During the 1969 general election television began to cover the campaign trail. Candidates had not yet developed television skills and were unsure of how they would appear to viewers.

The current affairs programme 'Seven Days' went to Kilbeggan where candidates campaigned at church gates and at a religious procession. In this clip, Gerry Le Strange of Fine Gael uses the traditional approach of addressing mass-goers at the church gates.

An extract from the RTÉ current affairs series '7 Days'. '7 Days', for ten years RTÉ television's flagship current affairs programme, began broadcasting on 26 September 1966. The programme's young production team was made up of producer Lelia Doolan, directors Eoghan Harris and Dick Hill, and reporters John O'Donoghue, Brian Cleeve and Brian Farrell.

Muiris Mac Conghail became producer of '7 Days' in 1967 when the programme was merged with another current affairs programme, 'Division'. The extract shown here is from a programme looking at candidates preparing for the 1969 general election.

Copyright RTÉ. This material may not be replicated in any form or manner without the prior express permission of RTÉ. Any form of reproduction in print, television, video, multimedia, web site or other electronic media or any form of dissemination for commercial or non-commercial use must be licensed by the RTÉ Libraries and Archives.

If you wish to licence video or audio clips, still images or text, or would like further guidance please contact us.

RTÉ Libraries and Archives are committed to respecting the copyright of others and have attempted to source and credit the copyright owners of all material used here. RTÉ would like to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified here so that the necessary corrections can be made. If you feel your copyright has not been respected please contact us.