Factual

RTÉ Factual is the home of uniquely Irish stories, a place where RTÉ’s audiences come to be entertained and informed, and to see themselves.

Documentary

At its best, factual storytelling can help shape the national conversation. Throughout 2022, RTÉ Factual offered no shortage of talking points.

The year was bookended by two major documentary series. In January, Crimes and Confessions examined the existence of a Garda ‘Heavy Gang’ in the 1970s and, for the first time, drew the links between the criminal investigations that resulted in some of Ireland’s most notorious historic miscarriages of justice. In November, Quinn Country looked at the rise and fall of businessman Seán Quinn and the at times violent fallout that followed the collapse of his business empire. Both series attracted large audiences and had considerable impact. Before the first episode of Crimes and Confessions was broadcast, Martin Comney, a man wrongfully convicted of the murder of Una Lynskey, received an unreserved apology from the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána.

In November, RTÉ’s Documentary on One ended its season of one-off documentaries with the story of two brothers, Mark and David Ryan, who had been abused by Spiritan priests on the grounds of Blackrock College in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Blackrock Boys revealed for the first time the scale and nature of the abuse that had been perpetrated and for decades gone unreported in one of Ireland’s foremost educational institutions. Within days of the broadcast, and on foot of follow-up reporting from colleagues in RTÉ Radio 1, most notably by the Liveline team, the government announced that it would establish an inquiry to further investigate the extent of this abuse, while the Spiritan Order announced an independent restorative justice programme to aid the many victims who came forward.

History

Our history continued to feature prominently across the year. The Irish Civil War, a landmark three-part series, sensitively and authoritatively marked the centenary of one of the most divisive times in this country’s history. An accompanying series, Two Tribes, presented by Sean O’Rourke, looked at the political legacy of this time and picked over the past 100 years of civil war politics. Aspects of our recent history got a more light-hearted treatment as The Way We Were returned for a second series, and Saipan: Rebel Without a Ball looked at what might have happened if Roy Keane had stayed at the 2002 World Cup.

Religious programming

For a third year, RTÉ continued to supplement its regular religious output with extra weekday and Sunday masses and services, which were streamed in association with ChurchServices.tv. There continues to be a strong demand for the service, notwithstanding the return to in-person worship post-Covid-19. Diversity remains a central plank of RTÉ Religion’s output, with short films commissioned to mark major festivals across a wide range of faiths throughout 2022. For the third year in succession, RTÉ also broadcast live multicamera coverage of Eid Prayers from Croke Park, attracting international headlines and coverage.

RTÉ’s Christian worship output is similarly diverse, and broadcasts in 2022 included a Mass with the Parish of the Traveller Community; a Service in Solidarity with Ukraine, entirely in the Ukrainian language; a Mass with the Deaf Community School in Cabra; and a range of other broadcasts featuring a broad mix of cultures, ethnicities, socio-economic groups, young and old, from all parts of the island of Ireland.

Sustainability and the Climate Crisis

2022 saw a renewed focus on sustainability and the climate crisis both in front of and behind the camera. A major push for sustainable production techniques resulted in The Today Show, an anchor tenant of the RTÉ schedule, achieving Albert Sustainable Production Certification. RTÉ Cork led the way on the programming front, once again spearheading a pan-European initiative, Back from the Brink, with colleagues from the EBU. Through the course of 2022, a number of climate-related projects were supported by RTÉ Factual and successful in receiving BAI funding. A call for ideas from the independent sector was completed in late 2022, which will result in a new returnable series being commissioned into the RTÉ One peak-time schedule. It is hoped that this series will lead the way on climate-related information and discussion for years to come.

Diverse Voices Elsewhere in our documentary offering, the experiences of diverse groups were to the fore. In February, Vincent Hanley: Sex, Lies and Videotapes documented the experiences of and attitudes faced by Ireland’s gay community during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. In May the Monday 9:30pm slot was given over to the experiences of the most vulnerable among those who have recently arrived in the country seeking sanctuary: Growing Up in Direct Provision gave a voice to the children who sometimes find themselves caught in the state’s system. The experiences of Ireland’s new Ukrainian diaspora were captured in September’s The War at Home, a beautifully crafted documentary that captured the efforts both of Ukrainians living in Ireland and of Irish people abroad in providing humanitarian aid to those fleeing the war. Another group that saw their experiences represented for the first time in full on our screens in May were older women. The Change: Ireland’s Menopause Story sought to break the taboo surrounding public discussion of the menopause and was incredibly well received by viewers of all ages.