MONDAY 17TH NOVEMBER
PRESENTER ANNE CASSIN
PROJECT CHILDREN 50 YEARS ON
Tonight’s Nationwide reflects on the remarkable journey of Project Children, fifty years of hope, leadership, and cross-community friendship. The programme explores how, during a time of deep conflict and mistrust in Ireland, young Catholics and Protestants from Northern Ireland were brought together to spend time in the United States.
When the Children’s Project was set up in 1975, the conflict in Northern Ireland had reached a stalemate. The Troubles had been going on for six years, 1,500 people had been killed and attempts to achieve peace had failed. Reporter John Kilraine has been looking back through the archives, setting the scene for the establishment of Project Children.
Also on the programme, reporter Valerie Waters travels to County Monaghan to see an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of Project Children, the aim of which was simple – to take Catholic and Protestant Children away from the Troubles for six weeks of the Summer to the USA.
WEDNESDAY 19TH NOVEMBER
PRESENTER BLÁTHNAID NÍ CHOFAIGH
BRIAN FRIEL PROGRAMME
On Nationwide this evening, we are in Co. Donegal to mark the 10 year anniversary of the death of renowned Irish playwright, Brian Friel. We visit the town that had the greatest influence on his writing. We meet his family and friends from stage and screen, who’ve gathered to commemorate his life and work. And We hear about his deep connection to the Donegal people, immortalised in his most iconic works.
FRIDAY 21ST NOVEMBER
PRESENTER MARTY MORRISSEY
THE TRADITIONAL SPORT OF HANDBALL
Handball, one of Ireland’s oldest sports, was once so popular that some villages had as many as three outdoor alleys. While the game is enjoying a revival, many handball alleys lie abandoned. Reporter John Kilraine meets a Mayo man who is documenting these forgotten structures through photography.