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In February 1966, Taoiseach Seán Lemass announced details of the official state events to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Rising. At a news conference, he said
"The Easter commemoration ceremonies...celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of a great and decisive
event in our history and...honour all the men and
women, living and dead, who had the privilege of participating
in it."
RTÉ schedules on both radio and television for the week of the commemoration were dominated by two major elements: live coverage of the 1966 ceremonies and programming that sought to recreate or reflect on the events of 1916.
In devising prepared programmes, the broadcasters had to cater for both an older generation who remembered the Rising and the history that followed, and a younger group, perhaps by that time a majority, who needed to have the historical events described to them.
RTÉ sought "an emphasis on surviving participants in the Rising in a programme dealing with reminiscences". Brief excerpts from a range of that coverage can be seen and heard here.
Two main television series were planned for transmission in Easter Week: the eight-part drama "Insurrection", and a series of filmed profiles of the signatories of the Proclamation under the title, "On Behalf of the Provisional Government".
A performance of the "Aiséirí" pageant, written and directed by Tomás MacAnna, was recorded in Croke Park for transmission later in the month.
Many of the ceremonies were filmed in colour for archive purposes.
"The Week of the Rising" was the main Radio Éireann
series for the commemoration, taking listeners through
the events of 1916 day by day as they unfolded. Other
programming included reminiscences by veteran survivors,
historical plays and specially commissioned music
programmes.
Throughout 1966, programmes on the subject of the 1916 Rising, as well as the historical background, were shown.
On Radio Éireann, the subject of the 1966 Thomas Davis Lecture Series was "Leaders and Men of the Rising", and a series of thirteen historical radio plays traced the nationalist movement from the coming of the Normans to the Rising of 1916.
On Telefís Éireann, "The Course of Irish History" was broadcast from January to June of 1966. "The Long Winter", a series of documentaries, dealt with key moments, movements and personalities in the period 1600-1916.
The RTV Guide (now called the RTÉ Guide) was published as a special commemorative edition in colour. It included articles by many of the programme makers and two pages of colour photographs from the drama "Insurrection". This edition sold over 250,000 copies compared with normal weekly sales which averaged 93,000.
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