One man's dream to sail solo around Ireland, all the sporting action from Paris, and we revisit a 2010 interview with the late Edna O'Brien - here's your top telly for Tuesday
Around My Island, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
Irish solo sailor Tom Dolan attempts to be the fastest person to sail single-handed around the island of Ireland - one of the toughest feats in sailing. In Around My Island, We join Tom on board for his attempt at history and discover his fate.
Narrated by keen sailor Bryan Dobson, the documentary introduces us to Tom and the people who know him best to understand his remarkable, if unusual, rise from a farm in Meath to the top of the sport of sailing. We also meet Ireland's triple world record holder, Pam Lee, who smashed the double-handed record for sailing the unpredictable and perilous route around 700 nautical miles of Ireland’s spectacular coastline.
As we delve deeper into Tom’s story, we hear of the childhood trauma that motivated him to chase success in his sport and in his life. Leading performance psychologist, Gerry Hussey gives his insight into what drives Tom, in a sport that pushes people to the brink, testing themselves against the elements, often leading to moments on the edge of living.
Paris Olympics 2024, RTÉ2, 9.00pm
Plenty of Irish interest on Day 11 of the Olympic Games, with one medal guaranteed in boxing and the prospect of more in the individual show jumping.
Kellie Harrington will fight in the women's 60kg final against China's Yang Wenlu in a bid to retain her gold medal and become a back-to-back Olympic champion.
Shane Sweetnam and Daniel Coyle qualified for today’s individual show jumping final in second and third place following clear rounds aboard James Kann Cruz and Legacy respectively.
However, Cian O’Connor, riding Maurice, missed out on joining his teammates in the final by just three positions and less than two seconds.
Finn Lynch will take his place in the medal race in the Men's Dinghy today after low winds disrupted the day's sailing and forced the abandonment of the final two races.
However, his chances of winning a medal in the event appear to be remote. He told RTÉ Sport that the best he could feasibly achieve is an eighth-place finish.
Meanwhile back on the track, Sharlene Mawdsley and Sophie Becker will be hoping to seize on their second chance in the women’s 400m repechage and join teammate Rhasidat Adeleke in the semi-final.
Sophie O’Sullivan and Sarah Healy will run in the women’s 1500m heats this morning.
However, yesterday evening it emerged that 1500m European champion Ciara Mageean was forced to withdraw from the event due to injury.
Back in the pool, James Passmore will be competing in the men’s 3m springboard.
In the afternoon, the team of Lara Gillespie, Mia Griffin, Alice Sharpe and Kelly Murphy will be in action in the women’s team pursuit qualifiers.
Murder Trial: The Disappearance of Renee and Andrew MacRae, BBC Two, 9.00pm
This compelling two-part documentary series details the astonishing, definitive account of a missing mother and her three-year-old son - one of the biggest unsolved murder cases in Scottish legal history. On trial at Inverness High Court is 80-year-old William MacDowell who stands accused of killing his former lover and her son, disposing of their bodies and concealing the murders for 45 years.
On the 12th of November 1976, Renee MacRae, a glamorous 36-year-old mother of two and wife of a wealthy building firm owner, vanished after leaving her home in Inverness. Later that night, Renee’s burnt-out BMW was found in a lay-by on the roadside of the A9. Neither she nor her three-year-old son Andrew have ever been seen again.
Ardal O’Hanlon: Tomb Raider, BBC Four, 9.00pm
The story of an epic 1930s quest to find the origins of the earliest Irish men and women on the island of Ireland using archaeology. Ardal goes back to world-famous archaeological sites to see how Ireland had some of the most important finds in Europe at the time.
Further beneath the surface, he discovers how both in Northern Ireland and what was then called the Irish Free State, archaeology was being used as an important tool for nation-building, as both states forged new identities in the wake of Partition. He unravels a forgotten time period, when a team of Americans from Harvard University, a Nazi archaeologist from Austria and a Welsh geography professor based in Belfast dug up ancient sites across the country.
Their pioneering work laid the foundation for modern archaeology in Ireland, north and south, and yet is largely a forgotten story. Through Ardal’s journey, the film rediscovers this strange 1930s tale but also ends up answering some of Ardal’s deepest questions about the Celts, and ultimately, what it means to be Irish.
The Meaning of Life with Gay Byrne, RTÉ One, 10.35pm
Following her death last week, we go back to 2010 for this interview between Gay Byrne and writer Edna O'Brien. She discusses how her life has affected her religious beliefs and moral values, and why her exile from Ireland did not diminish her faith.
Full TV listings here
