Best Irish documentary series
A curated collection of popular documentary series from Ireland.
The Troubles: A Secret History (2019)
The Troubles: A Secret History (2019)
In a landmark 7-part series, Spotlight - Northern Ireland’s leading team of investigative journalists - reveal important new discoveries about the conflict known as the Troubles, in the 50th anniversary of the deployment of British troops to Northern Ireland.
The Irish Revolution (2019)
The Irish Revolution (2019)
The remarkable story of the Irish War of Independence (1919-1922) which resulted in the formation of the Irish Free State and became the model for other British colonies to gain their independence.
1916 Seachtar na Cásca (2010)
1916 Seachtar na Cásca (2010)
Seachtar na Cásca is a 7-part historical documentary series of immense importance. The series examines the lives of the 7 signatories of the Proclamation. In 1916 these seven men signed the proclamation knowing that they were signing their own death warrant. But what made these ordinary men do such a thing? What in their lives or nature made them decide that this was the proper move to make? Seachtar na Cásca looks for these answers. It will look at a part of history often thought about but sidestepped in recent years. This event, the coming together of like-minded individuals to plan, plot and proceed with the 1916 Rising is still affecting the lives of us all on the island of Ireland to this day.
First Dates Ireland (2016)
First Dates Ireland (2016)
Cupid’s arrow hits Irish shores this month when the brand new series of First Dates Ireland airs on RTÉ2. The restaurant doors will swing open bringing singletons from all over the country together in the hope of finding love.
Spooked Ireland (2023)
Spooked Ireland (2023)
Medium Chris Fleming, paranormal researcher Ryan O'Neill and parapsychologist Evelyn Hollow join presenter Vogue Williams to investigate haunted locations in Ireland.
Only Fools Buy Horses (0)
Only Fools Buy Horses (0)
Hector O hEochagain rises to the challenge of becoming a successful racehorse owner. This six part series follows the fortunes of confirmed gambler/presenter Hector Ó hEochagáin when he enters the exclusive world of horseracing as the rookie owner of a thoroughbred horse named "Traverse".
The Great House Revival (2018)
The Great House Revival (2018)
Architect Hugh Wallace, follows six homeowners who have taken on the task of a lifetime, to transform these derelict properties into comfortable modern homes fit for the 21st century.All over Ireland, there are derelict properties quite literally rotting to the ground. Country estates, farmhouses, cottages, Georgian buildings – places that once buzzed with life lying empty and falling into disrepair.This new series, presented by architect Hugh Wallace follows six homeowners who have taken on the task of a lifetime, to transform these derelict properties into comfortable modern homes fit for the 21st century.Filmed across two years, the series follows every aspect of these mammoth projects as the homes are restored to their former glory. Every high, low and missed deadline is documented as these intrepid homeowners do their bit to save a little piece of our heritage.From a 110 roomed country estate in Co Mayo, to a 15th century crumbling tower house in Cork, a Cavan Schoolhouse and a North Inner Dublin City Victorian townhouse, each property is steeped in history and presents its own unique challenges when it comes to restoration. With budgets ranging from 30k to a hundreds of thousands of euro, the series features stunning reveals and projects of epic scale, showing just what is possible when homeowners take on the seemingly impossible.
The Secret Millionaire IRL (2011)
The Secret Millionaire IRL (2011)
The Secret Millionaire is a reality television show, in which millionaires go incognito into impoverished communities and agree to give away tens of thousands of euro. Members of the community are told the cameras are present to film a documentary
Craft Master (2011)
Craft Master (2011)
Craft Master – the search for Ireland’s next big exportThe series is broken down into six shows with the first five shows focusing on glass blowing with Róisín de Buitléar (Ireland’s best known glass artist), ceramics with Colm de Rís (one of Ireland’s biggest exports of pottery), weaving with Beth Moran (a master weaver originally from the States but living on the remote but picturesque Clare Island), metal with blacksmith Michael Budd and wood turning with Glenn Lucas (one of the fastest wood turners in the world.Three apprentices will each week battle it out in their chosen practice to win a place in the final. The final show will crown one of the final five apprentices (one from ceramics, glass blowing, wood turning, textiles and metal) Craft Master 2011 and the lucky winner will be given a stand at Show Case, the international trade show for Irish producers and with the Irish Craft Industry being worth almost half a billion euro annually it’s all to play for.
Marty's Big Picture Show (2023)
Marty's Big Picture Show (2023)
Marty Morrissey and Liz Gillis uncover the work of Ireland’s photographers. Focusing on a different archive, they travel the country, uncovering the stories behind the pictures.
Genealogy Roadshow (Ireland) (2011)
Genealogy Roadshow (Ireland) (2011)
The Roadshow's crack historical and genealogical team help people trace their family's roots and discover surprising stories from the past. People from all four provinces got to know the truth about tragic events, infamous ancestors and famous cousins.RTE's The Genealogy Roadshow is now an international hit series. PBS in America broadcasts a US version of the show.
Des Bishop: Under The Influence (2013)
Des Bishop: Under The Influence (2013)
In Des Bishop: Under the Influence, Bishop tackles one of the great taboos of Irish society and explores the Irish relationship with alcohol and other addictive behaviours.Bishop’s parents sent him to Ireland aged 14 in 1990 because, in his own words, he had ‘developed an unhealthy relationship with alcohol’. Having spent a few years boarding in St Peter’s College Wexford and then going on to study History in UCC Des finally decided, aged 19, to ditch alcohol and has been tee-total ever since.Contributors to Under the Influence include: Diarmaid Ferriter, frontline medics such as Dr Chris Luke, Dr Frank Murray, counsellors Austin Prior and Frances Black, politicians Roisin Shortall TD and Ming Flanagan TD, comedians Willa White and Colm O’Regan.
Rare Breed: A Farming Year (2012)
Rare Breed: A Farming Year (2012)
Rare Breed provides an in-depth look into the successes and struggles of farming life in Ireland, throughout a calendar year. A total of 18 farming families from across the country are taking part in the series, which gives a unique insight into all aspects of farming life and the people who work our land – from beef, dairy, sheep, pig and poultry farms, to tomato and organic vegetable producers.
Women on the Inside (2014)
Women on the Inside (2014)
A two-part documentary series, which depicts life inside Ireland's two female prisons. In Ireland today over four thousand people are in prison and less than two hundred of them are women.This documentary provides viewers a snapshot of prison life in Ireland today and allow us to meet the women who end up serving time in our jails and those who work in them.Produced by Midas Productions, their cameras entered the Dóchas Centre in Dublin's Mountjoy Prison Campus in June 2013 and secured unprecedented access to chart the lives of the prisoners locked up in Ireland's only exclusively female prison. Women prisoners from 18-years-old and above are housed in this medium security, purpose built centre.It is a revealing, frank and true insight into life as a female prisoner in Ireland. You can meet every type of woman in Mountjoy; from the homeless, impoverished, drug addicted repeat offenders to white-collar criminals, drug mules and murderers.This observational documentary shows, through the eyes of the prisoners we meet, the issues facing both them and the prison service. Women serving time for robbery, manslaughter and drug smuggling give us an insight not only into prison life, but also into the lives that lead them to prison and indeed into Irish society today.
No Béarla (2007)
No Béarla (2007)
No Béarla, is a four part series in which Manchán Magan attempts to live his life (eat, travel, socialise, find accommodation, shop, etc) through Irish. It is a journey to find out whether the 1.6 million people who claim they can speak Irish in the national census really can and whether one can survive in Ireland today without speaking a word of English.In the course of his travels Manchán gets kicked out of bars, served the wrong food, given the wrong directions, the wrong clothes, the wrong haircut. He gets abused, insulted, treated as an imbecile. When his car breaks down he finds he can’t get a mechanic - directory enquiries simply laugh at him. Likewise, he gets jeered at trying to chat up girls in a nightclub in Donegal. On the Shankill rd, he is warned that he’ll end up in hospital if he continues speaking the language. In Galway he tries busking, singing the filthiest, most debauched lyrics he can think of to see if anyone will understand - old ladies smile and tap their feet merrily as he serenades them with filth. In Killarney he stands outside a bank, promising passers-by huge sums of money if they help him rob it, but again no one understands. He may as well be speaking Kling-on. In short, No Béarla is a thousand mile road trip around Ireland involving a lot of pointing, miming and desperate gesticulation. It casts a cold eye on the state of Ireland’s first official language - watch it and weep, or laugh . . .
Baz's Culture Clash (2009)
Baz's Culture Clash (2009)
Baz's Culture Clash is a new series on RTÉ Two in which Baz Ashmawy takes a humorous, and at times dark, journey into six very different worlds, be it reborn Hells Angels, celebrity look-a-likes, or America's new sexual revolution -The Silver Ring Thing.Along the way Baz ends up cooking up road kill he scooped up 20 minutes before, letting off some pent-up anger during a session of scream therapy, hanging out with an ex-LA gang leader who preaches the word of the Lord using Hip Hop, going under hypnosis with a secret coven of witches in a small Irish town and getting a glimpse of UFOs flying over Donegal.
Dúshlán 1881 - Living the Eviction (2013)
Dúshlán 1881 - Living the Eviction (2013)
On the 28th December,1881, 13 families were evicted from their homes in the village of Carrowmenagh, Co. Donegal. Not able to pay the rent mothers, fathers, children and grandparents were all flung out from their simple cottages or long houses onto the road by agents of the landlord. Some found refuge with relatives locally, others left for America. Evictions like these were common in Ireland from Famine times right up to Independence and even today eviction, losing your home, is still highly emotive and a most traumatic event in anyone's life.The Challenge of 1881 or DÚSHLÁN 1881 - is to bring this history to life. Two families live for 3 days and 3 nights as their ancestors would have lived in the late 19th century. We tell the story of eviction through their experiences.For this series - we have traced descendants of the original evictees and one family - the McLaughlins - return from America to take up this unique challenge to live in the footsteps of their own ancestors. For some of them, it's their first ever visit to Ireland. For all of them it is an emotional reconnection with their family's past.The other family, Muintir John Ghráinne have a shorter journey, travelling only from Rann na Feirste, but nevertheless, they typify the hardy families who were forced onto poorer land, an internal migration which so often has been forgotten. Those made landless and displaced within the country often had to find alternative ways of earning what was a subsistence living. Muintir Uí Ghráinne want to explore their own family history and honour the resilience and ingenuity of their forbears.Presented by popular Donegal broadcaster, Rónán Mac Aodha Bhuí, Dúshlán 1881 Living The Eviction is scheduled to broadcast on RTÉ One as a landmark series of Seachtain Na Gaeilge and is part funded by the Irish Language Broadcast Fund.Experts from a range of disciplines from across Ireland specialising in 19th Century history, provide the context of the
Baz's Extreme Worlds (2010)
Baz's Extreme Worlds (2010)
Baz's Extreme Worlds see Baz Ashmawy immerse himself in very different but extreme and tough worlds. In Programme One, Baz travels to one of America's highest security prisons in the town of McAlester. In other shows, Baz spends time with the New York Fire Brigade, goes on board a fishing boat to experience life as an Irish fisherman, delves into the world of cage fighting in the north of Ireland, lives with a survivalist in the snow deserts of the north of Sweden, and travels with the Irish army to Chad.
#Trending (2014)
#Trending (2014)
#Trending is a feisty and fun fashion show presented by Ireland's "Most Stylish Man": Darren Kennedy. #TRENDING will keep you plugged into fashion, pop culture, street style, beauty and celebrity trends. Every episode will feature insider tips on how to achieve the latest designer looks and celebrities will share their style secrets. But most of all #TRENDING is exactly what the title suggests: a fashion series that’s as much about you as it is about celebrity, a series that’s as much online as it is offline and a series that creates a following rather than follows.
Francis Brennan’s Grand Indian Tour (2016)
Francis Brennan’s Grand Indian Tour (2016)
Francis Brennan, star of RTÉ’s At Your Service, is Ireland’s best-known hotelier. He’s also a man with a serious passion for travel.This summer he’s putting his 5 star day job on hold and taking 12 paying guests on a surprise trip of a lifetime – to India!Francis has planned a 1000km round trip of India’s Golden Triangle – beginning in the capital city Delhi, then onto Agra, home of the majestic Taj Mahal. From there the group travels onto the ‘Pink City’ of Jaipur, followed by a tiger safari in Ranthambhore National Park.With temperatures hitting a record breaking 51 degrees the heat is on for Francis. Can he stay cool as he deals with fistfuls of facts and figures and a jam-packed 24/7 schedule that leaves no room for error? Not to mention the threat of Delhi belly!
The Airport Up in Knock (2016)
The Airport Up in Knock (2016)
New series. Documentary going behind the scenes of Ireland West Airport Knock. Fanatical Mayo supporters fly out to London alongside their heroes for a match.
Kevin McGahern's America (2016)
Kevin McGahern's America (2016)
Kevin McGahern’s America is a brand new series in which Kevin explores various aspects of life in America—gun rights, intimacy in the digital age and whether you really can choose your family.
David Gray: Ireland's Greatest Hit (2020)
David Gray: Ireland's Greatest Hit (2020)
The story of how David Gray, a broke Welsh singer, made an album in his spare room that became the biggest selling of all time in Ireland.
Reeling in the Years (1999)
Reeling in the Years (1999)
Each episode looks back at the news and events of a particular year, using news archive footage, along with subtitles as the means of narration, to recount notable Irish and international events of the time.
The Irish Civil War (2022)
The Irish Civil War (2022)
The 3-part documentary series The Irish Civil War tells the epic and often challenging story of the origins, conflict and legacy of the civil war that took place in Ireland in 1922 and 1923.Narrated by Brendan Gleeson, produced in partnership with University College Cork by RTÉ Cork as part of the Decade of Centenary commemorations and based on UCC’s “mammoth and magnificent” Atlas of the Irish Revolution, this documentary series features extensive archive film footage, photographs and materials, interviews with leading academics, archive interviews with contemporary participants and witnesses, firsthand witness accounts read by actors, detailed and dynamic graphic maps based on those featured in the Atlas of the Irish Revolution, and stunning cinematography of the very locations where events took place.
Raised by the Village (2019)
Raised by the Village (2019)
Tells the story of two city families who need significant help with parenting and are taking drastic steps to get it. In a last ditch attempt to rein in their kids, they move them to the heart of the countryside, allowing them to be ‘raised by the village’. Under the guidance of one of Ireland’s top child psychotherapists, Stella O’Malley, the pair get a dose of teenage life Irish village style. The question posed is whether the two kids will benefit from part of a tight-knit community where the local adults keep a very close eye on goings on.
After Braveheart (2015)
After Braveheart (2015)
A docudrama telling the story of the events that unfolded when a Scottish army led by Robert Bruce tried to drive the English out of Ireland 700 years ago.
