'The Story of Ireland', a major five-part series presented by journalist and author Fergal Keane, begins on RTÉ One tonight at 10:15pm.
The series will look at "the history of Ireland - cultural, social, and economic - and its role on the international stage".
Episode one is entitled 'The Age of Invasions', with analysis of Christianity and monasticism in Ireland, the Vikings and Brian Boru.
Commenting on the series, Keane said: "The story of Ireland is vivid, exciting and immensely varied. It is far more than the sum of old clichés and myths which set the Irish as a people who were prisoners and victims of history.
"This series sees Ireland as an international island which is both changed by and helps to change the world beyond her shores.
"As a foreign correspondent who has travelled on every continent, I have tried to bring my experience of the wider world to this story of Ireland, and I have tried to see our past with a clear eye and an open heart."
