Were You There?

As the Easter Weekend draws to a close, Joe Duffy gathers a varied group of guests together to reflect on how the main themes of Easter, the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, believed by Christians to be the incarnation of God, might be mirrored in their personal lives.

Julie Nicholson, an Anglican priest and mother, who lost her daughter in the London underground bombings on July 7, 2005, tells of her pain, and of her difficulties with the concept of forgiveness.

Fr. Niall Ahern, wrongly accused and completely exonerated of the sexual abuse of a minor, speaks of the effects, positive and negative, on his priesthood, which, he feels, defines him.

Actor Tommy O’Neill, who plays Detective Sergeant Deegan in RTE TV’s Soap, Fair City, and, ironically, a former armed robber, tells how the story of the good thief on Calvary speaks to him.

Former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, David Rosen, now a CBE and Papal Knight, looks at the events of Good Friday from a Jewish standpoint, and Mary Smith, brought up in State Institutions, including one of the infamous Magdalene Laundries, speaks of years of abuse and neglect, how she finds it impossible to forgive, and how she has reached the conclusion that ‘there is no God’.
This is a riveting hour of listening, with Joe Duffy using all his skills as a broadcaster to put a human face on Christian theology.

Presented by Joe Duffy

Produced by Gerry McArdle

Podcast: http://www.rte.ie/radio1/podcast/podcast_radio1specials.xml