Documentary On One - Rté Documentaries

Dray horses were animals bred for hard heavy tasks like pulling a heavy load. Into the 1900s, they were used for practical work pulling wagons or ploughing fields. The dray-men were part of Dublin city street life delivering coal, and working the fruit and vegetable markets. (First Broadcast 1979)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Having been inspired by the lifestyle of a group of Tibetan monks visiting the West of Ireland, Sonia Kelly founded the Cloona Health Centre in 1969 - a detox retreat located in Westport, Co Mayo. In exile in the UK, the monks took part in the renovation of the Cloona Mill community project, before their visas were revoked. (First Broadcast 1979)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Four former nuns talk about life in the convent, and life outside it.  These are women from the organisation Fáilte, a support for former nuns who now find themselves in financial and/or emotional difficulties.  Their new life can present major problems. (First Broadcast 1998)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Galway author Desmond Hogan’s award winning literature was praised from the outset. He published The Ikon Maker in 1976. His reputation went from strength to strength after moving to the UK in the 1980's. Yet he began to fade from public view and much of his life has been spent in transit in America and Eastern Europe. (First Broadcast 2005)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Limerick man Sean Bourke was sentenced to 3 years in Daingean reformatory, in 1947 for stealing bananas at age 12. Having moved to UK in 1961, he continued with crime and was sentenced to 7 years in prison. On his release from Wormwood Scrubs, he hatched a plan to help his friend George Blake, to escape from the same prison. (First Broadcast 1983)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A look at the life of Charles Bianconi and his coach company, and his influence on the modern transport system (Broadcast 1975).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Huguenots were French Protestants. In a conflict in 1562 a number of Huguenots were massacred at Vassy in France. King Henry IV signed the Edict of Nantes which ended the Wars of Religion in 1598, but Louis XIV revoked it in 1685. Immigration affected many Huguenots, moving to Europe, including Ireland. (First Broadcast 1985)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An account of the late instrument maker and repairer, Willy Hofmann, whose family opened a music shop in Dublin in 1919.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This documentary was recorded in Belfast against a backdrop of recent riots, but they may as well be a million miles away. Judith comes from a good family, went to a good school and is attending university in Glasgow. Judith's best friend is Jesus. (2005)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tommy Walsh talks about his wife Jo's last days (Broadcast 1995)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blessington is a beautiful town in West Wicklow full of history and culture. It’s a busy town, where important things happen. Norris Davidson lives close to this rural community and spent the year of 1960 meeting the local people, documenting their lives, and learning about the town and its history. (First Broadcast 1961)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Irish Fairs are where you meet and trade. But from the late 1700s until the 1940s, hiring fairs also took place - a fair where farmer and labourer arranged work - an employment exchange! This is the story of the one in Strabane Co. Tyrone (Broadcast 1995)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dubarry’s shoe factory in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway was set up in 1937. Shoemakers were brought in from Leicester in the U.K. to work at the new factory. The widow of a shoemaker who moved to Ireland to work in Dubarry’s recalls the difficulties of immigration. She was careful to not discuss politics or religion with locals. (First Broadcast 1991)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In July 1980, Joseph Brennan, the Fianna Fail TD in Donegal, died - triggering a by-election. Four candidates battled it out. Clement Coughlan of Fianna Fail won - but his tenure was cut short. In 1983, he was killed in a traffic accident (Broadcast 1980)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The hard won battle for the right to fish on Lough Neagh, which belonged to a succession of aristocratic families, until they were bought out by a local co-operative in 1972 (Broadcast 1978).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Charles Stewart Parnell was an Irish Nationalist who led the fight for Irish Home Rule in the late 1800's. This documentary pieces together first hand accounts of Parnell and his life. Parnell was an Anglo Irish protestant born in Wicklow (Broadcast 1962)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1904, Fr. John Creagh gave two sermons that expressed unfounded hostility towards Limerick's Jewish community. This led to boycott and intimidation, forcing the them out of the city within a year (Broadcast 1998).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The land where ice and fire dominates the way of life - a perspective on Iceland as seen by those who go to visit, and the side of life as experienced by those who live there (Broadcast 1978).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The story of 23 yr old Wexford man, Michael Murphy who lost his life in the Indian Ocean tsunami. Michael's mother, Theresa, his sister Anne Maria and his two brothers Paul and Kevin, speak publicly for the first time. (2005) The story of 23 yr old Wexford man, Michael Murphy who lost his life in the Indian Ocean tsunami. Michael's mother, Theresa, his sister Anne Maria and his two brothers Paul and Kevin, speak publicly for the first time. (2005)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A first hand look at the world famous nature trail in Clinton Valley, New Zealand (Broadcast 1975).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.