Katie Hannon explores the shelves of Ireland’s National Archives in new series

The Records Show starts Sunday at 6.30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.

Katie Hannon delves into the secrets held in Ireland’s National Archives in a new series of The Records Show starting this Sunday on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player. Over three episodes, Katie digs out previously undisturbed documents from the hundreds of thousands of records held at the National Archives before heading across the country to follow the trail of the stories behind them.

The Records Show takes Katie from the surface of the moon to Steven Spielberg’s County Wicklow bunker and then to the epicenter of Ireland’s international sports car industry – Castleblaney, County Monaghan. She hears of a  no-nonsense judge and his moral vigilantes, a plan to turn Nelson’s Pillar into Ireland’s Statue of Liberty, an illegal arrival who has lunch with the President of Ireland and both Lennon and McCartney turn up in the first episode.

The stories from the Archives that feature in The Records Show are about astronauts, rock stars, Hollywood actors and royal banquets. But more than anything, the series is about people and the lives lived in Ireland.

Presenter of The Records Show, Katie Hannon said: “Having thoroughly enjoyed working on the first series of The Records Show, I couldn’t wait to get back into the National Archives to start working on a fresh batch of files for the second series. And with so much material to choose from, our research unearthed documents that touched on every aspect of Irish life over the past century and before, from high politics and legal drama, to family secrets and national tragedy. Along the way, there were some extraordinary discoveries and some genuinely revealing insights. We were also privileged to get exclusive access to the extraordinary operation behind the much-anticipated publication of the 1926 census next year. I can only hope that people enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it.”

Director at The National Archives of Ireland, Orlaith McBride said: “The National Archives is delighted to partner with RTÉ in bringing a new series of The Records Show to audiences this autumn. With over 60 million records under our roof, the National Archives is truly a treasure trove of Irish history dating back over centuries and up to the present day. The Records Show lifts the lid on untold stories revealed through the records. It delves deep into these documents tracing how they impacted the lives of people across Ireland. The stories range from the quirky to the serious and will allow audiences to understand better the role of the National Archives as the memory of the State.”

Series two of The Records Show starts this Sunday at 6.30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player. The series is produced by Midas Productions and is commissioned by RTÉ in association with the National Archives and is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

ENDS

For more information or preview links please contact:

Sarah Neville, RTÉ Communications.