTÉ
Insurrection Image Ref. No. 2673/040 Image Name: Insurrection Image Ref. No. 2673/040 Description: A scene from the Telefís Éireann (RTÉ Television) drama series 'Insurrection', reenacting fighting that took place in Clanwilliam House at the Battle of Mount Street Bridge during the 1916 Easter Rising, in Studio 1 in early 1966. The three actors in the foreground, from left to right, are; Kevin McHugh as William Ronan, James Caffrey as Section Commander George Reynolds and Tony Doyle as Patrick Doyle. The remaining actors are unidentified. This episode was first broadcast on 13 April 1966. 'Insurrection' was an eight-part dramatised reconstruction of the events of Easter Week 1916, shown to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The series was shown on eight consecutive nights on Telefís Éireann from 10-17 April 1966. The RTV (RTÉ) Guide extensively previewed the series in a special anniversary edition published on 8 April 1966. Copyright: RTÉ

Broadcast Details: Saturday 19th March, 11.10pm

For the first time since its original broadcast in 1966, RTÉ One is to screen the 8-part drama Insurrection over consecutive nights beginning on Friday 18 March.

Episode 1 There Will be No Rising, Friday 18 March, 23.55, RTÉ One

Roger Casement has been arrested.  The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland declares “there will be no Rising”.

Episode 2: We’ve Put Emmet In The Shade Saturday 19 March, 23.10, RTÉ One

Studio presenter (Ray McAnally) announces there there has been a Rising in Dublin.  Reporters describe the scenes.

Episode 3: Law and Self-Restraint, Sunday 20 March, 00.05, RTÉ One

James Connolly interviewed inside the GPO.  Francis Sheehy Skeffington tries to prevent looting; taken hostage by Captain Boewn-Colthurst.

Episode 4:  Two Thousand Sherwood Foresters, Monday 21 March, 23.35, RTÉ One

Sherwood Foresters attacked Haddington Road.

Episode 5:  When We Are All Wiped Out, Tuesday 22 March, 23.30, RTÉ One

Death of Francis Sheehy Skeffington by firing squad announced.  Wounded James Connolly is carried into the GPO.  Patrick Pearse reflects on what losing will mean.

Episode 6,  Do You Think We’ll Win? Wednesday 23 March, 23.25, RTÉ One

General Sir John Maxwell, Commander-in-Chief of British Forces in Ireland, arrives to take control of the spiralling situation.

Episode 7  Was There No Other Way? Thursday 24 March, 23.15, RTÉ One

Rebels surrender and are gathered under guard at the grounds of the Rotunda.

Episode 8: Nothing In Heaven Or Earth, Friday 25 March, 23.50, RTÉ One 

Kilmainham Jail.   13 rebels have been executed.  James Connolly and Sean McDermott are next.  As shots ring out within the prison walls, Ray McAnally asks “The Insurrection is over, or is it?”

About Insurrection

For the first time since its original broadcast in 1966, RTÉ One is to screen the 8-part drama Insurrection over consecutive nights beginning on Friday 18 March. Originally produced and broadcast by RTÉ as part of the 1966 commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rebellion 1916 Insurrection was set in the style of a special TV News report depicting the events of the Rising as they unfolded day-by-day.

With a stellar Irish cast including Ray McAnally as the studio presenter and such luminaries of stage and screen as Anna Manahan, Jim Norton, Ronnie Walsh and Kathleen Watkins with legendary Abbey actor Eoin O’Suilleabhain as Padraig Pearse, Insurrection was written by Hugh Leonard and produced and directed by Louis Lentin and Michael Garvey.

Insurrection was a hugely ambitious project and was the biggest drama ever undertaken by Telefís Éireann, at a time when the television station was still in its infancy having launched only four years previously.

For 50 years, RTÉ Archives has preserved the landmark drama Insurrection, maintaining and preserving the programme’s film materials and telerecordings, catalogue records and documentation, including large collection of photographs taken on set. Originally recorded onto early 2-inch open reel video tapes for television, intended to be re-used due to the prohibitive expense, the original programmes were saved by creating a film version of the video recordings. Due to the importance of the collection and the degradation of such recordings over time, RTÉ Archives undertook the restoration project for Insurrection, in advance of the centenary of the Easter Rising.

Brid Dooley, Head of RTÉ Archives said “RTÉ Archives maintains and preserves the largest collection of audio visual recordings in Ireland. It is a significant and unique record of Irish life which we preserve and care for in the public interest. We are delighted to bring this beautifully restored programme to audiences 50 years after it was first created. Our restoration project for Insurrection completed in 2007, involved painstaking picture and audio restoration work by RTÉ’s expert archives conservation staff and Windmill lane post production studios.”

Currently RTÉ Archives is presenting an online exhibition They Were There on RTÉ’s official 1916 website www.rte.ie/1916, which currently presents 50 witness accounts of 1916 events on an interactive map. The previously unseen and unheard audio and visual collection features men and women who were members of the Irish Volunteers, the Citizen Army, Cumann na mBan, the British army, the Dublin Metropolitan Police and citizens of Dublin.  Together they help build a vivid picture of what was happening across Dublin city and beyond during Easter 1916.

Notes to Editor:

About RTÉ Archives

RTÉ Archives is responsible for collecting, preserving and making accessible the creative and documentary output of the national broadcaster.

Consisting of Ireland’s largest audio visual collection, containing hundreds of thousands of hours of moving image and sound recordings together with significant collections of photographs, manuscripts and administrative documents, RTÉ Archives maintains and preserves a unique record of Irish life in the interest of the Irish public.

In addition to providing content for radio and television programmes (27% of RTÉ News programme is made up of archive footage), RTÉ Archives is focused on making content available to the public through a curated exhibition of archive footage on RTÉ Archives’ website http://www.rte.ie/archives