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REELING IN THE YEARS

2011 QUEEN 1 Image Name: 2011 QUEEN 1
2011 OBAMA Image Name: 2011 OBAMA

REELING IN THE YEARS – 2011

TX Sunday 18 April, 8.30pm RTE One

This week, REELING IN THE YEARS recalls the music and the memories of 2011.

FULL BILLING

REELING IN THE YEARS showcases the soundtrack and the stories of 2011, when Queen Elizabeth II came to Ireland on a four-day State Visit, the first such visit by a reigning British monarch to the Republic. President Barack Obama also came to Ireland, paying a call to his ancestral birthplace of Moneygall and addressing a crowd of tens of thousands of people at Dublin’s College Green. Ireland’s general election saw Enda Kenny became Taoiseach in a year of political change: Fine Gael and Labour formed a new coalition as Fianna Fail and the Green Party suffered huge electoral losses. Ireland also got a new President: Michael D Higgins was inaugurated in November following his election victory.

Abroad, it was the year of the ‘Arab Spring’: street protests became open rebellions that brought down ruling regimes and dictators in several countries, including Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. 2011 was also the year of the Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand and the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. In sport, Ireland’s cricketers celebrated an epic World Cup victory over England and Leinster’s rugby team staged a remarkable fightback against Northampton to win the Heineken Cup. Goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton delivered Dublin’s first All-Ireland title in 16 years with a point in stoppage time against Kerry, while Kilkenny’s hurlers beat defending champions Tipperary. In Ireland’s first year of the EU-IMF economic bailout programme, youth unemployment reached record levels and emigration again became a feature of Irish life: by 2011, half the people signing on had been jobless for more than a year. London hosted a royal wedding as Kate Middleton married Prince William, and the first public same-sex civil partnership ceremonies were held in Ireland.

REELING IN THE YEARS – 2011 features music from Cee Lo Green, Imelda May, Rihanna and Calvin Harris, Sarah Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson, Florence and The Machine, Ed Sheeran,  Maverick Sabre, One Direction and Adele.