10 great documentaries coming to RTÉ this summer

Irish Independent

4 days ago

This week, our national broadcaster unveiled its slate of summer documentaries – here are 10 of the best ones to look out for in the coming weeks and months.
Unless stated, channels and broadcast dates/times are yet to be confirmed.
THE PHONE BOX BABIES
In 1960, three newborn babies were found abandoned, two in phone boxes, one in a car, in Drogheda, Dundalk and Belfast. Each was adopted and raised in different parts of Ireland. Fifty years later, the three learn of their unique connection to one another and embark on a journey to find out their identities, where they came from and why they were abandoned (RTÉ One, Wednesday, July 2, 9.35pm).
Heavyweight two-parter telling the story of the role played by a group of Irish-Americans during the conflict in Northern Ireland, ranging from fundraising to propagandising to gunrunning.
NORAID became the republican movement's voice in the United States, gaining the ear of candidate Bill Clinton during the 1992 presidential primaries (RTÉ One, Wednesday, July 9, 9.35pm).​
DON'T FORGET TO REMEMBER
Filmmaker Ross Killeen, who made Love Yourself Today, about Damien Dempsey and his fans, takes an unconventional approach to charting the emotive journey of the artist Asbestos through the slow decay of his mother's memories as they disintegrate due to her advancing Alzheimer's disease.​
THE LAST MISSIONARIES
Bryan Dobson and Dearbhail McDonald trace the evolution of the Irish missionary movement, from religious colonialism to heroic acts of self-sacrifice and philanthropy, to tawdry scandals of abuse and cover-up. With almost all of Ireland's last missionaries now elderly, what does the future, if there is one, hold?
THE BREAKING WAVE: THE BUDDHISTS OF BEARA
In 1973, Peter and Harriet Cornish founded Dzogchen Beara, a spiritual haven on West Cork's stunning Beara peninsula. In 1994, they appointed renowned Buddhist teacher Sogyal Rinpoche as its spiritual director. Two decades later, the community was rocked by revelations that Rinpoche was a serial sexual predator. Maurice O'Brien's film, shot over five years, follows its efforts to come to terms with the scandal.
HOME: THE STORY OF ZAK MORADI
Zak Moradi was born in a camp in war-torn Iraq on the day the Gulf War began. His family fled their home 20 years ago to build a new life in Ireland, where Zak found fellowship through his passion for playing hurling for the local GAA club. This emotional film follows him as he returns to Iraq to reconnect with his past.
MRS ROBINSON
Told in former president Mary Robinson's own words, this is the story of year 50-year fight for justice and equality, on the streets, in the courts, at the ballot box and in backroom corridors of power.
Told in former president Mary Robinson's own words, this is the story of year 50-year fight for justice and equality
PRAY FOR OUR SINNERS
Sinéad O'Shea, director of the recent Edna O'Brien documentary Blue Road, returns to her hometown, Navan, to explore the stories of a handful of extraordinary figures who resisted the Catholic Church's oppressive rule in decades past.
These include a woman who refused to give her baby up for adoption, a nine-year-old boy who dared to speak out against his teachers' physical abuse, and a couple who established a family planning service and campaigned for the abolition of corporal punishment.
FOOTBALL FAMILIES
Three-part series featuring some of Ireland's best young footballing talent as they chase the dream of making it as professionals. It was filmed behind the scenes of Shelbourne's academy as the 2024 league-winning season reached its climax.
SIGHTLESS CINEMA
A year in the life of the Sightless Cinema audio drama network, a group of blind and visually impaired people who've been creating audio dramas for performance in theatres and cinemas, as they rehearse and perform their new show across Ireland.