Documentary on One Podcast

Ireland's First Superstar

02 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore emigrated from Ballygar Co Galway to America in the 1840's. He went on to become a leading bandmaster and composer, writing ...

The Summer of Astral Weeks

12 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Van Morrison is one of the great musicians of his generation. His 1968 album Astral Weeks is said to be one of the finest albums of all time. We visit...

The Hospital Always Wins

05 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In 2005, American producer Laura Starecheski began recording at the Living Museum, an art studio for patients at Creedmoor Psychiatric Hospital in New...

Finding Private Branch

28 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This is a tale that spans 60 years. It begins in Dublin, travels to America, then onto Germany, before finally returning to Dublin. It’s about frien...

The Yellow Line

22 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Monday morning in an Irish town. Commuters are waiting for their train. For them, it’s a normal day, heading to school, work and elsewhere. But ther...

A Tale of Two Sheelas

06 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

For years gangs have been looting the ancient treasures of Ireland. In 1990 Jim O’Connor is accused of being involved in stealing a Sheela Na Gig, a...

A Matter of International Secrecy

24 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In the summer of 1979 Ireland was consumed with preparations for a very special visitor to the country - Pope John Paul II. This is the story of how o...

In Shame, Love, In Shame

16 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In 1946, in an unprecedented act of defiance against the local clergy, a group of Listowel men from Co. Kerry forced open the locked gates into their ...

Who fears to speak of '98?

07 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

For many, 1998 is still one of the best hurling championships of all time, not so much for what happened on the pitch, but for what happened off it. 2...

The Announcement

20 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In 2015, 22 year old student Laura Molloy sought medical help after discovering changes in her body she didn’t recognise - and that Google simply co...

White Noise

29 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when sounds only exist inside your head? How do you cope with an internal soundtrack from which you can’t escape? We explore the myster...

Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes

29 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In October, 2013, a four year old blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl named Maria was discovered peeping out from underneath a blanket on a Roma camp in Gre...

Sisters

22 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Beginning in 1888, hundreds of Irish teenagers were sent to a convent in Texas that was dedicated to educating emancipated slaves after the American C...

Prince At The Castle

15 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On a Summer morning in 2011, a group arrived at Malahide Castle, Co. Dublin to work on a concert by Prince. They were nervous. That morning, the morni...

Does My Bum Sound Big In This?

08 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Joyce, is by her own admission, only living a ‘half-life’. A funny, vibrant, creative person with lots of friends, she rarely leaves the house. Sh...

Richard Hayes, Nazi Codebreaker

01 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

If you were battling Nazi Germany which individual would you chose to take on the role? A soldier? Perhaps a great statesman? How many of you would ch...

The Long Goodbye

11 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The award-winning tender and loving story of a husband, Matt, and his wife, Mai, whose lives have changed entirely since Mai was diagnosed with Alzhei...

More Irish than the Irish Themselves

04 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In the last 100 years, we Irish have struggled with our native language. Now in 2011, less than 5% of us speak it on a daily basis. This is a story of...

An Extraordinary Affair

27 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The story of a scandalous liaison between two Irish women, Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, which began 250 years ago this year. Were these lovers -...

The Sweep and the Philosopher

20 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Two unlikely men meet to swap jobs. One is a 70-year-old chimney sweep, who left school at 13, the other a professor of philosophy at UCD. The profess...

Looking for Fairytale Castles

13 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This award-winning doc tells the story of Jenny Tyrell who was adopted in 1972. But, Jenny was almost 9 before she found out she was adopted. In this ...

Dogman

06 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Martin McKenna’s career began in a hay barn in Limerick and ended up with three best-selling books about dog behaviour in Australia - he could not r...

Don't Go Far

29 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Two Dublin children, with a knack for bunking off school and fare dodging, embark on an unbelievable adventure. On a warm summer's day in 1985, they h...

My Left Knee

09 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Do you ever think much about your knees? Well, Taragh Loughrey-Grant didn’t - until one of them was being cut open…. Then she discovered that knee...

Leo Maguire - Walton's Programme

27 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The indistinguishable voice of Leo Maguire, the host of RTÉ Radio's Walton's Programme which stayed on the airwaves for almost 30 years until its can...

Michael Gomez: The Irish Mexican

23 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A documentary by former world champion Bernard Dunne about Michael Gomez – the controversial bad boy of Irish boxing and a night in the national sta...

A New Niamh

08 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Niamh has decided to turn over a new leaf for Christmas: she has decided to give up shoplifting. This time of year, it's no easy task - the festive se...

Little Mouse in the Corner

01 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Being a shy person is often seen as something that you will overcome as you get older. Many introverts feel that there is something wrong with them. B...

The Occupation

24 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In August of 2006 a small group of anti-war demonstrators from Derry in Northern Ireland took on the might of a multi-billion dollar US defence and we...

A Man Out Of Time

17 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Fr. Pat Noise died when his carriage plunged into the Liffey in 1919. His death is commemorated by a plaque on O'Connell Bridge, installed without per...

Do No Harm

27 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever thought about what might happen at the end of your life? Dr Luke Dillon explores the controversial and divisive subject of euthanasia. F...

Colombia – Making the Peace

13 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Almost 20 years on from the Good Friday agreement, the Colombian government has made peace with the FARC rebels. Veterans of the Northern Irish peace ...

Richard Hayes, Nazi Codebreaker

06 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In October 2018, a new book entitled Code Breaker by Marc McMenamin was published. That book was borne out of this documentary - which tells the incre...

Ireland and the KGB

23 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Spy stories typically start on dimly lit streets in Eastern Europe, not in Dublin suburbia. But this isn’t your typical spy story. An Irish KGB ring...

Cause Of Death

14 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

More than ten thousand deaths a year in Ireland are reported to the Coroner's office. Two thousand of those will proceed to an inquest hearing .Ruairi...

The Brigadier

09 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Eric Dorman-Smith was an Irish General in the British Army who outfoxed Rommel during the Second World War. Sacked by Winston Churchill, he then turne...

Pisusuuq, The One Who Walks

01 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

60 years ago, Mick Mallon left his home in Ireland, eventually settling in remote arctic Canada. Fascinated by language, Mick began to learn Inuktitut...

Being Slaughtneil

25 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Hidden in the hills of the Sperrin Mountains in south Derry is a tiny GAA club with a massive reputation. This year they were going for a hat trick of...

Love Letter to Wezz

11 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Mention “disco” and “Donnybrook” to people in Ireland and they’ll have a vague notion of a get together for teenagers. Numerous articles hav...

An Unholy Trinity

02 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A Civil War Story. Exactly 100 years ago, in February 1923, a baby girl is abandoned on a doorstep in Dublin. A priest and his housekeeper seen acting...

007, The Irish Connection

28 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

First appearing on cinema screens in 1962, James Bond brings many famous names to mind - Ian Fleming, Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig - the...

Polar Opposites

21 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In 1935, Iceland legalised abortion making it the first Western nation to create what we might now recognise as an abortion legalisation policy. We tr...

The Orwell Wheeler

14 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Road cycling is one of the world’s toughest sports. In 1987, Stephen Roche did the unthinkable - winning the three biggest cycle races in the world,...

Peshmerga Mick

07 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Martin went AWOL while on sick leave for an injury that he sustained during a training exercise with the British Army. People were shocked to ...

Roar and Pace

30 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Ever thought of what it’s like to hurtle through the countryside at speeds in excess of 100mph - and not be in control? You rip out the seats and so...

Are you Tony Sheridan?

23 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A radio documentary about a self-confessed 'Irish Vagabond' Tony Sheridan. In his turbulent and rich life he has worked with the Beatles, entertained ...

Deadly Sleeper

16 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

54-year-old Ray suffers from Sleep Apnoea, a disorder where the sufferer frequently stops breathing during sleep. We meet Ray's family, track his path...

One Hundred Years of Names

09 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Every personal name has a story - In this radio documentary, we go behind the top 100 Irish baby name lists and see a fascinating portrait of a changi...

The Search for Edna Lavilla

02 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In 1942, Edna Lavilla Haynes died from a backyard abortion. More than sixty years later, Edna's granddaughter looks for clues as to what happened.See ...

JG Farrell:149 Days in the Life Of

26 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

JG Farrell - the 2 time Booker winning author moved to West Cork in March 1979. Shortly after, he drowned while fishing. Using interviews of neighbour...

You Can Stick Your World Cup

18 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Five years ago, on the tenth anniversary of the Saipan sporting controversy Irish people still felt as divided as they did back in 2002. They were fin...

The Irishwoman Who Shot Mussolini

07 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Four people tried to assassinate Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Only one person ever came close - her name was Violet Gibson and she was I...

The Diary of Leanne Wolfe

24 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A multi-award winning documentary. In 2007, schoolgirl Leanne Wolfe took her own life. The morning of her funeral, her older sister discovered Leanne'...

Surviving Ireland

16 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Holly and Declan are a young couple addicted to technology, and in particular their smartphones. Comedy writer & producer Colm Tobin follows them to a...

The Garda Who Limped

03 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Garda John Wilson awoke one night to find a rat tied to the front door of his home. He was shocked but not surprised - John Wilson is a Garda Whistleb...

Saved!

24 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Does your soul need saving? If so, John Purcell is the man for the job. A born-again evangelical preacher and a member of the travelling community, he...

Down with jazz - Anti jazz campaign of the 1930's

03 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

January 1st 1934, Fr. Conifrey led a march through Mohill, County Leitrim, in which demonstrators shouted "down with jazz" and "out with paganism" and...

DocArchive (2004): Finders Keepers

23 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

An access all areas look at the mechanics of bringing a play from the page to the stage. How does the director get the most out of his actors, while c...

Peadar Mercier

13 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Peadar Mercier, the first ever professional bodhrán and bones player, captured the pulse of Irish traditional music. 25 yrs after his death, his son ...

Bulldozer and Buckleppin

04 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

"Break a Nail"Camilla Duncan is a Westmeath grandmother who drives abulldozer for her living."Jumping for Tanzania"The Kells Heritage Buckleppin' Comp...

DocArchive (1973): Last Christmas on Inishturk

17 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Proinnsias O'Conluain spends Christmas with the only five families living on the island of InishTurk off the coast of Mayo. This is to be their final ...

The Reindeer Santa Left Behind

16 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Over the course of last Christmas Eve, an incredible series of events took place on a remote farm in Co. Wexford involving Santa Claus, his reindeers ...

DocArchive (1977): Buskers, Ballads and Brown Pence

13 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

An examination of the art of busking. Dick Warner speaks to musicians on the streets of Dublin about the life of a busker. They describe the highs and...

DocArchive (1992): Opening of RTÉ Television

10 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This documentary charts the development of Television in Ireland, since the first broadcast on Telefís Éireann in 1961 later renamed as RTÉ. On New...

Mayo Boy, Vietnam Hero

09 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Patrick 'Bob' Gallagher emigrated to the United States from County Mayo in Ireland in 1962. He fought in the Vietnam War and for his bravery was award...

DocArchive (1983): Birth of a Pill – Testing New Drugs on Human Beings

06 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

An investigation into the ICP, a firm in America and Ireland that tests new drugs on volunteer healthy humans, before being used on people with diseas...

DocArchive (1991): Opera at Wexford 40 Years of Wexford Festival

03 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This documentary looks to the history of the Wexford Festival Opera since its formation in 1951. From the outset the Festival became one of the world’...

A Backwards Glance at The Ballroom of Romance

02 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Irish writer William Trevor passed away on Nov 20th 2016. To mark his passing we revisit his most well known short story, which was later adapted into...

DocArchive (1990): I’ll See You Later

29 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The story of Christine and Dominic Meenagh; a visually impaired couple. Their son Declan is also visually impaired. They go through their daily routin...

Kicking The Bucket

25 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We Irish think we handle death better than most. But two Limerick women, Sinéad and Katie, don’t necessarily agree. They want to explore death in a...

DocArchive (1978): Oh What A Lot of Spongers

22 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A look at the struggles for men and women on social welfare. Unfairly called ‘spongers’, these unemployed people talk about what it is like to be ...

DocArchive (1978): Ashington Miners Radio Ballad on English Miners

19 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Life in darkness, miners speak of life below ground dealing with explosives, accidents on the job, workplace strikes and real fact of those who die in...

DocArchive (1979): Whiskey With An E Doc On The Ball of Malt

12 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Irish whiskey was once the most popular spirit in the world with distilleries located across Ireland. Presenter Al Byrne delves into the history of wh...

DocArchive (1998): Alexandrias

29 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Writer and Broadcaster John Theocharis presents a personal odyssey through the city of his birth, Alexandria in Egypt. After 30 years John revisits hi...

No Time To Lose

28 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Katie Cooke is from Dublin. At age 9 she developed epilepsy and suffers about 15 seizures every day. Since leaving hospital at 17 in a wheelchair, she...

Help The Hallowe'en Party

28 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The Documentary On One team selects extracts and short documentaries from their online archive to mark the spookiest night of the year. From being bur...

Siege of Jadotville

22 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A 2016 Hollywood movie tells the story about Irish soldiers besieged in Congo in the 1960s. Some years earlier, radio producer, Tom McGuire spoke to s...

DocArchive (1998): In Good Cheer

15 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

'In Good Cheer' goes beyond the bottle to meet the numerous personalities and the heritage involved in producing Ireland's very own liquid gold. Prese...

DocArchive (1992): The Yarnspinners

07 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The seanachai or storyteller has been part of the Irish folk tradition for years. In 1992 in The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in Co. Down in North...

DocArchive (1980): How to become an Entrepreneur

01 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Brendan Keenan examines the support available to people who would like to setup a business by following the efforts of Harry Lynam as he engages with ...

DocArchive (1977): Speckled Stones – Cursing Stones of Ireland

27 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The history of cursing stones in counties Mayo and Sligo. There are many superstitions relating to the stones going back to pagan times. It is said th...

DocArchive (1983): Mountjoy – A Day in the Life of a Prison

20 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Mountjoy Prison in Dublin is the oldest prison in Ireland. In this documentary an ex-convict gives an account of the everyday routine for the incarcer...

DocArchive (1989): Brides

17 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Two women, born almost 50 years apart, recall meeting their husband, falling in love and marrying. We hear the contrast in experiences as they prepare...

Bolt and my Belgian Blue

16 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The world of pigeon racing has been transformed by big money deals and the €310,000 sale of a champion named Bolt. But where does the sport in Irela...

DocArchive (1988): Days in Moscow, Nights in Leningrad

13 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In Gorbachev’s Russia of 1988, perestroika was a political movement which reformed the Communist Party and the country as a whole. The development h...

DocArchive (1997): Mexican Journal

10 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

John S Doyle describes life in Mexico as he travels through Mexico City and Oaxaca encountering different people and hearing their stories. John also ...

Peadar Mercier

09 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Peadar Mercier, the first ever professional bodhrán and bones player, captured the pulse of Irish traditional music. 25 years after his death, his so...

DocArchive (1981): Travels Without a Typewriter – The Story of Anna and Samuel Carter-Hall

06 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The story of the author Anna Maria Hall; born in Dublin in 1800. She moved to the U.K in 1815 and married Samuel Carter-Hall, often publishing under t...

DocArchive (1984): George Best Story

03 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ed Mulhall looks at the football career of Belfast born George Best, who went on to become Ireland's best known footballer. Recalled as the fifth 'Bea...

We Couldn't Understand the Peace

02 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In 1972, a group of women fled Belfast, with their children, to take refuge in Glenstal Abbey. They came from trauma and violence to an exclusive boys...

DocArchive (1980): Mariculture – Marine Fish Farming

30 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A look at Mariculture in Ireland in 1980. Tracing the history of the culture in Ireland from salmon farms and mussel markets to the development of fis...

Davy

26 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

People think they know Clare senior hurling manager Davy Fitzgerald because of what they see during the game of sport, but what about before and after...

We Decide Who Lives Or Dies

19 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The highest risk group in Irish road deaths: young rural drivers. We visit Co.Donegal and meet drivers who refuse to wear seatbelts, drivers who drink...

Richard Fariña – from Lough Neagh to Monterey

12 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Richard Fariña was well known in music and literary circles in New York in the 1960’s. He was a regular visitor to his Irish relations in Ardboe, C...

What to do with Clogheen?

05 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Kathriona Devereux has inherited a small hotel in Clogheen, Co. Tipperary. ‘Vee house’ has huge emotional value to her, and it has been in her fam...

The Sound of Sport

29 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

To mark the beginning of the Olympics in Rio, a documentary on a group of people who listen to the events more than watch them: TV Sport sound designe...

The Broken Hearted Farmer

22 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Joe Flynn and his wife Mary from Westmeath wrote ‘The Broken Hearted Farmer’ in the late 1960s - a song that told the story of farming protests at...

Then There Was Light

22 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

On November 5th 1946, the ESB erected the first pole of rural electrification. This was the beginning of a promise to bring electricity to every home ...

Battle at the Bridge

15 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The Battle of Mount Street Bridge was the most successful rebel engagement in Dublin during the 1916 Easter Rising. A detailed investigation leads to ...

Ireland's Secret Hangman

15 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1940's the Irish state secretly recruited its own native executioner. Counted as one of Ireland's great historical mysteries, the true identity...