RTÉ Nationwide has produced a special series of 1916 programmes including three one hour documentaries to mark the centenary.
The first of the special documentaries on Monday 21st March at 7.00pm sees guest presenter Bryan Dobson tell the story of “reluctant” Rising Leader Michael Mallin which features a moving interview with his son, Fr Joseph Mallin, who now aged 102 years is the only surviving child of the 1916 leaders.
Joseph Mallin remembers the terrible effect the execution had on his family and his mother, Agnes, in particular. “We were left in absolute poverty”. It was just before his second birthday that he was taken with his family to Kilmainham Gaol on the night before his father’s execution.
His father was the only one of the 1916 leaders to deny his central role in the rebellion and he told his court martial that he had no authority from James Connolly to lead the Irish Citizen Army detachment at St. Stephen’s Green and the Royal College of Surgeons. He was desperately trying to escape the firing squad and save his family from the fate that would eventually befall them.
Michael Mallin was a reluctant leader but a committed patriot. His is one of the 1916 leaders largely forgotten about – a small testament being the naming of Dun Laoghaire railway station after him. This hour long documentary involving over two years of research, looks at how he and others became eclipsed from the later telling of the Rising by the iconic figures of Pearse and Connolly.
On Wednesday 23rd March, Nationwide looks at the national anthem; the Irish tricolour and the proclamation of 1916. Presenter Anne Cassin examines how they originated, what they symbolised at the time and their relevance and resonance today. The anthem, written by Brendan Behan’s uncle, Peadar Kearney, was originally written as a marching song for the Irish Volunteers and later adopted, with reluctance by the State, as the national anthem. However, only the chorus was retained for the official version.
Thomas Francis Meagher’s tricolour was an idea born and influenced by European revolutions, with the green representing nationalism; the orange representing unionism and the white as a neutral space for both. Nationwide also discovered how this dream failed when the Irish rugby team were serenaded on the pitch at the first Rugby World Cup by the Rose of Tralee. Trevor Ringland, who played in that match, tells Anne about his reaction to the playing the song and why Ireland’s Call became the compromise anthem for international matches.
The programme also focuses on the proclamation, what it was designed to achieve and its legacy today, as artist Robert Ballagh emerges as a staunch defender. The programme visits school children in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford who have written their own proclamation for 2016 and have come up with an unexpectedly modern outlook with what they included in their document.
On Friday 25th March at 6.30pm the final special programme looks at 1916 in 1966, and unveils fascinating archive material, with many scenes and the O’Connell Street parade filmed for the first time by RTÉ in colour. Mary Kennedy looks at the impact TV had on people’s lives at Easter 1966, TV sets became hugely popular and by the time of the commemorations some 55% of households owned them. Insurrection actor, Pádraic Ó Gaora, recalls people in pubs watching in silence as Insurrection relayed the drama of Easter Week while author Colm Toibin tells about watching the drama as an 11 year-old and his mother fleeing from the room in tears as James Connolly was carried out to be executed. The programme also features an interview with Sabina Higgins, who played a nurse in the 1966 RTÉ drama.
As the country gears up to commemorate and celebrate the centenary, RTÉ Nationwide is also previewing some of the events that are planned and ones which members of the public can enjoy in two programmes next week.
On Monday 14th March at 7.00pm on RTÉ One, Nationwide learns about the plans for 2016 anniversary which have been in train for well over a year with a team working on the planning and co-ordinating of projects and events to mark this anniversary. Some of these projects and events will go on at different times of the year but the main focus has been on the planning of the commemorative events surrounding the Easter period. Thousands of people are expected to come to Dublin to visit the locations associated with the Rising. The programme will also feature a report on a very special Choral Concert, A Nation’s Voice, involving 1100 singers from all over the country which takes place at Collins Barracks on Easter Sunday..
And on Friday 18th March’s Nationwide programme, Anne Cassin gets a preview tour of the Witness History Interpretive Exhibition Centre at the GPO. She also discovers more about RTÉ’s Reflecting the Rising, a day of events on Bank Holiday Monday, as parts of Dublin city centre will be closed to traffic and street pageants will take place with costumes of 1916 and many things to see and do.
Watch RTÉ Nationwide, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.00pm on RTÉ One and available for catch up on the RTÉ Player.