RTÉ Celebrates International Women’s Day

RTÉ is marking this year’s International Women’s Day on Tuesday 8th March with a range of original content across all services, including a special new series on women’s health for RTÉ Player.

RTÉ PLAYER AND ONLINE

Launching on March 8, Women’s Health Lessons is a series of five digital-first shorts for RTÉ Player, featuring essential information on women’s health, presented by Dr. Monica Oikeh, GP (pictured). As a companion, rte.ie/lifestyle will focus on the challenge of finding adequate healthcare as a woman and look at the importance of financial independence and transparency for women.

Also on March 8, rte.ie/culture will stream a special concert from the National Concert Hall, in celebration of International Women’s Day.

RTÉ Player will also run curated rails and themes to mark the day:

• RTÉ Player Originals – Female Voices: Enjoy with some seriously funny women in Seriously, Sinead?, Influenced and The Doireann Project, How to Adult, Your One Nikita and many more.
• Drama – Strong Female Lead: Enjoy great performances from some strong female leads in Killing Eve, Smother, Gossip Girl, The Good Wife, Mrs Wilson, Pure Mule and many more
• Documentary – Iconic Women: Enjoy real stories of iconic and fearless women, such as Rachael Blackmore: A Grand Year,  Keelin Shanley: Faraway, Still Close and Catherine Corless in The Missing Children. There are lots of real women’s stories to delve into on RTÉ Player

RADIO

RTÉ lyric fm will mark International Women’s Day with a range of programming and features. Following last week’s live broadcast of the National Symphony Orchestra’s all-female composer programme, this Friday 11th March sees the world premiere of Emma O’Halloran’s “To Come Back to Earth”, live at 8pm as part of the RTÉ lyric fm Live transmission from Dublin’s National Concert Hall.

On The Full Score with Liz Nolan on 8th March, The Hathor Consort and Han Blaziková soprano perform music by women composers from the 17th century, including Isabella Leonard and Francesc Caccini, and later that day Lorcan Murray’s Classic Drive will feature music from female composers, artists and performers. Audiences can also listen back to yesterday’s Lyric Feature, where Claire Cunningham tells the stories of three female poets whose work has been rediscovered.

On 2fm, Jennifer Zamparelli will be speaking with humanitarian, explorer, and survivor, Silvia Vasquez-Lavado, hearing how she overcame child and adulthood trauma by finding healing in the mountains.

RTÉ Radio 1 presented a range of special features last weekend, ahead of International Women’s Day, which are now available to listen-back on the RTÉ Radio Player. On Countrywide, Ella McSweeney heard from Tara Farrell, who works in a women’s refuge, about the particular issues facing farming women in domestic violence. Mary Curtin, a PhD candidate, tells us about a survey into women and farming that she conducted for the Women In Agriculture Stakeholders Group. Countrywide also looks at Vivienne Duggan, the new head of the Vet Council; there’s a report on April Higgins, a Limerick farmer breeding some rare breed Swiss sheep; and Suzanne Campbell reports on the food producers who sell at the Derry Food Market.

Ahead of international Women’s Day, The Business looked at what businesses can do to promote women, and Clodagh Finn looks at historical examples of Irish women succeeding in business overseas.

Meanwhile, on Beo ar Éigean last Saturday, Siún, Sinéad and Áine discussed this year’s theme, #BreakTheBias, internalized misogyny, and the more positive parts of womanhood.

TELEVISION

RTÉ News2Day has been out and about talking to kids about the women in their lives and will share these stories to mark the day.

The two-part documentary, Ireland’s Dirty Laundry features survivors of Ireland’s so-called Magdalene Laundries as they share their experiences during and since their incarceration, and reveal how, even today, they are having to fight for the care, redress and acknowledgement that was promised to them. Episode 2 will air on RTÉ One on Wednesday 9th March, and on RTÉ Player and introduces present-day ramifications, as one of the principal witnesses, Elizabeth Coppin, is pursuing legal action to have what she experienced in the laundries recognised internationally as torture, facilitated by the Irish State. The outcome of that case is imminent.

SOCIAL

On @rte on Twitter, and across Facebook and Instagram, RTÉ will curate an extensive range of content for International Women’s Day.