Documentary Information
Lecture 1 (Part 1 of So You thought you knew....)
Entitled So You thought you knew...... Saint Patrick is the second of a three part history from the BBC that goes to the heart of some of the most potent symbols in Ireland's collective memory. It is been shown here as an example as to who a particular person or event can be taken and totally modified to such an extent that the original is hardly recognisable. In the case of Patrick, we will see that much that has been written about him has been done to describe places where he should have went rather than places he had actually been too.
The series is presented by Jim McDowell in an enviable clear and engaging manner. It attempts to show how the Nationalist and Unionist people of Ireland 'own' St Patrick. It demonstrates how living history and legend are often at odds with academic history. Now even historians are aware of the ways in which our historical memory is an admixture of popular culture, public orthodoxy and academic history. Patrick is an object lesson in just how an original historical fact acquires layers of value and meaning in the course of time
In a beautiful modulated intervention, Ian Paisley conveyed his sense of Patrick as a historical figure (a real man) and his own belief that Patrick, where he alive today, would buttonhole the presenter to preach the gospel in Donegal Square. The same point was made by a succession of archaeologists and historians; the historical Patrick is also the legendary figure who has been invoked in different ways across intervening centuries - right down to his presence at the centre of an evolving tradition of street theatre from Belfast to New York. Patrick now represents both Irishness and Christianity in Ireland which are contested ideas. Historians in the documentary give us some reassurance by showing that Patrick's legacy was always contested by the powerful forces seeking to dominate Ulster and Ireland - such as the O'Neill in the seventh century and the Normans in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Lecture 2 (Volume 1 of Ireland: A television history)
Entitled A Nation once again. It gives a history of Ireland up to the Flight of the Earls in 1607. It is a very useful survey and the purpose of it is to show how Ireland, from pre-history to the 17th century, was invaded by a number of different diverse groups.
Be sure to watch out of the use of the term Irish.
The series, which consists of 13 one hour programs was created in the 1980s mainly by the BBC with RTE taking a minor role in it,
The series was written and presented by Robert Kee. Who is a journalist, broadcaster and writer of books. He is most famous for the Panorama and the This Week TV programs whereby he pioneered the methods of investigative journalism. Later on, he was responsible for bringing the ITV lunchtime news to its present lunchtime spot.
He served as a bomber pilot during World War II and was shot down over Germany where he then spent a few years in a POW camp. After trying many times to escape he was eventually successful and made his way back to the UK. His exploits were later made into a book and a film.
As an author, he has written many books on Irish history and politics. Perhaps his most famous was ‘The Green Flag: A history of Irish nationalism’, a three volume work (1) Ourselves Alone; (2) The most distressful country; (3) The Bold Fenian Men.
He later took the case of the Guildford ‘Bombers’; the Maguire family under his wing and campaigned to have them released. He published a book on the matter, entitled; Trial and error: The Maguires, the Guildford pub bombing and British Justice.
The TV series he presented was based on his book of the same name.
His reasons for making the documentary series were explained in his introduction to part one when he stated that history was indeed a difficult prison to escape from, and the history of Ireland is as difficult as any. It is not the business of an historian even of a television historian, to propose how escape should be affected. Yet change is the business of history and the historian has a vested interest in seeing change come about.
He further elaborated on his reasons for making the series;
Looking into the past Irish troubles stirs up new ones. A knowledge of the truth is never dangerous through ignorance may be so. Even more dangerous is that half knowledge of history that enables political intriguers to influence the patterns of their dupes, by misleading them with garbled accounts of the past.
Key held that the past, and garbled accounts of it are the root cause of the troubles in Northern Ireland (remember he was writing this during the height of the troubles). Ungarbling the Irish past was the reason for his TV series.
Click this link for more information on Robert Kee and his Ireland a television history
http://www.bbcfactual.co.uk/ireland.htm
Lecture 3 (Part 1 of So You thought you knew....)
Entitled So You thought you knew...... the plantation is the first of a three part history from the BBC that goes to the heart of some of the most potent symbols in Ulster's collective memory.
The series is presented by Jim McDowell in an enviable clear and engaging manner. It attempts to show how the Nationalist and Unionist people of Ireland 'own' King William of Orange, St Patrick, or the Plantations. It demonstrates ho living history and legend are often at odds with academic history.
Two Radhrc Documentaries from its Two Traditions series first brought out in the late eighties and early nineties.
I am going to show you two of them for the following reason.
They are in total contrast to the previous one I showed which must be considered revisionist in its interpretation.
They will serve to depict what the traditional Catholic Nationalist genre holds to have happened in relation to two events.
The first of these events is the 1641 rebellion while the second is Oliver Cromwell’s involvement in Ireland.
By the end of these documentaries you should have an understanding of what I meant by there is no such thing as history only interpretation.
Things to watch out for.
In the first of the documentaries relating to the 1641 rebellion RTE assembled a number of the most eminent historians of seventeenth century Ireland.
Andrew Boyd, Aidan Clarke, Nicholas Canny, Ciaran Brady and Margaret McCurtain.
Their reason for so doing is that the object of the documentary was to show that the Protestant interpretation of the 1641 rebellion was all wrong and that what they claimed to have happened never happened at all.
These historians are interviewed extensively with the purpose of lending credence to dispelling the myth of the 1641 massacre.
NONE OF THESE HISTORIANS are used in the second of the documentaries because the intention in the second one is to depict Cromwell as the cruellest ENGLISH AND PROTESTANT invader ever to come to Ireland.
These historians in their wisdom would perhaps have offered mitigating circumstances or put forward evidence contrary to what the Radhrc team wanted to portray. Consequently they were not used. Instead one or two people who are described as ‘Local Historians’ are used to reiterate what the programs wants to portray.
You will also hear the terms Catholic and Irish used together at all times.
What about Roman Catholics, who were they? These are not even mentioned in these documentaries.
Protestants are referred to always as English except when they are referring to obviously Gaelic families who had become Protestant – these are dismissed as nominal protestants.
What about nominal Irish Catholics. Did these not exist or where all Irish Catholics such fervent church goers that they were no nominal ones –i.e. catholic in name only.
Finally try to come to an understanding of when did one become Irish? Can you be Irish and be a non Catholic???
Thee last confusion in these documentaries is that there is a terrible confusion between religious and nationalist issues.
Lecture 7 (Volume 2 of Ireland: A television history)
Entitled No surrender. It gives a history of Ireland from the plantation of Ulster to the Battle of the Boyne. It is a very useful survey and the purpose of it is to show how Protestant Ireland came together against the Catholic threats in 1641 and in the 1690s.
Be sure to watch out of the use of the term Irish.
Click this link for more information on Robert Kee and his Ireland a television history
http://www.bbcfactual.co.uk/ireland.htm