There's a bit of an Irish theme between The Late Late Saint Patrick's Day Show, The Story of Microdisney: The Clock Comes Down the Stairs, Lindsay Lohan in Irish Wish – and, eh, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour . . .
Pick of the Day
The Late Late Saint Patrick's Day Show, 9.35pm, RTÉ One
Streaming on RTÉ Player
Given that it’s two days before the Big Day, maybe this should have been called The Early Early Saint Patrick's Day Show?
Anyway . . .
Join Patrick Kielty for his first Late Late Saint Patrick's Day Show, where he'll be celebrating the best of Irish.
That means a mix of things ranging from sports to comedy, tunes to chat - and a very special world record attempt live in Croke Park.
New or Returning Shows
The Story of Microdisney: The Clock Comes Down the Stairs, 10.00pm, BBC Four
Though they never set the charts on fire, Microdisney are regarded as one of the great Irish rock bands.
The story starts in 1980, when two Cork outsiders, Cathal Coughlan and Sean O’Hagan, meet at a New Year's Eve party.
Bonding over music, a friendship and songwriting partnership was ignited.
The band they formed, and Microdisney proved to be sweet and sour mix of Sean’s melodic tunes and Cathal’s poetic, angry lyrics.
They recorded three LPs, gained critical adulation and an obsessive cult following. But a major hit single eluded them, as did radio play and LP sales.
By 1988, frustrated by their lack of progress, the band crashed and burned, leaving a trail of acrimony and broken friendships.
New Microdisney film is raw, honest and tinged with sadness
This new film asks why the band failed to achieve the commercial success they deserved, but it also picks up the Microdisney story 30 years on.
Contrary to all expectations, they reformed for a sequence of sellout reunion gigs celebrating a new award for their seminal album, The Clock Comes Down the Stairs.
Charting the band's early days in Cork to the sellout reunion gigs, the film includes exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, vintage archive, heart-searching interviews and live performances.
The film is bookended by The Irish Rock Story: A Tale of Two Cities (9pm) and Folk Hibernia at the BBC (11.25pm).
Comic Relief: Funny for Money, 7.00pm, BBC One
Red Nose Day is back, live from Media City UK, Salford.
The epic three-hour fundraising favourite features sketches, live performances, big surprises and music while raising much-needed cash for good causes both in the UK and across the world.
Joining Lenny Henry (for one last time live in the Comic Relief studio) will be Romesh Ranganathan, Maya Jama, David Tennant, Davina McCall, Joel Dommett, Rosie Ramsey and Paddy McGuinness.
Unmissable moments will include a very special trailer for The Traitors: The Movie, with an iconic cast. It's a star-studded sketch that promises to deliver all the memorable Traitor moments from season two of the smash hit reality show.
Later at 10.40pm there’s Comic Relief: A Whole Lotta Lenny, where Alex Jones and Lenny Henry take a retrospective romp celebrating Lenny's 37 years hosting Comic Relief.
Uan Uladh: Scéal Úna Ní Fhaircheallaigh, 8.00pm, TG4
Úna Ní Fhaircheallaigh was the first woman to write a novel in the Irish language, one of the first female scholars of Celtic studies and the first female Professor of Irish in UCD.
She was an awful lot more besides - a truly remarkable person. But how many people have heard of her today?
Clíodhna Ní Chorráin explores the life and legacy of one of Ulster’s forgotten heroines - Úna Ní Fhaircheallaigh.
The programme takes its title from the pen name used by Ní Fhaircheallaigh, Uan Uladh (the Lamb of Ulster), but the Cavan woman was no lamb in her campaigning for women’s rights, education and for the restoration of the Irish language.
Don’t Miss
How to with John Wilson, 11.15pm, BBC Two
This quirky, hilarious and occasionally profound show is just fantastic. And possibly the most New York thing I’ve ever seen.
First up on tonight’s double-bill, John Wilson starts working out and tracks the pros and cons of big.
Later on, Wilson’s discovery of the deeply embedded rituals and bonding in sport leads to a greater appreciation of the game.
New to Stream
Irish Wish, Netflix
Remember when Lindsay Lohan was filming in Ireland? Here goes . . .
When the love of her life gets engaged to her best friend, Maddie (Lindsay Lohan) puts her feelings aside to be a bridesmaid at their wedding in Ireland.
Days before the pair are set to marry, Maddie makes a spontaneous wish for true love and finds herself in an alternate reality where a chance encounter shows her that sometimes you need to be careful who you wish for.
With her dream seeming to come true, Maddie soon realizes that her real soulmate is someone else entirely.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More, Netflix
Four apparently spellbinding tales unfold in Oscar winning writer-director Wes Anderson's anthology of short films adapted from Roald Dahl's beloved stories.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version), Disney+
A concert film from Taylor Swift's global record-breaking tour available for the first time in its entirety, including the song Cardigan and four additional acoustic songs.
The history-making, cinematic experience from 14-time Grammy-winning artist, directed by Sam Wrench, grossed more than $260 million worldwide at the global box office, making it the top selling concert film in cinematic history.
Manhunt, Apple TV+
The Crown star Tobias Menzies leads the cast in this miniseries created by Monica Beletsky and adapted from James L Swanson's book Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer.
The period drama follows Edwin Stanton (Menzies) during his search for John Wilkes Booth in the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln's assassination.
The Bloody Hundredth, Apple TV+
Narrated by Tom Hanks, this hour-long documentary spotlights the true stories of several characters and real-life airmen featured in Masters of the Air, the real-life heroes of the 100th Bomb Group.
From the shock of Pearl Harbor to the joy of VE Day, The Bloody Hundredth is a record of what was endured and achieved by a group of young Americans when their country and the world needed them most.
Sport
Cheltenham Festival Day 4, 1.00pm, Virgin Media One
Ed Chamberlin presents coverage of the fourth and final day of Cheltenham Festival, including the 3.30 Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeple Chase.
The Irish are having a handy time of it this year, but for many folk it’s about bringing home the Gold Cup.
Today’s coverage also includes races at 1.30, 2.10, 2.50 and 4.10.
With analysis from Mick Fitzgerald, AP McCoy and Ruby Walsh, betting news with Brian Gleeson, reports by Matt Chapman, Alice Plunkett, Luke Harvey, Oli Bell and Rishi Persad, and commentary from Richard Hoiles.
