UP IN SMOKE
(2006)
Programme 1 (26 minutes)
UP IN SMOKE – Ireland’s Smoking Ban
This film examines, in an informative but entertaining way, the impact of the introduction of the public smoking ban in Ireland in March 2004, in the context of the original health awareness campaign launched by the Irish Government two years prior to this.
It effectively captures the progression of this radical public health measure, and it's surprising success, in a country renowned for it's pub culture. Pitching comments from campaigners, health professionals and politicians together with public reaction, the programme clearly shows the real depth of feeling that this ban aroused, both for and against the smoking ban, and the co-operative effort of civil and political society that, against all expectation, successfully brought it about.
As the first country to institute a nationwide ban on smoking in workplaces (including all bars and restaurants), the Republic of Ireland is seen as a leader on tobacco control policies.
In light of the growing number of countries who have already introduced or are considering the introduction of similar smoking bans, the overwhelming success of the Irish initiative makes this documentary all the more timely.
Programme 2 (24 minutes)
UP IN SMOKE - Tobacco & The World
As indoor smoking bans become the norm all over the world, this programme looks at the increasingly questionable place of Tobacco in the world today.
Taking it’s cue from the successful introduction of a general smoking ban in Ireland in 2004(all indoor workplaces), this revealing documentary examines the Tobacco Industry’s track record on smoking and health, and looks at the nature of tobacco addiction and youth smoking.
With incisive contributions from Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, himself an ex-employee of the U.S. Tobacco Industry, and the subject of the recent Hollywood movie, The Insider, it leaves little room for doubt about that industry’s complicity in covering up the truth about the health dangers of smoking.
As smoking levels fall in The West, the Tobacco Industry is actively looking for new markets, particularly in Third World countries . However, the World Health Organisation’s International Tobacco Control Treaty, the FCTC, seems set to bring about radical changes in tobacco control polices worldwide.
Up in Smoke- Tobacco & The World is both an informative and reflective piece about important cultural changes taking place in humanity’s relation to tobacco, after almost 400 years of man’s addiction to this dreaded weed.
SCULPTING LIFE
The work of Rowan Gillespie (2007) 52 minutes
Rowan Gillespie has been one of Ireland’s most successful artists for many years. His unique bronze cast sculptures appear in private collections, in public places and global corporations. He has brilliantly depicted some great Irish writers and poets, like James Joyce, W.B. Yeats and Gerald Manley Hopkins, to significant universal appeal.
He is a one-man band. He firmly believes that the entire process of sculptural expression, from hastily scribbled concept to modelling in clay, bronzed casting and welding through to installation, is a single organic process that can only be handled by one man alone. His refined bronze casting techniques, based on the ancient lost-wax process, have enabled him to portray form with extreme, heightened drama.
Filmed over an eighteen month period in six different countries, Sculpting Life is the first film exploration of Rowan Gillespie’s intriguing career. This documentary from Moondance Productions charts the birth of an important new international sculpture commission, brought to life by the hands of this internationally renowned Irish artist.
Perhaps his best know work is at Dublin Quay, Famine – stark, stricken, emaciated figures representing the plight of forced migrants throughout history. In 2006 he has been making a series of new figures to depict these exiles as they might have arrived in Canada 160 years ago. We follow Rowan as he explores their proposed location in Toronto’s Ireland Park at Bathurst Quay, where thousands of refugees, escaping the famine in Ireland, ultimately landed, only to perish in the fever sheds.
Given unique access by the artist, the film makers have watched the creation of one of these figures from beginning to completion. This figure itself was inspired by Pius Mulvey, one of the central characters featured in international author Joseph O’Connor’s best selling novel, The Star Of The Sea, set in the famine years. The greatest praise for this sculpture is provided by Joseph O’Connor himself, when he is shown it by the artist for the first time.
The documentary follows Rowan as he travels to Norway on a visit to the Munch Museum where the work of his greatest inspiration, Edvard Munch, is hung. In Holland, Belgium, Liechtenstein and Colorado, some of Gillespie’s other beautiful sculptures are on display and are appreciated as lovingly by him, as a father affectionately tends to his children.
Ultimately, however, it is the artist’s own articulate reflections on his life and art that combine to form a documentary that is literate, discursive, enlightening and visually rich.
The Ireland Park Famine sculptures will be unveiled this June 21st at Bathurst Quay, Toronto, by the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese.
THE STRANGE CASE OF THE IRISH CROWN JEWELS
(2003 54 MINS)
In 1907 the theft of the Irish Crown Jewels, a priceless collection of diamonds and rubies, became one of the most mysterious and sensational robberies of the early 20th century. Today it still remains as one of the great unsolved crimes of that era.
In this intriguing case, the ensuing investigation uncovered everything from political intrigue, sexual shenanigans at the highest echelons of the British aristocracy and betrayal of friendships. Everything except the real culprit of this audacious crime.
In 1907, the Irish Crown Jewels, “my jewels” as King Edward V11 called them, vanished without trace from the safe in Britain’s most impregnable Irish stronghold, Dublin Castle. These priceless gems, presented in 1900 by King William 1V to the Chivalrous Order of the Knights of St. Patrick, were stolen on the eve of King Edward V11’s visit to Dublin, much to the embarrassment of the monarch himself and the Crown’s officials in the Dublin administration.
In the following months and years, several investigations were undertaken, one of which was headed by Chief Inspector John Kane of Scotland Yard, all aimed at identifying the culprit who perpetrated this audacious crime. Inevitably, the conclusion most often reached was the robbery had been an inside job.
Suspicion thereby centered on Sir Edward Vicars, Ulster King of Arms and Custodian of the Irish Crown Jewels. As The Crown Jewels were housed in a safe in the Bedford Tower of Dublin Castle, protected by armed guards, and as Vicars held the only known key to the safe, he was generally regarded as the prime suspect.
However, as King Edward personally oversaw a meticulous investigation into the robbery, and other suspects were identified, an even greater scandal threatened to emerge which would have rocked the Royal Family to the core. Homosexuality stalked the corridors of power in Ireland and led right to the King¹s front door in London.
What was to have been a showcase investigation and pursuit of the guilty, became an exercise in obfuscation and cover-up. The jewels were never found, a suitable fall guy was disgraced and the most likely perpetrator, Frank Shackleton brother of the explorer Ernest, got off scott free, primarily it now appears because of his homosexual relationship with the Duke of Argyle, the King’s brother-in-law. However, he never recovered from the disgrace and fled into near anonymity.
This is a remarkable story of theft, blackmail, debauchery in high places and murder in darkest Ireland, with the chief suspect being Frank, black sheep of the Shackleton family.
The theft caused uproar but even more sensational were the ensuing events, the whispers of cover ups and sodomy in Royal Circles, the murders, the hoaxes and the cast of extraordinary characters drawn into one of the most intriguing jewel heists of the century.
Arthur Vicars the man in charge of the jewels was forced to resign and retired to an estate in Kerry He died in 1921 still obsessed with proving his innocence.
Even more recently in the late 1990’s the principal contemporary investigators of the robbery who have subsequently written a book on the theft of the Irish Crown Jewels, were subjected to a most extraordinary and elaborate hoax. Ninety five years later, the fate of The Irish Crown Jewels, and their current whereabouts is still a mystery, shrouded in an enigma. A Strange Case indeed!
Worldwide distribution by:
Darkroom (The Life And Works Of Harry Thuillier Jr.)
(2003) 52 Mins
Darkroom, looks at the life and work of the talented Irish photographer, Harry Thuillier, Jnr who, in 1997, died tragically young at the age of 33 in mysterious circumstances.
Posthumously, Harry Thuillier Jr’s artistry has come to be truly appreciated for what it is. Born in Dublin in 1964 Harry studied photography in the Memphis College of Art and completed a BA in Fine Art Photography in Boston before studying under Jerry Uellsmann in Florida.
He returned to Ireland in 1989, following a nervous breakdown caused by the pressures of trying to voice his individualistic artistic expression. His subject matter was noted for its particular darkness, covering such things as ancient skulls, limbs decorated with opium pods and flowering nudes.
However it wasn't long before his exhibitions started to receive extremely favourable reviews both here and abroad, and his work began to be used in magazines, books and as album covers.
Harry Clarke - Darkness In Light
(2003) 52 Minutes
In the first half of the twentieth century, Harry Clarke, (1898 - 1941) one of Ireland s greatest and most neglected artists, created a dazzling and often bizarre world in stained glass and book illustration.
His work is a heady mix of the beautiful and the grotesque, the ethereal and the demonic, the romantic and the obscene, which critics today consider to be among the finest artworks produced by any Irish Artist.
His tragic story represents a fascinating collision of Church, State and Art and one man s battle for freedom of expression. This fascinating film traces his prolific but tragically short life, culminating in his battle with the Irish government over his "offensive" masterpiece, the Geneva Window, which he had been commissioned to produce as a gift from the Irish State for the League of Nations.
John J. Doherty has directed this sympathetic portrait of the true artist that Harry Clarke is now considered to be. Reviews: " illuminating" - Sunday Times, "visually spectacular and poetically told”" - Boston Irish Film Festival
The Great Irish Famine
Remember Skibbereen
The Great Irish Famine of the 1840s was 19th century Europe’s worst humanitarian crisis.
At least one million people died, approximately 12.5 per cent of the country’s population, and a further 2.1 million people emigrated in the decade 1845-1855.
Some regions of Ireland were disproportionately affected, among them Skibbereen, which lost over a third of its people to disease, starvation and emigration.
This 55 minute documentary is Skibbereen’s account and also, in the broader context, Ireland’s story.
Includes interviews with Dr. Larry Geary of UCC, Professor Joe Lee, Professor Mark McGowan and Gary White Deer.
Lord Haw Haw : Portrait of a Fanatic
(2005) 54 mins
When William Joyce was hanged for treason in 1946, he was known to millions of radio listeners worldwide as Lord Haw-Haw - his voice as famous as Churchill's.
Broadcasting propaganda from Berlin throughout the war as the English voice of Nazi Germany, Joyce sapped the collective spirit of wartime Britain.
A compulsive and complex Irishman, he recreated himself in an imagined ideal of Englishness, then betrayed his adopted country, becoming the classic traitor. Who was the man behind the voice of Lord Haw-Haw - the voice of Nazi Germany?
So,this is Dyoublong
(1999) 40 minutes
Presented by Joycean scholar David Norris, Dyoublong is an accessible, informative and entertaining portrait of James Joyce and his native city of Dublin, at the end of a remarkable century which his writing has dominated.
Bloomsday
(1992) 52 minutes
"Dublin is to Joyce as Homer is to Greece or Shakespeare is to Stratford-on-Avon" - Senator David Norris.
This fascinating documentary brings the viewer from the Joyce Tower, in the early morning, where the book opens, through the centre city landscapes and locations immortalised by one of Dublin's greatest literary giants.
It captures the gaiety and the humour that pervades Dublin on this most famous of literary days, which keeps the impish spirit of Joyce alive-alive-oh.
The Troubled Dean
(2000) 40 Minutes
A profile of the turbulent career of Dean Jonathan Swift, writer and playwright, whose 18th century writings and satirical prose established him firmly among the pantheon of great Irish literary figures, especially his epic Gulliver’s Travels.
James Joyce - The Trials of Ulysses
(2000) 52 minutes
The story behind the most renowned work of fiction of the Twentieth Century, it's early battles against charges of obscenity and it's official banning in the USA, and Joyce's personal trials as a writer and his persistence in trying to have his work made accessible to a mass audience.
INNOVATORS
6 x 26 mins (2004)
In celebrating Northern Ireland's famous innovative spirit and
ground-breaking scientific expertise, the series was shot entirely on
location - along the sandy beaches of the Seychelles, Queen's University,
the University of Ulster, the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast's Botanic
Gardens and Bournemouth on the south coast of England.
Food for Thought features the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health
at the University of Ulster (under Professor Sean Strain), together with the
research team at the University of Rochester in New York (under Professor
Tom Clarkson), who are working on a long term study of the people of the
Seychelles, in assessing the benefits and disadvantages of a high fish diet.
The Art of Noise focuses on the new Sonic Arts Research Centre at Queen's
University Belfast where, under the inspired guidance of Professor Michael
Alcorn, science meets art in ways never previously imagined.
The hero of Bums on Seats is James Thompson, a farmer and self-taught
inventor from the Mourne Mountains, who has developed a revolutionary system of comfortable economy seating for aircraft.
Small World goes deep inside the tiny workings of nanotechnology, where
scientists are working on a vast range of projects, to a scale of 80,000
times less than the width of a human hair.
Come Wind, Come Weather looks at the practical side of green issues and
investigates the range of renewable energy generated by environmentally-friendly natural resources - the wind, the waves and the tides.
The Eyes Have It is about computer science with a difference - the way in
which computers can be controlled at the blink of an eye. Eye gaze control
can make a computer do as it's told simply by looking at it, with infinite
applications in astronomy, medicine, environmental sciences, finance ...
Boxed
(2003) 78 minutes
Boxed is a gripping fictional drama about an explosively charged controversy. Set in Northern Ireland, it is inspired by yet another question involving the Catholic Church.
According to published reports, the IRA, when preparing to execute an informer, has called on accommodating priests - tame priests - to covertly provide last rites to the victim.
Boxed is the story of what happens when they get the wrong priest. Tony-winner Tom Jordan Murphy plays an idealistic young priest who is inadvertently brought to an IRA safe house. When he refuses to cooperate, a drama of moral conflicts and escalating emotion and violence unfolds.
Despite its intensity, Boxed is provoking a strong positive response from viewers of many perspectives, and is winning critical kudos on it's theatrical releases.
The Crooked Mile
(2001) 76 mins
The Crooked Mile combines the coming of age road movie and the buddy movie to create a gentle fairy tale about the journey of nine year old Anna, her neighbour and medical school drop-out Elliot, and a cute little goldfish with an odd name.
Anna is a streetwise, outgoing kid who has the difficult responsibility of having to look after her immature, diabetic mother, Jane, and now they are on the move again into yet another grotty Dublin flat.
The only constant in Anna's ever-changing environment is a postcard of Hollywood icon James Dean, whom she mistakenly believes is her father. Scared of being taken into care when her mother is hospitalised for a week, Anna improvises that her feckless neighbour Elliot is now her guardian. Irresponsible Elliot, on the other hand, refuses point blank to mind her.
Feeling unwanted, Anna decides that the only person to take care of her is the father she has never met. So she sets off with her entourage in tow on a mission to find this man whom she only knows owns a ferris wheel in a seaside amusement arcade, 100 miles from Dublin.
Produced by Triona Campbell and Avril Ryan, The Crooked Mile is a whimsical, life-affirming comedy told from the perspective of a child mature for her years. Written and directed by Stephen Kane, this film will have broad based family appeal.
Brendan Behan -Too Drunk to Live, Too Young to Die
(1999) 52 minutes
A long overdue profile on Brendan Behan who remains one of Ireland’s most popular writers and playwrights (Behan’s play Borstal Boy was filmed by Peter Sheridan and released in late 2000).
A committed Republican, singer/songwriter and native Irish speaker and writer, from his early poetry and prose, to his plays and books, he presented his own unique take on Ireland and Irish culture.
Tragically, above all he was a gifted man, who died too young, before his full potential had been realised.
Beyond The Pale
(2000) 101 minutes
Beyond the Pale is a contemporary drama set in Dublin and New York. It centres on the immigration experience of Patrick Shaw (Patrick Clarke), a hard working Dublin stable hand who, with his buddy Seamus, emigrates to New York along with a furniture moving company.
They stay at a homely boarding house presided over by Katherine, a strict Irish American landlady. Upstairs, a failed writer Tom Finnegan (Malachy McCourt) sprawls in a drunken stupor.
After getting fired from their jobs Patrick and Seamus decide to buy a van and set up their own business. While delivering furniture Patrick falls for Helen, a struggling young actress with unrealistic dreams of the big time.
Just as things finally begin to look up, Finnegan's drinking becomes worse. Seamus becomes more reckless and Patrick must battle with Helen's possessive ex-boyfriend.
Flick
(1999) 82 minutes
Set against the backdrop of a 'new' Ireland, Flick's domain is that of the night-time clubs and streets of Dublin. Jack Flinter is a cocky middleclass twenty-something who's drifting through life, stopping off along the way to deal drugs in the clubs, pubs and cafes of the city.
His friend and partner Des is strung out on harder stuff and his unpredictable behaviour is causing problems for Jack.
When they both set their sights on the last big deal they come up against some heavy weight competition. Flick takes place over a few days and nights when all of Jack's problems converge.
He meets Isabelle, a German woman visiting the city, and after a passionate night they separate but his night-long absence is the final straw for his girlfriend.
His problems with Des and the rival dealers intensify and soon Jack has to start making some big decisions. Written and directed by Fintan Connolly, Flick is effortlessly stylish and slick.
David Murray (Jack) in his first major role, has great screen presence - his swaggering saunters through the Dublin streets form the spine of the film. Flick is a mature work with real street cred.
Drinking Crude
(1997) 85 minutes
This contemporary and genuinely comic drama tells the ironic tale of a rural teenager's adventures when he runs away from home to England - and promptly and shamefully finds himself right back where he came from, cleaning industrial oil storage tanks.
Strong performances by Andrew Scott, newcomer James Quarton and Eva Birthistle, and a strong script from director Owen McPolin, lend a gritty realism to this clever buddy/road movie.
With a driving rock score from Bill Corkey and a cameo appearance by Colin Farrell in his first film role, Drinking Crude goes down easy.
All Souls Day
(1997) 87 minutes
Award-winning director, Alan Gilsenan, creates a stunning feature film debut with this haunting evocative and highly acclaimed drama. It was November 2nd, All Souls Day, when Nicole's (Eva Birthistle) naked body was found on the beach.
Seven years on, Nicole's mother Maddie (Jayne Snow) obsessed with finding out what really happened on that fateful day, visits her daughter's old boyfriend Jim (Declan Conlon) in prison.
With a diverse soundtrack by The Smiths, Therapy, Morrisey, Rautavaara, Faure and Grieg, the film moves between fragments of the past and the present to reveal the story of Jim and Nicole's passionate and violent love affair with its tragic consequences. In the search for redemption, Maddie and Jim stumble upon something more sinister.
Broken Harvest
(1994) 98 minutes
When New York-based Jimmy O'Leary is woken early one morning by a phone call from home, telling him about the death of his mother, it triggers a long reminiscence of his childhood in Ireland in the 1950s.
He is spirited back to the country village where he grew up in an atmosphere of suspicion and repression. This was an Ireland of scholars and sinners, fumbling sexual encounters, and where there existed an unholy alliance of church and State, religion and politics.
It was also a place where old feuds, mostly sparked by the bitter Civil War 30 years earlier, died painfully hard. Written and directed by Maurice O'Callaghan, Broken Harvest, in its depiction of the lives of these protagonists in a small rural community, touches on many of the major social and historical issues that affected Ireland in the first half of the twentieth century.
Eat The Peach
This classic Irish film features Stephen Brennan, Eamon Morrisey, Niall Toibin and a stellar cast of Irish actors in a whimsical caper that has amused audiences worldwide since its initial release.
Indeed, it is widely regarded as one of the best Irish film comedies ever. Vinnie Galvin (Brennan), newly redundant from the local Japanese-owned factory in rural Ireland, inspired by an Elvis Presley film, become obsessed with building a motorcycle Wall of Death.
To finance his dream he must resort to all means, fair and foul including working for the local smuggler baron.
Eventually, his enterprise wins the support, not only of his skeptical wife but of the local community and a huckster promoter called Boots (Toibin).
Ultimately, although his ambition is achieved, Vinnie is disappointed by the overall reaction to his venture. His incorrigible nature, however, ensures that he has learnt from this episode and is now ready to move on to the next challenge. This is one Peach of a good movie!
Jenny Bristow Cookery Series
Series 11 - Jenny Bristow's Lighter Side (2004) 12 x 26 minutes
Ireland’s premier T.V. cookery presenter serves up another entertaining series (her 11th successive season), this one devoted to calorie saving foods for the health conscious viewer.
Also available: Series 1 - High Days and Holidays (1990) 7x26 mins (including Special Festive Fare)
Series 2 - High Days And Otherdays (1992) 7x26 mins (including Special Happy Christmas)
Series 3 - Cookin' In The Kitchen (1995) 7x26 mins
Seies 4 - Jenny's Country Cooking (1996) 7x26 mins
Series 5- Jenny's Country Cooking 2 (1998) 7x26 Mins
Series 6- Cooked In A Flash (1998) 7x26 mins
Series 7- Cooked In A Flash 2 (1999) 7x26 mins
Series 8 - Jenny Cooks Gloriously Good Food (2001) 8x26 mins
Series 9 - Jenny Cooks For The Seaons Spring/Summer (2002) 8x26 mins
Series 10 - Jenny Cooks For The Seasons Autumn/Winter (2002 8x26 mins
The Rankin Challenge
33 X 26 minutes
Each week Michelin Star chef Paul Rankin accepts the challenge of enabling home cooks to achieve gourmet excellence in their own homes, against the clock!
Paul shares his expertise, providing insider tips on my aspects of food preparation, cooking and presentation and along the way picks up a few hints from his hosts.
A La Carte
(2001) 6 x 26 mins.
(BBC NI) A new series, set in Northern Ireland, which visits several high profile restaurants, catering institutions and colleges, to establish what the prospects for this sector look like.
Some of the most successful chefs like Michael Drane, and Paul and Jeanie Rankin, provide sobering commentary on the strengths and weaknesses of the catering sector. Students in several catering colleges are canvassed about their reasons for wanting to be in the hospitality industry and what they hope to achieve by working in it.
What emerges from this fascinating fly-on-the-wall study is the passion that the individual proprietors and catering people overall bring to their jobs and the stimulation they get from it.
Despite the stress and strains that are part and parcel of this high-pressure service industry, this job is definitely a vocation but these people are 'turned on by grub'.
A Year At Ballymaloe With Darina Allen
(1998) 26 x 26 minutes plus 1 x 45 miniute Special
A Year at Ballymaloe is a brand new 26 part television series recorded in August of 1998 in which Darina Allen ,Ireland's Queen of Cuisine, takes the viewer through the cooking calendar, creating an array of exciting dishes for all seasons.
With recipes that reflect the freshness of spring, the splendour of summer, the rich rewards of autumn and counter the chill winds of winter, there are mouth-watering menus to suit all tastes Since her popular Simply Delicious TV series finished some years ago, Darina Allen has travelled extensively overseas and has been exposed to various foreign cuisines. Darina consequently introduces various international flavours to these new programmes with more use of spices and chillies.
There are Moroccan, Mexican and Thai influences amongst others throughout the series, reflecting her recent experiences of international cuisine. Shot in the internationally renowned Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, Darina uses the finest, freshest ingredients to conjure up dishes to excite the taste buds and tempt the palate.
With each meal she also suggests appropriate selections from an enormous range of Irish Cheeses, and selects wine to perfectly complement the food she prepares. 'We are blessed in Ireland with a temperate climate and a great natural resource of fresh foods from our fertile fields and well stocked rivers, lakes and seashores'.
Darina said, 'Here at Ballymaloe we believe that good ingredients speak for themselves and cooking them successfully is a skill that can be mastered' Many of the ingredients which she features in her recipes are fresh from her own fabulous herb, vegetable and fruit gardens at Ballymaloe, which are a natural wonder in themselves.
A Year at Ballymaloe takes viewers on a culinary journey of discovery, with imaginative menu ideas and food preparations for all seasons. A Year at Ballymaloe will be regarded as time well spent by international audiences.
The series is prefaced by a 45 minute special Christmas at Ballymaloe, in which Darina previews the festive season and features food ideas and recipes for Christmas and the New Year, presented in her inimitable viewer-friendly fashion.
A Brian Waddell Production for The Carlton Food Network and RTE. Sole worldwide distribution by : Network Ireland Television Distributed with the support of the MEDIA Programme of the European Union.
Gourmet Ireland
45 x 30 minutes
Celebrated Irish Chefs Paul and Jeanne Rankin entertain and inform with their internationally acclaimed 45 x 30 mins TV Series. Ireland with its lush green pastures, heathered mountain slopes and crystal streams is the source of a rich and diverse array of the finest and purest ingredients for the world's best chefs.
There are 3 x 15 part series of Gourmet Ireland commissioned by the BBC, all of which combine the talents of the award wining chef Paul Rankin and his wife Jeanne. Each 26 minute programme finds the dynamic couple tracking down the finest and purest produce from this green and pleasant land's rivers, loughs waterways and shores.
Paul and Jeanne then work with these natural ingredients to conjure up the ultimate gourmet cuisine - a feast for the eye and the palate. Series One - Paul & Jeanne embark on their culinary travels across the length and breadth of Ireland using pedal power.
They discover a hidden Ireland where the finest ingredients are produced. From Monkfish by the shores of County Down to fresh bread baked in County Cork, the sheer variety and quality of Ireland's produce as revealed by Paul & Jeanne Rankin confirm that it is indeed a Gourmet Land. Back in their studio kitchen, Paul & Jeanne don chefs whites and devise dishes as exotic as Smoked Pheasant Salad with creamed lentils and roast garlic and indigenous Irish meals like the Great Ulster Fry.
All dishes are cooked in the unique Rankin style, leaving the Irish abroad yearning for home and the Irish at home heading for the kitchen. Series Two features the preparation of a complete dinner menu with a starter, main course and dessert in each programme - rather than individual dishes. The menus range from Meatless Meals, Lean Times, Pub Grub, Dinner for two for £10, the intriguing Winter Cravings and the more predictable Catch of the Day.
Their Summer culinary trail takes local born Paul and his Canadian wife Jeanne to the far reaches of the Emerald Isle. These intrepid food aficionados find a range of esoteric products like Carrageen Moss in County Cork, Exotic Herbs in Co. Mayo and Ostrich meat in County Down.
In studio Paul & Jeanne discard the baseball caps and 'whites' for brightly coloured casual wear for cooking, and don designs from the award-winning Irish fashion guru, John Rocha. Series Three takes Paul and Jeanne on a slightly different trail. With the New Millennium in sight, Paul and Jeanne seek out some of the best known chefs in Ireland to see where Gourmet Cooking will be in the year 2000.
From the very individual Conrad Gallagher of Dublin's Peacock Alley, who literally builds his gastronomic dishes, to Rosemary White from Maddybenny in County Antrim who is known throughout the land for her superb gourmet breakfasts, a total of 15 such esteemed culinary establishments are appraised by the Rankins, in the enthusiastic fashion for which they are known internationally.
Gourmet Ireland Three takes Paul and Jeanne on a very specific 'Cooks Tour' of the Island giving the viewer their insight on the newest Gourmet Cuisine. Back in their kitchen, the Rankins prepare three course meals influenced by the culinary developments they find on their travels and embellished by Paul and Jeanne's inimitable panache.
CAR HUNT
8 X 26 mins (2004)
Motoring journalist, Ginny Buckley, introduces two teams of two contestants in each show.
They are each given a budget and guidelines about buying a particular make of car at a car auction.
The challenge they face is to buy the correct model at the keenest price and strive to make a profit on it by selling it at a different car auction within a given time frame (usually within a couple of days).
Resident expert James Foxall observes and comments both on the relative wisdom of each team’s choices and gives general guidelines on what Joe Public should look out for – tricks of the trade and potential pitfalls. Car Hunt can travel.
Awash With Colour
(2001) 24 x 26 mins.
(For BBC) With his three previous BBC television painting instruction series Dermot Cavanagh had already established an enviable reputation for him as one of the most popular presenters of this programme genre.
Now with his latest celebrity-studded shows shot at stunning new Irish locations. He has produced his strongest series to date.
Guests include Pauline McGlynn (Mrs Doyle in Father Ted), Sheridan Morley, Kate Humble and George Hamilton IV.
Also available Series 1-3 (1997-2000) 50 x 26 mins.
Fish Out Of Water
(2002) 6 x 26 Mins.
For BBC NI In this engaging new series, produced by Straightforward Productions, two people swap jobs for a week. But one lives North of the Irish border and the other person South.
The stage is set each week then, for some unlikely but revealing role reversal experiences: Everyone from journalists, Niall Crozier of the Portadown Times trading places with Dublin based celebrity columnist Jason O'Callaghan; Female vet Lucy Buchannan from Old Stone Vet Clinic, Clough, job swapping with Ciaran Mellett of Smith Foley Vets in Kell; To teacher Brenda Rankin from the Sacred Heart Grammar School in Newry trading places with Maire O'Higgins from Larkin Community College Dublin and Chef Alan Higginson of Nicks Warehouse in Belfast swapping jobs with John Dixon the head chef of Campbell Catering in Dublin.
But in this adventure of trading places will their respective perceptions and preconceptions be reinforced or undermined? How easily will they individually acclimatize to their new work surroundings and conditions? Will they be able to take it in their stride or will they feel like Fish Out Of Water?
The DIY Show
SERIES 1
PROG 1: Join our team for The DIY Show. In today's programme Russell Harris fits a door under the stairs and fixes a leaky radiator valve whilst Sean Rafferty is faced with the horrors of dry rot. Neil Wilson goes up in the world with a feature on ladders.
PROG 2: Russell Harris does it himself when he tears down a porch and removes a radiator. Sean Rafferty keeps the peace with helpful hints on how to stay friendly with the neighbours and Maureen Collins gives some folding doors a screening.
PROG 3: Russell Harris shows how not to get stuck when it comes to tiling and works out in the kitchen. Sean Rafferty looks at the importance of installing a smoke alarm and Neil Wilson is floored by the options in natural matting.
PROG 4: In today's programme Sean Rafferty finds out all about restoring a listed property while Neil Wilson revisits his childhood when he gets busy on some self assembly children's activity centres.
PROG 5: Russell Harris practices his secret nailing technique and turns up the heat when he works on a fireplace. Sean Rafferty discovers the main causes of house fire and Neil considers the options in kitchen work surfaces.
PROG 6: Russell Harris practices his fencing on an oil tank while Sean Rafferty finds out all about the importance of planning permission.
PROG 7: Russell Harris gets physical when he shows how to build a dry stone wall and has ringing in his ears when he fits a doorbell. Sean Rafferty has a look at things to consider when renting property.
PROG 8: Russell Harris gets caught out with a creaky stair and makes tiling a wall look easy. Sean Rafferty considers the options when it comes to getting a mortgage and Maureen Collins creates a jewel of a mirror.
PROG 9: Russell Harris is busy laying a carpet in today's DIY Show and gives a kitchen a brand new look when he gets the paint out. Sean Rafferty shows how to stay safe when doing jobs around the house.
PROG 10: Sean Rafferty discovers how to hang a door and glaze a window with Russell Harris. Sean Rafferty lets you know what steps to take towards letting a property.
PROG 11: Russell Harris takes to flagging a driveway and shows how easy it is to bleed a radiator. Sean Rafferty looks at the facts about building control and Neil Wilson considers using bricks both inside and outside the home.
PROG 12: Russell Harris is busy in the bathroom in The DIY Show today. Join him for a spot of plumbing and re-enamelling whilst Sean Rafferty shows how to prepare your home for the winter.
PROG 13: Russell Harris gets stuck into tiling the kitchen worktops before showing the bst ways to strip paint. Sean Rafferty charts to an architect about the services they provide. And Maureen Collins turns a wardrobe into something she can work out of.
PROG 14: Russell Harris goes up on the roof where things don't go according to plan. Sean Rafferty looks at the money you could save in the long run by having a building survey carried out.
PROG 15: Join Russell Harris to discover how to lay a floating floor. Need more space? Russell will be showing you how to put up some shelves. Sean on the other hand is looking at ways to ensure your home is a safe place for children.
PROG 16: Join Russell Harris to find out how to cover a meter box and what to do with a leaky cistern valve. Sean Rafferty discovers why a solicitor is the one person you can't do without when it comes to buying and selling property and Maureen Collins turns a DIY workbench into a fashionable kitchen accessory.
PROG 17: Sean Rafferty runs through the essential things to think about when choosing a house and Russell Harris shows how to retile a fireplace and add some character to your home with the help of a dado rail.
PROG 18: Russell Harris offers ideas on how to turn an empty space into a wardrobe and shows how easy it is to change a worn tap washer while Sean gives some tips on selling a house.
PROG 19: On today's DIY Show Russell Harris gets working on a tongue and groove ceiling; Sean Rafferty discovers how to get a mortgage for a house that isn't even built and Maureen Collins gets punching with an old bathroom cabinet.
PROG 20: Join Russell Harris on the landing when he sets about wallpapering a hall and stairs. He'll also be showing how to add finishing touches with some architrave whilst Sean Rafferty finds out to make your home more friendly for those with dust allergies.
PROG 21: On today's programme Russell Harris will be fitting a mortice lock and showing how to add decoration to a ceiling by erecting some cornicing and a ceiling rose. Meanwhile Sean Rafferty looks at what is involved when renovating an old property. Neil Wilson clears up any confusion about household hinges.
PROG 22: Russell Harris gets to work on replacing a fireplace and fitting a garage door. Sean Rafferty looks at the tricky business of finding a reliable tradesperson and Maureen sets about transforming an ordinary garden bench.
PROG 23: Join Russell Harris up on the roof to discover how to fit a velux window. Neil Wilson looks at the latest trends in radiators and Sean Rafferty has tips on making your home more secure.
PROG 24: On today's programme Russell Harris makes wallpapering a ceiling easy and shows you how to fit an outside tap. Sean Rafferty finds out about the importance of building guarantee schemes and Maureen Collins transforms a wobbly old coffee table.
PROG 25: Russell Harris illustrates how to put up a dividing wall in a bathroom and replaces some rotting fascia board. Maureen Collins gives an old table a cheerful new mosaic makeover.
PROG 26: Join Russell Harris as he gets to work on a roofspace conversion and changes the mood of the lighting by fitting a dimmer switch. Sean Rafferty finds out how you can be more efficient with energy in the home and Neil Wilson shows you how to get the best from your timber.
PROG 27: Russell Harris shows how to fit your own shower unit and get ready for summer when he heads outside to build a BBQ. Sean Rafferty will be running through the importance of getting the right insurance for your home and Neil Wilson is challenged by some self assembly wardrobes.
PROG 28: Russell Harris shows how to fit a banister and spindles and gets a step up the ladder when he heads for the loft. Out with the old and in with the new? Sean Rafferty finds out what to expect from an interior designer. And Neil Wilson looks at the latest DIY gadgets.
PROG 29: Russell Harris gets to grip with some American style decking and shows how to get tiles off the walls without doing too much damage. Sean Rafferty looks at the advantages of using a professional removal company to move house and Maureen Collins makes a home entertainment centre from an old piece of furniture.
PROG 30: On the programme today Russell Harris gets busy building a home for a little sports car and shows why repairs to old sash windows don't have to be a problem. Sean Rafferty practices the art of being subtle at a property auction and Maureen Collins brings a touch of the oriental to an old wooden blanket box.
SERIES 2
PROG 1: Russell Harris and Wendy Austin join forces for a new series of The DIY Show. Join them over the coming weeks as they transform a run down three storey terrace house into a modern family home. In today's programme they'll be working out a plan of attack with the help of their architect, builder and gardener. Wendy also pays a home visit to a house with a very unusual roof.
PROG2: In today's DIY Show Wendy finds out about stripping woodwork the professional way and Russell opts for more traditional methods when he discovers some shutters to salvage.
PROG 3: Russell does some major repair work up on the roof and starts to prepare for the installation of a damp proof course. Wendy looks at options in door and takes a look around a terrace house that has undergone a total transformation.
PROG 4: Russell gets handy with a sledgehammer and he sets about raising the kitchen ceiling. Gillian the architect hooks up with her structural engineer for some sound advice and Wendy goes in search of some architectural salvage.
PROG 5: Russell and Colin clear out the garden in preparation for some decking whilst Wendy visits a home that used to be a real pig sty.
PROG 6: Russell gets to work on the extension and lays a new bathroom floor whilst Colin completes the garden decking. And what happens when the builder and architect meet up to discuss progress?
PROG 7: Russell gets busy on the roof of the extension, considers his drainage and does a spot of stripping. Meanwhile Wendy Austin heads off to look at the latest in kitchen designs.
PROG 8: Russell gets to grips with a door frame and kitchen window whilst Wendy goes shopping for bathrooms before deciding to head for the woods!
PROG 9: Sparks fly in the house when the electrician pops in to do a first fix! Russell is busy with a roll of insulation and Wendy considers the options in slate and vinyl flooring.
PROG 10: In today's show Russell gets to grips with glazing and Colin gets to work in the garden whilst Wendy makes a house call in Limerick and takes a look at some fireplaces.
PROG 11: Russell opts for light with the installation of a roof light while Wendy heads to Derry to look at an unusual house with a tower before joining gardener Colin for a spot of retail therapy…for plants!
PROG 12: In today's programme Russell and the boys install the biggest window they've ever worked with whilst Wendy heads to Dublin in search of a townhouse with a difference.
PROG 13: Wendy gets some bright ideas for lighting whilst Russell sets about discovering how to restore a sash window before turning his hand to laying a new bathroom floor.
PROG 14: Russell and Wendy start to feel the pressure as they struggle to get the house completed. There's tips on hanging French doors and information on the best beds for a good night sleep.
PROG 15: In today's programme Russell sets about fitting a shower, Colin installs some steps in the garden and Wendy seeks advice on colour schemes.
PROG 16: Russell builds a garden gate and illustrates how to lay a three play parquet floor in a bedroom. Meanwhile Wendy try's her hand at paint effects before visiting a home that has been stencilled and rag rolled to within an inch of its life!
PROG 17: Russell makes a design feature out of a cupboard to hide the metre board and turns his hand to fitting a new kitchen. Wendy on the other turns her mind to furnishings.
PROG 18: With only two weeks to go Russell is busy working on the floors - African Slate for the kitchen and solid timber for the living room. Wendy pays a visit to a Georgian house for some advice on soft furnishings.
PROG 19: Russell hangs an unusual sliding door in the living room before laying some carpet on the stairs. Wendy meanwhile calls on the expertise of a Feng Shui teacher.
PROG 20: Russell and Wendy put finishing touches to the interior of the house before bringing in the furniture. Meanwhile Colin finishes off the garden with some pots and plants and everyone prepares for a housewarming party!
The Olympic Games in Antiquity
(2003) 5 x 26 mins.
This award-winning show documents the history of the Olympic Games from its origins in the myths and prehistoric athletic events, to the contests that inspired the most noble competition in the field of sports.
From their modest beginning in 776 B.C. at Olympia, the Olympic Games have now become the greatest athletic competition in the world.
This series explains why and how this came about. Using dramatic reconstructions and superior computer animation, these “Games” are outstanding.
LEGENDS OF THE ISLES
13 X 26 minutes
ST. BRENDAN THE NAVIGATOR
Did a sixth century Irish monk land on the shore of North America, 1000 years before Columbus? The evidence centres around a mysterious ancient manuscript which has baffled scholars for generations – are the descriptions it contains just coincidence, or do they really describe a world that would remain a secret for centuries to come? Using recreation, archive footage, and the maps and charts of the day, the programme traces the journey from the wild west coast of Ireland across the treacherous Atlantic to ‘the land God promised to the saints’, and explorer Tim Severin tells how he set out to test the theory by building a replica of St. Brendan’s boat.
ST. PATRICK
The saint that launched a thousand parades is celebrated around the world as the personification of Ireland. The first surprise however, is that Patrick was in fact from Britain, captured by pirates and brought to Ireland as a young man. Many of the most enduring myths about Patrick retold and their origins explained, against the magnificent backdrop of some of Ireland’s wildest and most beautiful places, associated with Patrick’s wanderings, including the mountain-top where he spoke to God and the island where he looked into the pit of hell. How many know that the famous parade has it’s origins not in Ireland but in America as a recruiting drive for the army.
BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE
One of European history’s most romantic figures, Bonnie Prince Charlie’s great adventure in the summer of 1745 heralded not only the end of his family’s extraordinary history, but also the way of life of the gallant Scottish Highlanders who followed him. Beneath the romance lies a tragic tale of loyalty and devotion and one young man’s desperate bit to win back the throne of his ancestors. At the head of his gallant Highland army, Prince Charlie marched within striking distance of London. But his great adventure ended on rain-soaked Culloden Moor, where the flower of Scotland’s ancient chiefs were cut to pieces by the artillery at the command of the Butcher Cumberland, the opposing Prince whose family still sits on the throne of England today.
MAEVE – THE WARRIOR QUEEN
Before the coming of the Romans, Celtic peoples held sway over much of Western Europe including Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Britain. But one by one, the disorganised Celts fell before the ruthless efficiency of the Roman legions. Only Ireland, at the very edge of Europe, escaped. So it was not until the coming of Christianity in the 5th century that the fabric of ancient Ireland began to unravel. The early Christian monks who brought writing to Ireland, as well as the scriptures, were the first to commit to writing the oral tradition of the Celts. The legends they collected, the greatest of which is the story of Maeve and the Cattle Raid of Cooley, represent the oldest known histories in Europe, and Celtic mythology preserved only in Ireland, is the well from which has sprung so much of Europe’s identity and culture.
GRACE O’MALLEY – THE PIRATE QUEEN
Talk of pirates usually conjures images of the Spanish Maine and beards of various hues, However, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, Walter Raleigh, Francis Drake and Shakespeare, the pirate who was talked about did not frequent the Spanish Maine, and certainly bore no facial hair. Grace O’Malley was a Celtic chieftain leader of the O’Malleys and in her time her reputation for acts of brilliance and daring earned her the title Pirate Queen. However, pirate was not a word Grace would have recognised. The O’Malleys had been privateers up and down the wild Atlantic coast of Ireland for centuries. It was partly to refute allegations of piracy that Grace undertook her greatest adventure, into the lion’s den, when she visited London to make her cast at Court, and in a momentous meeting, the Virgin Queen came face to face with the Pirate Queen.
RICHARD THE LIONHEART OF ENGLAND
Few kings are regarded with as much affection as that reserved in English hearts for King Richard 1. Yet, at first glance, it would be difficult to find a more unlikely candidate. Of his ten year reign, Richard spent just six months on English soil. It was a reign characterised by a divided population, political turmoil, violent anti-Semitism, and above all, crippling taxation. This last was levied to pay for Richard’s favourite pastime – making war. When he inherited the kingdom, he was fighting in France against his father Henry 1 (from whom he acquired the taste for battle). Once crowned, he set off immediately for the Holy Lands on Crusade. Having been ransomed back from captivity by more crippling taxation, he immediately embarked upon yet another war in France, where he died without setting foot in his kingdom again. How did history fashion a popular hero from such unpromising material? And why?
THE LOCH NESS MONSTER
The extraordinary phenomenon of the mythical Loch Ness Monster is related by eyewitnesses and sceptics alike. The programme explores both the fantasy and the truth which lies beneath the dark waters of Britain’s largest lake.
THE SEARCH FOR ROBIN HOOD
It is a question that still has the power to tantalise – did Robin Hood really exist? And if he did, what sort of man was he? By drawing together many contemporary accounts, the programme recreates the life of a forest outlaw of the thirteenth century. It looks at the world they live in, and the world they were running away from. We hear again the words of the Norman nobles and rich churchmen who were so scared of Sherwood Forest and it’s inhabitants that they wrote about it in their letters and diaries. And having established the life and times of the forest outlaws, the programme then turns to the question of Robin himself. If he didn’t exist who is the Robyn Hode whose name appears in Edward 11’s Journal de la Chambre in 1323.
KING ARTHUR AND THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE
Though he is one of the most famous characters in all of history, Arthur the man is shadowy and insubstantial. Most of the legend as we know it has it’s foundation in flights of medieval fancy, written some five hundred years after the supposed death of the hero King, much of it outside Britain altogether. Yet buried amongst the romance and tall tales, can we still find the imprint left by the real Arthur on history? As the last of the great Britons, his reign marks the passing of the Celts and the rise of a new breed of men, the English.
MERLIN AND THE DRUIDS
Merlin is the man from whom all our images of a wizard are derived. The sage counsellor of King Arthur is almost as famous as his master. Who or what was he, and where does the tradition of wizardry come from? In fact, if Arthur was a Celtic chieftain (and all the evidence suggest that he was) then Merlin was a druid, one of the mystical advisors to a Celtic king. The druids were an aristocratic class of men, passing on a vast wealth of oral learning from one generation to another. To the king they served, they were doctor, lawyer, confessor, advisor and prophet. It was said of them that they could stand between two opposing armies and prevent a battle; such was the respect that all people held them in. By the time of Merlin, however, the druids were facing a tide that they could not hold back and one that would soon mean an end to their rule – Christianity.
THE HOLY GRAIL – What really was it?
The common conception that the Holy Grail refers to the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper is due to a simple misunderstanding. In medieval French, San Greal means a holy vessel (though not necessarily the holy vessel), while Sang Real means Blood Royal, meaning the kingly blood-line stemming from Jesus. It was through confusion between these terms in translation that the idea of the Cup of Christ first emerged. The mythology of another vessel, however, which has restorative powers, and of it impotent keeper, the Fisher King (who, due to an injury ‘between the legs’ must fish instead of hunt) is older even than Christianity itself.
STONEHENGE AND IT’S MYSTERIOUS MAKERS
This ring of stones on Salisbury Plain is one of the great icons of history. Like the Pyramids and the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge fascinates as it confounds. Yet little as we know about the tombs at Giza, we know much less about Stonehenge and its builders. This programme debunks the myths and gathers together the fact that are known about the time of it’s building, recreating life in Neolithic Britain and comparing the landscape of today with new evidence of the lie of the land around Salisbury Plain some 4000 years ago.
LEPRECHAUNS AND OTHER LITTLE PEOPLE
The Leprechaun is perhaps the most absurd character to emerge from Irish mythology, and today is regarded as nothing more than the leading player in American ‘stage Irishness’. His name is simple the Irish for little person (lú chorpán) and he owes his fame to the rural Irish immigrants who made new home in America during the 19th century, bringing with them the mythology of the Little People. But, unlike later takes of elves and brownies, the Little people of Celtic mythology, in Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Cornwall, have shown remarkable resilience and are the last remnants of the pantheon of Celtic Gods and Goddesses. Driven underground by Christianity, they hold sufficient power even today, that many farmers will still plough round a hawthorn tree, though it inconveniences him greatly, for fear of disturbing the Little People.
ACROSS THE LINE
Series One
Dublin to Darwin
Programme 1 – Dublin to Istanbul
The challenge was to travel from Dublin to Darwin overland on $30 a day with nothing pre-arranged. 7000 people applied, 2 were successful. With a dash across Europe, Dublin nurse Patricia Mooney and Cork musician Gavin Harte, begin their epic journey from Ireland to Australia.
Programme 2 – Turkey to Azerbaijan
Leaving Europe behind, Patricia Mooney and Gavin Harte head for the chaos of Georgia. This week – shooting lessons on the night bus to Tbilisi as they travel from Turkey to the Caspian Sea.
Programme 3 – Turkmenistan to Kyrgyzstan
Patricia and Gavin follow the Trans Caspian Railroad into Uzbekistan where they visit the fabled cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, pillaged by Genghis Khan yet still retaining wonderful medieval architecture. They swim in sulphur springs deep under the Turkmenistan desert and trek for 6 days through the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan before heading south into the Himalayas and China.
Programme 4 – Crisis in Kyrgyzstan
Crisis as Gavin and Patricia are refused entry into China over a remote mountain pass. To go back means a 5000 mile detour. They also face the highest border crossing in the world and a two day ride on the back of a truck along the precipitous Karakoram Highway into Pakistan where they visit the lawless tribal areas and Darra, a village devoted to the manufacture of guns and hashish.
Programme 5 – Damp Days in India
India is swept by monsoon rains as Patricia and Gavin discover ancient erotic temples and the first chocolate cake for 5000 miles. Over half way to Australia, they have six countries to go. Other highlights of India include two nights sleeping on the floor of the famous Golden Temple of Amritsar before they head down the Ganges to Varanasi where pilgrims come from all over the world to bathe in the river’s sacred waters.
Programme 6 – Thailand
Gavin and Patricia check out the highlights and lowlights of Bangkok before taking a sleeper train south to the spectacular Gulf of Thailand. Here they sail through some of Asia’s most remarkable scenery and spend time with the sea gypsies in their village built on stilts over the sea. They take a rest before beginning the home run south into Indonesia.
Programme 7 – Singapore & Indonesia
On the final land leg of their journey, Patricia braves the shopping malls of Singapore, while Gavin comes off badly from a skirmish with a local barber. From Singapore the pair head south into Indonesia and the huge Island of Sumatra – home to some of the world’s most magnificent rainforest. They are now on a race against time, for waiting in Jakarta is their only chance of getting to Darwin by sea – a yacht heading home to Australia.
Programme 8 – The Home Run to Darwin.
After 100 days on the road, Patricia and Gavin arrive in Jakarta on the appointed day to pick up their boat ride to Darwin. They sign on as crew members on Rushcutter 2, a yacht returning home
to Australia after three months sailing the Indonesian islands. But there is still 2000 miles of sailing ahead and what they thought would take 8 relaxed days, turns into an 18 day marathon.
ACROSS THE LINE
Series Two
Alaska to Argentina
Alaska to Argentina on $30 a day is the challenge facing Leona Daly and Lleucu (pronounced Klaykey) Siencyn, the two young women picked from over 10,000 applicants from Ireland and the U.K. to go on the journey of a lifetime and star in their own travel television series. 4 months, 15,000 miles and 8 programmes take them south from Alaska through 15 different countries to their ultimate destination – Tierra del Fuego, the southern tip of South America.
Programme 1 – Juneau to San Francisco
Leona and Lleucu’s epic journey begins in Juneau, capital of Alaska – a city where men outnumber women 5:1. Passing over the rugged charms of the local lumberjacks, the two girls escape the city for Alaska’s awesome wilderness. There are no roads south of Juneau so stage one of their journey to Argentina is a three day ferry ride through the wild islands of the Pacific Northwest.
Programme 2 – San Francisco to Southern Mexico.
San Francisco leaves it’s mark on Lleucu, who, despite her tight budget, splashes out on some body art. Then it’s south for the border, Mexico and the Baja peninsula. A gruelling three day mule trip brings them into the heart of the Baja desert in search of ancient cave paintings. Aches and pains from the horse ride and a tequila session take their toll before a three day 2000 km journey brings them across the Gulf of California and non-stop south to the beautiful colonial city of Oaxaca.
Programme 3 – Southern Mexico to Costa Rica
Disagreement, different interests and a tightening budget sees the two girls splitting up for a while. Lleucu heads in to the jungle to find the Mayan city of Palenque while Leona puts her feet up in Chiapas. After meeting up again, they make the big move to Guatemala and Central America. Climbing a volcano just 12 hours before it erupts give them a first taste of this unstable part of the world.
Programme 4 – Costa Rica to Colombia
Mentally, physically and financially exhausted, the girls reach a sleepy coastal village in Costa Rica where they rest a while. Penniless in paradise, they get lucky on the Panama canal. After hanging around the local yacht club for two days, the crew of a luxury catamaran agree to take them all the way to Colombia with some Caribbean island hopping along the way.
Programme 5 – Colombia, Cartagena to Cali
Colombia is electric with elections and football mania. Despite it’s reputation, the two girls are seduced by the country’s culture, music and welcome. A 500 mile river boat journey takes them into the heart of this fantastic country in search of the world’s most notorious emerald mines. From there they head south for the capital Botoga and Cali, capital of cartels and cocaine, where the girls hope to expose themselves to the infamous trade in the devil’s dandruff.
Programme 6 – Colombia to Bolivia
Leona sandsurfs in the Peruvian desert on some of the world’s highest sand dunes. But Lleucu, now a little tired and homesick, no longer shares Leona’s passion for thrills and spills. Memories of Bolivia are driving her south. She also pays a visit to the mysterious Nazca lines. High in the Andes, a magical sunrise and fleet of giant condors calm tempers for a while, but cracks are appearing in the two girls relationship.
Programme 7 – Bolivia to Chile
The road keeps rising as the girls head for Lake Titicaca and Potosi a small town high in the Andes and once the richest city in the world. Potosi’s mines produced a mountain of silver which underwrote the Spanish Empire for centuries. Lleucu and Leona head underground to see miners working in the same conditions as they did 400 years ago. Then comes a spectacular four day jeep ride to Chile across a vast dazzling white salt desert at 14,000 feet.
Programme 8 – Chile to Tierra del Fuego
After a 15,000 mile journey, it’s the end of the road and the end of a friendship for Leona & Lleucu. On their home run south, the girls travel a phenomenal distance through Chile before cutting east on the old Patagonian Express through Argentina. With money disappearing fast, the girls hitch 1,000 miles to visit the incredible mountain scenery of Chile’s Torres del Paine national park. Finally they reach Ushuaia, Capital of Tierra del Fuego and the last port of call on their 15,000 mile journey.
PORTRAIT OF IRELAND
Portrait of Ireland is a unique and intimate journey through the quiet elegance of Ireland's greatest country houses and castles.
From the magnificent rural settings to the wealth of country pursuits and cuisine, the series samples the hospitality and the history of eight magnificent houses and their surroundings in the words of the owners and local people.
Visiting the houses over a full year and tracing their links with the farming, craft and music of local communitites, Portrait of Ireland presents four seasons in the richest tradition of Irish country life.