Airing Monday 29 December at 6:30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
2025 marked the 250th anniversary of the birth of Daniel O’Connell. As the year closes, this new documentary Daniel O’Connell: The Emancipator offers a fresh exploration of the life and enduring impact of one of Ireland’s greatest figures. This one-hour documentary traces O’Connell’s journey from Kerry lawyer to global advocate for justice.
Known as The Liberator, he secured Catholic Emancipation, pioneered non-violent mass political mobilization, and inspired democratic movements around the world.
The documentary is narrated by Domhnall Gleeson. It features insights from leading historians and scholars, including former President Mary McAleese, Declan Kiberd, Jay Rosman, Patrick Geoghegan, Niamh Gallagher and Chanté Mouton-Kinyon, newly uncovered archival material and an original score by Colm Mac Con Iomaire. It is written and directed by Ruán Magan.
As the documentary explores, O’Connell’s campaigns reshaped Ireland’s political and cultural landscape and positioned him as a model for later figures, including Frederick Douglass, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr.
This is a Create One production, in association with RTÉ, University of Notre Dame and University
College Cork, with the support of the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport and the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Daniel O’Connell: The Emancipator airs on Monday 29 December at 6:30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
