Ireland: A Television History
Ireland: A Television History, began on 2 December 1980. It was written and presented by Robert Kee. The series was made at a time when The Troubles were still ongoing, and Kee attempted to explain them against a background of 800 years of Irish history. Interviews with eye witnesses with memories extending as far back as the 1890s helped to bring it to life and the success of the series earned it the BAFTA for Best Documentary Series. Ireland: A Television History was a co-production between the BBC and RTÉ, which allowed for a bigger budget. The producer was Jeremy Isaacs. The series unfolded over 13 episodes in the tradition of the great authored documentary series like Civilisation.
- 1980-1981
- 1 season
- Documentary, Drama, Action & Adventure
Ireland: A Television History, began on 2 December 1980. It was written and presented by Robert Kee. The series was made at a time when The Troubles were still ongoing, and Kee attempted to explain them against a background of 800 years of Irish history. Interviews with eye witnesses with memories extending as far back as the 1890s helped to bring it to life and the success of the series earned it the BAFTA for Best Documentary Series. Ireland: A Television History was a co-production between the BBC and RTÉ, which allowed for a bigger budget. The producer was Jeremy Isaacs. The series unfolded over 13 episodes in the tradition of the great authored documentary series like Civilisation.
Season 1 Episode Guide
13 Episodes 1980 - 1981
Episode 1
'A Nation Once Again...'
Tue, Dec 2, 1980 46 mins
Robert Kee's history of Ireland begins with the Stone Age and includes the work of St. Patrick; the Viking and Norman invasions; and the subjugation of Ireland by Elizabethan England.
Episode 2
No Surrender
Chronicles the violence marking the 17th century, which included the rule of Cromwell and of James II, culminating in the English victory at the Battle of the Boyne (1690).
Episode 3
Two Nations
Explores a divided Ireland, citing the rebellion led by Wolfe Tone against the Penal Laws; the Act of Union in 1801; and Daniel O'Connell's victory in securing the right of Catholics to be members of Parliament.
Episode 4
Famine
Chronicles Ireland's potato famine in the mid-1840's, which resulted in the deaths of over a million people and the mass migration of over two million to the U.S, Canada and Australia.
Episode 5
Fenians
Conditions after the famine give way to the rise of Fenianism, a movement aimed at securing Ireland's political freedom from England.
Episode 6
Parnell
Charts the life of Home Rule party leader Charles Stewart Parnell. Parnell's rise and fall marked one of the most dramatic episodes in Irish history.
Episode 7
Ulster Will Fight
Chronicles the opposition of the Ulster Unionists, led by Edward Carson, to the Home Rule Bill of 1912. Civil war in Ireland was averted only by the onset of WW1.
Episode 8
Rising
Irish nationalists view the war as an opportunity for armed insurrection against the British. This chronicles the lead up to the Rising on Easter Monday, 1916 and the aftermath.
Episode 9
Terror
The 1918 British elections result in a landslide for the Sinn Fein party, who proceed to declare Ireland an independent republic. This action begins a three-year period of violence between Irish Volunteers fighting for freedom and British forces intent on crushing the nationwide rebellion.
Episode 10
Civil War
This examines the events that led to civil war after Ireland received dominion status in 1921, gaining freedom at the price of allegiance to the British Crown.
Episode 11
Freedom
Chronicles events from 1928 culminating in Ireland's self-declared independence from England in 1949. Included: De Valera's rise to power; the constitution of 1937; and World War II.
Episode 12
Six Counties
Traces the history of Northern Ireland from 1921 to the civil-rights marches of the late '60s.
Episode 13
Prisoners of History
Robert Kee concludes his series with the conflicts of the 1970s within the island of Ireland.