RTÉ commemorates the 100th anniversary of the death of Michael Collins
RTÉ has today unveiled content to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of Michael Collins that will be available on television, radio and online.
Asking difficult questions and using contemporary scientific analysis, former State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy fronts Cold Case Collins, a television docu-drama that re-opens the case of the assassination of Michael Collins broadcasting on RTÉ One on Wednesday 24th August at 9:35PM. His killing is one of the most contested events in Irish history, igniting acrimonious arguments that have endured ever since. In this formatted one-off, Cold Case Collins imagines the investigation that never happened, with an interrogation room set to uncover what happened in Béal na Bláth on August 22nd, 1922.
The former State Pathologist, Professor Marie Cassidy will chair a 21st century cold case comprising forensic scientists, criminal investigators, military strategists, archaeologists, archivists and historians. As viewers, we eavesdrop on the experts as they sift and filter through the evidence old and new, looking for answers to the questions that have ignited bar brawls for decades.
To mark the centenary of the assassination of Collins, RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland will broadcast from the Munster Arms Hotel, Bandon on Friday August 19th, formerly Lee’s Hotel, where Michael Collins was photographed alive for the last time, 30 minutes before he was killed in the ambush at Béal na Bláth. This special Morning Ireland will have an extended broadcast on the RTÉ digital news channel.
Detailing what we know of his death, Nationwide on 17th of August [RTÉ One Television] will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Michael Collins who, despite dying at the age of 32, helped alter the course of modern Irish history. Donal Byrne looks at Collins’s early life and influences and hears how he became a master political strategist and organiser.
On Monday 22nd August, Nationwide marks another pivotal date in Irish history: the 100th anniversary of An Garda Síochána. Born out of revolution and war, An Garda Síochána has evolved from being a force that, for many years, dealt with little very serious crime to an organisation that has had to adjust to dealing with organised crime and the complexities of modern Irish life.
Online, RTE.ie/history will continue to host a wide range of content relevant to this period. One of the most significant upcoming sections will feature the death of Michael Collins replete with interactive maps that trace the story of Collins’s last journey and assassination. This project is the product of a partnership between RTÉ History, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and The Atlas of the Irish Revolution edited by John Crowley, Donal Ó Drisceoil, Mike Murphy and John Borgonovo and published by the Cork University Press. A spread of essays, written by expert historians from Ireland and elsewhere, have long provided readers with accessible resources.
A catalogue of history-based drama and documentary is available on RTÉ Player, among it the award-winning Bloody Sunday, 1920, The Irish Revolution and 74 Days: The Hunger Strike of Terence MacSwiney. All future Decade of Centenaries programming will also be available live and on-demand on RTÉ Player.
Notes:
Morning Ireland Munster Arms Hotel – On RTÉ Radio 1 and our digital news channel from 7am to 9am, with an extended programme available on digital only to 9:30am. Guests include historians Professor Diarmaid Ferriter and Dr. Gabriel Doherty.
Cold Case Collins – RTÉ and independent production company Loosehorse shed new light on one of Irish history’s darkest corners. Key partners in the Cold Case Collins project include the Technical Bureau of An Garda Síochána, Forensic Science Ireland, the Irish Defence Forces and the National Museum of Ireland. Helen Collins, a descendant of the Collins family, has also actively contributed to the programme. The team behind Cold Case Collins has an exceptional track record in this genre, re-invigorating the telling of history for television through a number of award-winning, innovative ‘twisty-history’ concepts. Supported by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland’s Sound and Vision fund, this one-off is scheduled to broadcast on Wednesday August 24th at 9:35PM on RTÉ One.
RTÉ Player – Discover a catalogue of historical drama and documentaries on RTÉ Player. ‘Rebellion’ and ‘Resistance’ are two recent history-themed dramas while the documentaries ‘Bloody Sunday, 1920’, ‘The Irish Revolution’ and ‘74 Days: The Hunger Strike of Terence MacSwiney’, are also now available on RTÉ Player. Factual docs like ‘Border Lives’ and ‘Ireland’s Rising’, as well as the series of reflections on the revolutionary period in Ireland, led by Uachtarán na hÉireann, Michael D. Higgins – Machnamh 100 – are also available to stream. All upcoming Decade of Centenaries programming will be available live and on-demand on RTÉ Player.
Nationwide – To mark the 100th anniversary of the death of Michael Collins, on 17th August Nationwide looks back at the life of a man who, despite dying at the age of just 32, helped alter the course of modern Irish history. Donal Byrne has been looking at Collins’s early life and influences and hears how he became a master political strategist and organiser. He looks at some of the mythology surrounding Collins and also hears how the circumstances of his death during an ambush in West Cork remain a matter of intrigue to this day.
This year [2022], An Garda Síochána will hold a major public event to mark the 100th anniversary of its foundation. Born out of revolution and war, An Garda Siochana has evolved from being a force that, for many years, dealt with little very serious crime to an organisation that has had to adjust to dealing with organised crime and all of the complexities of modern Irish life.
On August 22nd Donal Byrne meets some of the women and men who serve in the force today – a force that has had its culture and diversity revolutionised in recent years.