New This Week
Travelling musicians
Irish traditional musicians Barney McKenna (banjo), Tony MacMahon (accordion) and Micko Russell (tin whistle) perform in the streets of Ennis, County Clare during a Fleadh Cheoil.
Christmas Tree Theft
An RTÉ News report on the annual theft of Christmas trees from forest areas in the Dublin mountains includes a 're-enactment' of a theft and interview by reporter John Ross with Garda John Molloy of Rathfarnham Garda Station.
Boom in Video Cassette Recorder sales
Caroline Erskine reports from the Audio Visual Show at the RDS in 1981 where electronic keyboards and computerised games are all the rage, but the must-have item this Christmas is the video cassette recorder, an estimated 30,000 of which will go in to Irish homes, at a cost of between £600 and £1,200.
Christopher Lee talks horror
Actor Christopher Lee, in Ireland to make 'The Face of Fu Manchu', talks to Des Keogh about his career and tells him how it is essential to play the part of villains and monsters absolutely seriously no matter how unreal or improbable the character.
December 8 Christmas shopping
RTÉ News reporter Caroline Erskine reports from Dublin city centre on the eighth of December, the traditional day people from the country travel to Dublin for Christmas shopping. She speaks to shoppers in Henry Street and Clerys Department Store before trying on a fur coat with the price tag of £3995.
Pipe TV comes to the west of Ireland
Jim Fahy reports for science series 'Eureka' how an electrician has set up a local network to provide British television channels to half the town of Kiltimagh in Co. Mayo.
Behind the News
Ciana Campbell reports for 'Slants' from behind the scenes at the RTÉ Newsroom, revealing the preparations and the work involved in delivering the news.
"All The Men Will Be Leaving For England Again"
An extract from a 'Report' programme which follows the plight of two families from the west of Ireland where the men leave home for up to nine months a year to work in England. Jack Conroy, his wife and daughter discuss the impact of his departure.
First online supermarket
Reporter Jim Fahy reports for RTÉ News as Hughes Supermarket in the village of Claregalway, Co. Galway launches the first on-line supermarket shopping service.
RTÉ 2 opening night
The clock counts down to the opening of RTÉ's second television channel. The station's new presenters' Bernadette Ní Ghallchoir, Raymond Maxwell and Roisin Harkin, welcome viewers to RTÉ 2 before standing for the national anthem.
Schoolchildren reveal Halloween pranks
'Evening Extra' Reporter Bibi Baskin talks to primary school children in Virginia National School, Co. Cavan about the pranks they will play on Halloween including cutting washing lines, pulling up plants and throwing mud at windows.
Three Generations of Tailors
'Hands' looks at the traditional craft of tailoring, as passed from generation to generation by the Johnson family in Tullow, Co. Carlow since 1867.
Cabin Fever Reality Ship Sinks
Bernard MacMullan reports for RTÉ News on the sinking of the tall ship on which the reality programme 'Cabin Fever' was being made, after it ran aground on rocks near Tory Island off the Donegal coast. Amateur footage shows contestants swimming ashore and being airlifted to safety.
Breakthrough On Single Currency talks
On the first day of the European Union summit in Dublin, with Ireland holding the European Presidency, a significant breakthrough was reached in the row over preparations for the single currency, the euro.
A Night at the Debs
'Youngline' spends a night out in the Shelbourne Hotel at the Debs Ball of Holy Faith Convent, Glasnevin, to discover what really goes on.
Belfast Concert For Yes Vote
Days before the referendum on the Belfast Agreement, U2 and Ash play a concert in Belfast in front of 2,000 young people from schools across Northern Ireland, where they call for a Yes vote. On stage, Bono introduces David Trimble and John Hume as "two men who have taken a leap of faith out of the past and into the future".
Country Girls Living in Dublin
Frances McGuigan from Castleblaney, Co. Monaghan tells reporter Michael Ryan from 'Newsbeat' about her lifestyle as a country girl who has made the move to Dublin, where she now works as a clerk typist in a financial office and shares a basement one-bedroom flat with two other girls.
Children talk about the Gulf War
The potential effects on Irish children of seeing daily footage from the (1990s) Gulf War in Iraq - often referred to as the first televised war - are examined in this report by Alistair Jackson for RTÉ News.
McFaddens Travelling Theatre
Reporter Denis Franks from 'Broadsheet' speaks to Jimmy McFadden and his wife Phyllis about their life with the travelling theatre company 'The James McFadden Show', before a performance in Portarlington, Co. Laois.
Eighties teenage street style
'Head to Toe' presenter Mary O'Sullivan talks to goths, Cureheads and teenagers who prefer not to be labelled, about youth culture, fashion and music, on Grafton Street in Dublin.
Workers Stand Against Apartheid
Pat Kenny reports for 'Today Tonight' about the strike by Dunnes Stores workers in Henry Street in protest at the sale of South African products in the store. Cathryn O'Reilly, Alma Russell and Sandra Griffin are among those refusing to handle South African goods because of the racist apartheid regime. Bishop Desmond Tutu greets some of the strikers at Heathrow airport where he praises their courage in fighting for a cause that they believe in.
Swimming with Fungi
Featuring spectacular underwater footage, Aonghus McAnally gets up close to Fungi the dolphin in Dingle bay, in a report for 'Evening Extra'.
Smoking ban introduced on buses
Dublin Bus travellers talk to reporter Shay Healy about the newly introduced smoking ban on buses, in this extract from 'Evening Extra'.
Stand By To Receive His Holiness
'Stand By To Receive His Holiness' is a documentary that went behind the scenes at the visit of Pope John Paul II to Ireland in September 1979. This extract looks at the arrangements and planning for the Papal visit to the Phoenix Park in Dublin, where the congregation surpassed one million.
Women Invade Men-Only Bathing Place
Women protest at the Forty Foot, a traditional male-only swimming point at Sandycove, Dublin. The group of protesting women call themselves the Dublin City Women's Invasionary Force.
Motor Exhibition Arrives in Dublin
Derek Davis reports from the Motor Club Exhibition at the RDS, Dublin where the vehicles on exhibit include Malcolm Campbell's 'Bluebird', a 1911 Clement, a 1928 Vauxhall, a Bentley, a Texaco McLaren Racer, a Ford Pantera, a Porsche and a police car.
Bob Geldof Collects Live Aid Cheque
Live Aid organiser Bob Geldof kisses President Patrick Hillery at Arás an Uachtaráin after being presented with a cheque for £7 million, donated by the people of Ireland. The Republic of Ireland gave the most donations per capita for the Live Aid concert held on 13 July 1985, despite being in the throes of a serious economic recession at the time.
Reaction to Joining the EEC
RTÉ News gets reactions from people on the streets of Dublin following Ireland's decision to join the EEC. Irish people voted overwhelmingly in favour of becoming a member of the EEC in a referendum held on 10 May 1972.
Satchmo in Dublin
Louis Armstrong, the great jazz trumpet player and singer, arrives at the Adelphi cinema, Dublin where he is to perform with his All Stars. The bilingual programme 'Féach' follows 'Satchmo' and his band as they warm up in their dressing room before going on stage, and interviews the star afterwards in his crowded dressing room.
Saving Private Ryan in Wexford
Curracloe beach in Co. Wexford is the location for recreating the D-Day landings at Omaha beach for Steven Speilberg's 'Saving Private Ryan'. The shoot, which used 750 members of the Reserve Defence Force to play the US Army landing force, brought an estimated £5m to the local economy.
Scenes From A Seaside Town
Summer in the North Wicklow seaside town of Bray is all about fairground rides, slot machines, walks along the promenade, swimming and sunbathing on the beach. A report from bilingual current affairs series 'Féach' also takes in a night-time sing-along, with the obligatory rendition of 'I Do Like to be Beside the Seaside'.
On the set of 'Ryan's Daughter'
Denis Brennan introduces a 'Kino' special on location with the Oscar-winning film 'Ryan's Daughter' on the Dingle peninsula. Director David Lean chats briefly to actor Robert Mitchum before a scene is shot in the specially built fictional village of Kirrary.
At home with Christy Brown, author of 'My Left Foot'
In this 'Radharc' programme, Fr Peter Lemass views paintings by Christy Brown before interviewing him about his art and writing, and asks him how he feels about his disability. Brown, who had severe cerebral palsy, wrote about his life in 'My Left Foot', which was made into a film starring Daniel Day Lewis.
Skidding a Double-Decker Bus
A driving instructor dramatically skids a double-decker bus in order to show trainees how to cope with unforeseen obstructions, in an episode of 'Discovery' that takes a look at the job of the Dublin Bus driver.
The Fastest Reel in the West
In this 'Late Late Show' special on Irish traditional music, John Conneely from County Mayo, who broke his back on a building site in England, treats the audience to "the fastest reel in the west".
The Late Late Toy Show - 80s edition
Gay Byrne demonstrates the toys Major Morgan, UFO and a model minibus from Sony that plays vinyl records! In keeping with the traditions of 'The Late Late Toy Show', there are children from the Billie Barry School and some dreadful jokes from Gay.
Eurovision Song Contest 1971
The 1971 Eurovision Song Contest, Ireland's first as host, opens with a couple being taken by horse and carriage through St Stephen's Green to the Gaiety Theatre, where Bernadette Ní Ghallchóir introduces proceedings in Irish, French and English. The show was one of the first home-produced colour television programmes by RTÉ.
Celine Dion's winning entry at Eurovision 1988 in Dublin
Singing 'Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi' for Switzerland is a young Celine Dion, then-unknown outside the French-speaking world. Michelle Rocca, co-hosting with Pat Kenny, introduces the performance, which is preceded by footage of the now-superstar being shown around turf-cutting machinery on a bog in the Irish midlands. (Sound and picture imperfections due to quality of original master tape)
Flocking to moving statues
Maggie O'Kane reports for RTÉ News about children witnessing statues moving in their local church in the Co Kerry village of Asdee, the first of many sightings in what would become the phenomenon of moving statues in the summer of 1985.
Who washes your socks?
Following a letter to an evening newspaper from a woman who objects to washing her husband's socks, reporter Des Keogh of 'Newsbeat' asks women on the streets of Donnycarney in Dublin who washes the socks in their house.
Bucks Fizz win 1981 Eurovision in Dublin
Doireann Ní Bhriain announces the winner of the close-fought 1981 Eurovision Song Contest from the RDS in Dublin. The UK entry, 'Making Your Mind Up', performed by Bucks Fizz with a famous skirt-ripping dance routine, beat Germany by a mere four points. The excited foursome are presented with their prizes by the previous year's victors; singer Johnny Logan and songwriter Shay Healy.
'Borderline' visits a second-hand clothes shop
Ronan Johnston and Majella Nolan, from Saturday morning teen programme 'Borderline', play dress-up, eighties-style, in a second-hand clothes shop called 'Frank N. Stein' in Dublin.
Children's Street Games and Rhymes
This clip, from an episode of the children's entertainment programme 'Motley', shows boys and girls playing rhyming and running games, including 'In and out goes Dusty Bluebells', on the street of a Dublin housing estate.
Nine-Year Old Reads the News
In this report from 'Youngline', nine-year-old Kate Cotter realises her dream to become a newsreader for a day, getting a tour of the RTÉ newsroom from Anne Doyle and meeting newsreader Charles Mitchel.
"Washing Away Your Sins"
A little girl describes how the priest washes away sins at confession, including those of "killing people" and "planting bombs". This report from 'Encounter' features Sean Egan interviewing people about their attitudes to sin and first confessions outside Clarendon Street Church in Dublin.
Bus journey through sixties Dublin
In this episode of 'Discovery', Thomas Johns drives the number 11 bus from Stephen's Green, down Grafton Street (before it was pedestrianised), through Suffolk Street on to Dame Street and College Green, up Westmoreland Street, across O'Connell Bridge and on to O'Connell Street. En route, he describes the difficulties of his job.
First episode of 'Glenroe'
The titles and opening scenes from the first episode of the rural drama 'Glenroe'. Dinny Byrne (Joe Lynch) and his son Miley (Mick Lally) have sold their mountainy family farm and may now move to better land in north Wicklow.
The Suffering Irish
Reporting for '7 Days', Bill O'Herlihy, along with 15,000 other pilgrims, visits "The Reek" on National Pilgrimage Day, the last Sunday of July. Croagh Patrick is 2,510 feet high, almost 3 miles from base to peak, and takes 3 hours to climb to the top. For many, this all-night vigil of pain and endurance represents the roots of their religion.
St. Patrick's Day Parade Hit by Foot and Mouth Outbreak
Among the casulaties of the foot and mouth crisis are this year's St Patrick's Day Parades. In Dublin - which hosts the biggest of the parades - an entire week-end of festivites has been called off. But the organisers say the £1.3 million Festival could still go ahead once the crisis has passed.
First Female Steeplejack
'Enterprise' reporter Michael Ryan hangs from a crane to interview steeplejack Angela Collins, owner of Ireland's leading steeplejack company, who is forging her way in a traditionally male-dominated profession.
'Hands' - Horse and Milk Float
Éamonn MacThomáis describes the daily routine of milkmen Tom Downey and Gerry Brehenny as they travel the streets of Dublin with horse and milk float delivering bottles of milk.
Reporter Takes on the Beatles
The Beatles arrive at Dublin airport (for a concert at the Adelphi cinema) where they are interviewed by Frank Hall about fame, the Mersey sound, hair-styles and George Harrison's mother. A noisy aircraft and the Beatles jokey antics prove a test for Hall.
Early Philip Treacy Designs
Dave Fanning interviews third-year National College of Art and Design (NCAD) student Philip Treacy about his hat designs, for the series 'Visual Eyes'. Now internationally renowned for his high-fashion creations and with royalty among his customers, the then 20-year-old reveals his ambition to become a couture hat designer and says his hats are "not for the faint hearted".
Children Give Their Thoughts On Romance
Mike Murphy, host of 'The Live Mike', introduces Twink who presents a report about her visits to primary schools in Dublin and Wicklow, where she asked the pupils about romance and St Valentine's Day. See our TV Stories page for the behind-the-scenes account.
'Meet the People Reunion'
'Meet the People' was broadcast on the opening night of Telefís Éireann, showing a tour of Ireland made by the first three continuity announcers. Forty years later Kathleen Watkins, Marie O'Sullivan and Nuala Donnelly reunited to recall those days in 1961.
Luke Kelly Sings 'On Raglan Road'
Luke Kelly explains to presenter Ciarán MacMathúna how he met the poet Patrick Kavanagh who told him he had a song for him. The song was 'On Raglan Road', performed here on the series ‘Humours of Donnybrook’ by Kelly accompanied by Al O'Donnell.
Confusion Over Decimalisation
'7 Days' reporter Denis Mitchell quizzes young and old around Dublin about the new decimalised currency. Among those confused as to how much a shilling is in new pence are his RTÉ colleagues Ted Nealon and Bill O'Herlihy.
Getting Out
The opening scenes from the fly-on-the-wall 'mockumentary' series 'Paths To Freedom'. Jeremy (Brendan Coyle), a middle-class gynaecologist, and habitual offender Rats (Michael McElhatton) are released from Mountjoy Prison on the same day.
Zig is Very High on the Naughty Things List
In a 'Den' Christmas special with Ray D'Arcy and Zig and Zag, Patrick the Postman delivers a letter to Zig from Santa with some bad news.
President de Valera launches first TV service
President of Ireland Eamon de Valera launches the new television service and warns that, "...never before was there in the hands of men an instrument so powerful to influence the thoughts and actions of the multitude." The address is in both Irish and English.
Bono on the 'Late Late Show'
Bono, lead singer with U2, talks to Gay Byrne about making the video for 'New Year's Day, playing the Dandelion market and why he thinks drugs are boring. He also introduces his wife Ali.
If you would like to see more of the video treasures in the RTÉ Archives, go here
