Radharc


Radharc was an Irish television documentary series broadcast by RTÉ Television from 1962 until 1996. The documentaries were created by a film unit funded by the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid, in anticipation of the inauguration of television broadcasting in Ireland by RTÉ in December 1961.

History and operations

Initially founded in the late 1950s by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin, the Radharc film unit was staffed exclusively by Catholic priests, including the founders Joe Dunn and Desmond Forristal, as well as Peter Lemass. The Irish language word means vision, view, or panorama.
Radharc produced over 400 programmes, with filming occurring in over 75 countries. It was also the first independently produced series on RTÉ Television.
Fr. Dermod McCarthy, editor of RTÉ Religious Programmes from 1991–2008, worked as a producer for Radharc from 1965–1982. Others who worked for Radharc include Fr. Tom Stack and Liam O'Rinn.
Radharc Films ceased production following the death of Joe Dunn in 1996.

Awards

The series won its only Jacob's Television Award in 1963, as Most Enterprising Programme.
Radharc has been the subject of academic research, including about the changing representation of priests on Irish television. The Radharc Squad produced and directed by Ruán Magan for Tyrone Productions in 2013, was a two part documentary on Radharc. It was shown on RTÉ and won the Irish Film & Television Academy "Best Current Affairs" prize in 2013.
The Radharc Trust is a charity which was formed to maintain and oversee the archive of Radharc materials.

Documentaries

Irish documentaries